ENCOUNTER is a festival curated around the Collaboraction annual theme of “Coming Together” with theater, visual art, music, video, dance, panels, and discussions presented simultaneously in all three venues of Collaboraction Studios.
ENCOUNTER will be curated through a combination of open and invited submissions from throughout the city and will serve to engage the community with the theme of “Coming Together” and incite knowledge, discussion, and action.
After the week-long series at Collaboraction Studios, select elements of Encounter will tour to Chicago’s Hamilton, Hermosa, and Austin neighborhoods with free events and community conversations.
EXTENDEDED THROUGH APRIL 1, 2017! HELP US CLOSE THE GAP!
Support GENDER BREAKDOWN, a world premiere devised piece about the lack of gender parity in Chicago theater and beyond. Ticket sales don’t cover all production expenses, and we must rely on the generous support of our individual donors who believe in the power of theater to incite change around critical social issues. Help us reach our goal of $10,000 by April 1.
WE ARE ONLY $623 FROM OUR GOAL, WITH AN ADDITIONAL $623 TO BE MATCHED! Help us close the gap by making a donation, and join our list of amazing donors: Rose McInerney, Ambreen Khan, Rachel Mcclain, Meghana Menon, Jennifer Dudley, Shannon Hill, Tess Guilfoile, Caroline Connor, Allison Tenn, Michael Harris, Briana Finegan, Laura Macarthur, Catherine Wilson, Kaye Brown, Craig Horwich, Molly Sisson, Craig Horwich, Loretta Downs, Gwendolyn Wiegold, Nicole Fabri, Maureen Davies, Abby Koppers, Rachel Williams, Jennifer Cox, Paul Ketz, Harold Jaffe, Sarah Mayhan, Andrew Balderson, Carmel Louis, Monika Lagaard, Sindy Castro, Samara Anderson, Nik Rokop, Christine Hodges, Kathy Mcdonald & Joe Monahan, Clarissa Gonzalez, Andrew Clancey, Joseph Pindelski, Arica Hilton, Sean Gunn and 28 Anonymous Donors
Gender Breakdown is EXTENDED by POPULAR DEMAND through APRIL 1!
GENDER BREAKDOWN is EXTENDED by POPULAR DEMAND THROUGH APRIL 1!
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY DISCOUNT OFFER! For today only, use the code “WOMEN” when purchasing tickets, and when you buy one ticket for any performance, you get another for FREE!
TOKEN by Kaye Winks and directed by Schoen Smith Kaye Rodney Winks has been the “token black friend” for as long as she can remember. In her solo show TOKEN, she irreverently shares her hilarious and often cringeworthy adventures in being that lone black person in a world of white.
Phone Calls with John Kasich by Eileen Tull Phone Calls With John Kasich tackles the subject of reproductive rights by exploring several different women’s efforts to contact a certain Ohio Governor about a controversial abortion bill that’s on the table. What does it mean to be pro-life, who deserves to make decisions about women’s health, and does John Kasich ever actually check his voice mail?
FRIDAY, March 10th
HAIR CROWNICLES by Medina Perine Hair Crownicles is a comedic show sequencing the childhood of Medina Perine, the author, sharing her experience with hair and growing pains. The intent is to encourage women who hold secret insecurities about their image and discover true joy within themselves.
Edith Lule Edith jumped into the comedy scene after taking classes at Second City last summer. She balances her time between yelling at home, job searching, and writing jokes about coming of age on Chicago’s South Side. Show some love for this stand-up rookie!
Ivori Skye Ivori Skye is an musician/actor/filmmaker born and raised in Chicago. She has an Associate’s Degree in Arts from Wilbur Wright College where she acted on two musicals Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson as Storyteller and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown as Snoopy. Professionally, she was Chesire Cat in Nothing Without A Company’s Alice and DJ in Big Bad Sppoktacular with them as well.
SATURDAY, March 11th
Layla Frankel Soulful, dynamic, and always ear-pleasing, Layla Frankel and her band perform genre-crossing music that charms audiences of diverse musical tastes. Her original music ranges in styles from folk pop, to soul, to jazz, and everything in between with captivating vocals at the forefront.
Rachel Drew Rachel Drew has her feet firmly planted in American roots music, recalling Stax-Volt era performers like Carla Thomas, with doses of introspective folk, classic country, and the occasional pop-influenced flourish. Rachel delivers intelligent lyrics in a soulful, heartfelt manner. She’ll be accompanied on guitar and harmony by local legend, Steve Dawson, of Dolly Varden.
LIMITED TIME DISCOUNT OFFER: From now through Wednesday, March 8th, use the code “SUNDAY” when purchasing tickets, and get 50% off ANY Sunday matinee performance!
