Collaboraction will present its 7th annual PEACEBOOK Festival, a day of workshops, meals, panels and performances for peace, Saturday, October 8, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Kehrein Center for the Arts, 5628 W. Washington Blvd. in Chicago’s Austin community. Tickets are $30/$15 for activists, artists, teachers, students, seniors and veterans. Tickets are on sale now. For tickets and information, go to collaboraction.org.
PEACEBOOK’s theme this year is “The future, past and present of healing theater." The event will feature three different shows, each with a different, diverse line-up of Chicago artists and social justice warriors, all sharing work that reveals their personal perspectives on peace to help increase the peace in Chicago.
“After the physical and emotional toll of the past two years, Collaboraction has emerged newly focused on creating live theater experiences based around self care and wellness,” said Collaboraction Executive Artistic Director Anthony Moseley. “Love and care are communal first steps to peace, solidarity and racial healing. Our 2022 PEACEBOOK Festival is stacked with an all-star ensemble of Chicago artists+activists, ready to perform theater that heals.”
Show times and performers are:
1 p.m. Future
The Light, Collaboraction's turbo-charged youth artist-activist ensemble, full of amazing talent, each sharing their art along with their own personal social justice focus.
The Example Setters, the Chicago youth performance collective who live their motto “We don't perform. We breathe life” under the direction of Collaboraction company member Sir Taylor.
The Happiness Club, Chicago’s favorite hip hop kids who base their original musical show on issues they feel strongly about, like tolerance, education, and high self-esteem…always encouraging positive values and social change.
Jeronimo Speaks, a Chicago based spoken word and hip hop artist since 2011. He has performed in several cities across the U.S. including NYC, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, and more, as well as received multiple awards including Spoken Word Artist of the Year by the P.O.E.T Organization, Poet of the Year at the Midwest Urban Music Awards, and the Poetry in Motion Award by Safe and Sound.
Matthew LaChapelle, an independent adult with Down syndrome who has worked with Collaboraction for the past 20 years, will share his 2020 PEACEBOOK virtual short, The Dance...Never Give Up and update the audience on his recent accomplishments in the tv/film world.
3 p.m. Past
Aztec Dance Chicago, the Chicago teen program directed by Susana Banuelos that shares information about Native American communities and presents beautiful pre-Hispanic and contemporary expressions of Aztec dance.
Brickheadz Crew, the legendary Chicago breakin’ crew, poppin’ and lockin’ for five generations.
Oba William King, known as the Poetic Storyteller, has been recognized as one of the most exciting of his peer group, debuting with the National Association of Black Storytellers at the San Diego conference in 2006. He is an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship Award Recipient in Traditional Folk Arts among other awards and has been a featured artist across several platforms including WTTW television in Chicago, the Bronzeville Children’s Museum, the DuSable Museum, Chicago Public Schools Early Childhood Education, and more.
Sandra Delgado, creator and star of The Sandra Delgado Experience, Chicago’s hit musical La Havana Madrid, and a founding Collaboraction company member.
5 p.m. Free communal meal and panel discussion
7 p.m. Present
Antoine Brewer is a spoken word artist and rapper who is a community leader working with Y-Men of N. Lawndale.
FURY, aka Samantha Jordan, the Austin-based rapper, housing justice activist and Collaboraction’s newest teaching artist for The Light.
M.A.D.D Rhythms, a Chicago tap dance troupe and academy, is developing some of the best Chicago tap dancers while educating folks about the true nature and history of the art form.
Phenom
Emcee Skool, led by Chicago artist, mentor and teacher, PHENOM, the Emcee Skool performance will feature the final graduating class of the program, 16Real, made up of Law of HUEY, Melanin Blossom, Mari Redd, SamTheSentient, RizzoRichie and Soundz.
Pilar Audain, lead writer/performer/high priestess for Collaboraction’s 25th anniversary event, Moonset Sunrise, founder and CEO of the Wrap Your beYOUty Movement, and associate director for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Greater Chicago.
Collaboraction’s 7th annual PEACEBOOK Festival is partially supported by AV Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family Foundation and the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation.
Want to spark social change in Chicago and beyond? Become a CollaborActivist and meet up in the Co-Lab for as little as $1 per month!
Becoming a CollaborActivist member not only supports Collaboraction’s work, which hires hundreds of artists to create social change work, but also offers access to community and content to support your growth as an agent of social change.
CollaborActivist memberships include exclusive access to the Co-Lab, a digital portal at collaboraction.org which allows members to create a profile, connect with other members, attend virtual workshops and meet-ups, and screen members-only video content with more than 40 videos including:
Trial in the Delta - An 18-minute overview of the project plus videos of testimonies of Mamie Till, Mose Wright, Carolyn Bryant, closing arguments and the audience Crucial Connections.
Peacebook 2021 - 13 videos of the 2021 PEACEBOOK performances including Karen Olivo, Ameena Matthews, PHENOM, Molly Brennan and more.
Moonset Sunrise - video of the complete performance of Collaboraction’s innovative piece of “healing theater” featuring Pilar Audain, Coco Elysses, Sandra Delgado and the band The Wild Onion.
The Light 2022 Parks Tour - videos of each of The Light’s new pieces sharing their change perspectives on various social justice platforms.
Lift Every Voice - Award-winning play by G. Riley Mills and Willie Round adapted into a Zoom video exploring racial tension at a high school, based on real events.
Sign up to be a CollaborActivist at collaboraction.org/memberships.
About Collaboraction: Changing the map and removing barriers within the theater industry
Collaboraction is a 25-year-old, ethno-diverse company that uses theater and performance to incite social change on Chicago’s most critical issues. Collaboraction produces live and digital performances, anti-racism workshops, and youth programs that incite change and grow equity in Chicago.
Since its founding in 1996, Collaboraction has pushed artistic boundaries working with more than 4,000 artists to bring over 100 productions and events to more than 150,000 unique audience members, and has inspired measurable positive change on social justice in Chicago and beyond.
Collaboraction’s work includes SKETCHBOOK, PEACEBOOK, Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, Moonset Sunrise, The Light youth ensemble, Crime Scene, Forgotten Future and Gender Breakdown. In addition to live performances, community building and video production, the company centers and presents its work in Chicago neighborhoods historically overlooked like Englewood, Austin and Lawndale.
In 2022, Collaboraction was one of the first theaters in the U.S. to be certified by On Our Team, a national trade organization advocating for pay equity and transparency in the live theater industry. Collaboraction proudly adheres to the group’s Pay Equity Standards, which lays out a path to establishing equitable pay using a three-pronged approach: transparency, working conditions, and accountability.
Collaboraction, under the leadership of Executive Artistic Director Anthony Moseley, has been acknowledged for innovation and inclusivity by using theater as a tool for social change with numerous awards including, most recently, a 2020 Foster Innovation Award from Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the 2020 Multi-Racial Unity Award from the First Unitarian Church-Chicago, a 2018 Stand For the Arts Award from Comcast and OvationTV, and an Otto Award from New