Headliner: Improv with Paige Maney Opener:Jenny Lynn ChristoffersonJenny Lynn has been wearing multiple hats across the theatre scene in Chicago for the past 6 years. As a musician, her music fuses together her musical theatre nerdiness, playwrighting influence, and country and folk music love. She’s crazy for superheroes, thinks a cup of coffee and/or a glass of whiskey are daily MUSTS, and is likely to yell louder at the TV on Sundays during football season than your dad. :-)
FRIDAY, MARCH 3:
Headliner: Beautifully Broken by Ashley J. Hicks Winner of the 2016 Fringe Crush Awards (St. Lou Fringe Festival), Beautifully Broken explores one woman’s desire to find her place in society, as a black woman with Albinism.
SATURDAY, MARCH 4:
Headliner: Any of my Enemies by Molly Brennen An adventure into corruption through Clown, music and transformation.
Opener: McKenzie Chinn actor | writer | collaborative + teaching artist // writer for VAM // poet at Growing Concerns
Opener: Le Aboav Le Aboav is a stand up comdian from Chicago and one of the funniest creatures on this side of outer space. A former sign language interpreter and current gender-fluid starman, Le’s playful use of language and unique observations on day-to-day life make their comedy relatable to all types of people. They have featured at the Laugh Factory, Second City, and the Chicago Womens Funny Festival, and is a co-producer of SPiN-Off STaND-Up comedy showcase at SPiN Chicago. Le Aboav is sparkley, razor sharp, and ready to party.
Opener: Elle Elle was most recently seen creating the role of Mergatroid in Cinderella at the Theater of Potatoes (The Hypocrites). Chicago favorites include The Addams Family (Mercury Theater) and a recent guest performance with The Fly Honey Show VII. As a writer and solo performance artist, Elle seeks to empower other trans/gender non-conforming folks through laughter and finding strength through forging new paths - on one’s own terms. She is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency. Special thanks to Molly for being the most awesome always, the Walker family, the Salonathon family, Kate, Bea, and the folks at 902.
ESCAPING THE NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN IN THEATRE
Read the captivating new article by our sponsor, WOMANSCAPE, on Gender Breakdown creator Dani Bryan and how she “shapes meaningful dialogue that provides rewarding experiences for theater artists as well as insightful entertainment for audiences.”
ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT GENDER EQUITY? INTRODUCING THE GENDER BREAKDOWN GENEROSITY DRIVE
Support GENDER BREAKDOWN, a world premiere devised piece about the lack of gender parity in Chicago theater and beyond. Ticket sales don’t cover all production expenses, and we must rely on the generous support of our individual donors who believe in the power of theater to incit change around critical social issues. Help us reach our goal of $10,000 in individual donations by March 19th at 5PM.
NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR COLLABORACTION’S SECOND ANNUAL PEACEBOOK!
After a successful 2016 PEACEBOOK, bringing together over 250 Chicago artists to Englewood, Austin, and Uptown and creating 21 works about Peace in Chicago, we are delighted to be opening submissions for our second annual festival.
A Look at the Shocking Data behind Gender Inequity in the Chicago Theater Industry
GENDER BREAKDOWN: THE STUDY By Kay Kron (Gender Breakdown Theater Data Researcher)
The
vast majority of theater companies in the United States operate as nonprofits,
and are therefore tasked with advancing the public good. If the public good
includes the equality of men and women, it is essential that our theaters
reflect that. Chicago has an innovative theater scene characterized by cause
driven work, created by socially progressive individuals and organizations. We
have the opportunity to lead parity in hiring practices across the country,
raising the bar for inclusivity, and putting an end to discrimination.
The
Gender Breakdown Study includes data for 52 local theater companies and over
250 plays, resulting in over 4,500 data points. Findings delineate gender
parity across 14 theater professions, and includes non Equity, midsize Equity
and large Equity companies.
Here
is what we found:
Artistic positions in theater are dominated by men.
With
the exception of costume design, “artistic positions” such as playwriting,
directing, design, acting and artistic leadership are dominated by men.
“Managerial positions” such as stage management, board membership, and
administration are filled primarily by women.
Hiring is interconnected across professions.
Female
playwrights tend to write more roles for female actors, and female directors
tend to direct more work by female playwrights.
There is a relationship between casting parity and equity status.
As
equity status increases, gender parity in casting decreases, which has major implications
for the career advancement of female actors. While it seems likely the majority
of the casting pool is female, only 43% of roles in 2015/16 were filled by
female actors.
Chicago theater artists are actively searching for solutions.
Help us spark community dialog so we can
reveal the nature and extent of inequalities, and develop meaningful solutions.
Bring your stories and your opinions. This is intersectional conversation,
joining existing movements toward racial equality and representation of LGBT
artists. Unfair hiring practices threaten the careers of female artists, give
those in positions of power increased opportunity to take advantage of young
talent, provide disproportionate access to work experience, and disrespect
audience populations. Let’s talk about the ensemble model, let’s talk about how
basing a study on a gender binary is hugely problematic, let’s talk about what
you want to talk about, and then let’s find solutions!
The Gender Breakdown Lounge is a performance arts venue for an eclectic range of arts programming featuring female-identified artists, including theater, storytelling, music, comedy dance, opera, and more that complements Collaboraction’s winter show, GENDER BREAKDOWN, a world-premiere devised piece in response to the lack of gender equity in theater and beyond!
Token by Kaye Winks (March 9) is directed by Schoen Smith*
**Feb. 19- Mar 19: **
Panel Discussions moderated by Gender Breakdown Theater Data Researcher, Kay Kron, every Sunday at the 3PM matinee performance
Feb. 27th:Industry Townhall Discussion with Deb Clapp, (Executive Director, League of Chicago Theatres), Lori Myers (Not in Our House), Laura T. Fischer (Not in Our House), Kimberly Senior (Collaboraction Founder and Director), and Kay Kron (Theater Data Researcher, Gender Breakdown)
Mar. 13:Industry Townhall Discussion with Willa Taylor (Director of Education and Community Engagement, Goodman Theatre), Kay Kron (Theater Data Researcher, Gender Breakdown), Meghan Beals (Artistic Director, Chicago Dramatists), and others TBA
Collaboraction presents the world premiere of Gender Breakdown, a compilation theater piece devised in response to the lack of gender equality on and offstage.
February 16 - March 29, 2017 in THE VAULT at COLLABORACTION STUDIOS Flatiron Arts Building - 1579 N Milwaukee Ave $15-$30
Eleven female identified performers and an all-female design and production team weave together stories from conversations with over 220 theater artists about what it really means to be a female theater artist in Chicago. In doing so, Gender Breakdown explores the issues of misogyny, genderphobia, and racism and these absurd, uncomfortable, and gut punching stories will change your perception of what’s behind the stage curtain.
We would like to thank our Gender Breakdown production sponsor, WomanScape, whoserecent blog post focuses on the Women’s March.
Collaboraction.org 312.226.9633
PEACEBOOK Submissions
Collaboraction returns to the parks this summer with PEACEBOOK, a new collaborative, city-wide festival of theatre, dance, music, visual art and spoken word – all focused on cultivating peace in Chicago.
Part of the Chicago Park District’s Nights Out in the Park program PEACEBOOK seeks to engage new artists, audiences and communities in creating and sharing art that envisions a more peaceful Chicago. Each PEACEBOOK performance is a fast-paced collection of seven diverse, world premiere pieces of theatre, dance and spoken word, each seven minutes or less, uniting artists citywide, and creating real connections within communities around the city.
In total, Collaboraction is creating 21 short works for the festival, with 7 pieces performing at each location, for FREE at the following Chicago Park Districts this August:
PEACEBOOK South Side/Englewood August 12 and 13 Hamilton Park, 513 W. 72nd St.
PEACEBOOK West Side/Austin August 19 and 20 LaFollette Park, 1331 N. Laramie
PEACEBOOK North Side/Uptown August 26 and 27 Clarendon Park, 4501 N. Clarendon Ave.
BE A PART OF THIS EXCITING FESTIVAL!
We are looking for exciting new work and new voices to populate the first ever PEACEBOOK. We are now accepting plays, devised theatre, dance, and spoken word performances of seven minutes or less. Not a writer but want to be invovled in another way? That’s great! We’re also looking for directors, actors, community partners, and volunteers applications. Click the buttons to the right for submission information and to get on board!
ANNOUNCING:
Collaboraction Resident Company Application
Collaboraction Theatre Company of Chicago is accepting applications for RESIDENT COMPANIES looking for a performance venue home for their ‘16-'17 season at Collaboraction Studios, our 3 venue home in the FLAT IRON ARTS BUILDING in Wicker Park. RESIDENT COMPANIES must produce at least 2 shows over at least 10 rental weeks in the season and will receive benefits that include a 10% discount on weekly rental rate and marketing and production support, as well as the benefits of producing in a rooted space. We are looking for companies that have experience producing quality theatre and that connect with our mission.
Collaboraction Theatre Company creates original theatrical experiences that push artistic boundaries in order to explore critical social issues with a diverse community of Chicagoans.
www.collaboraction.org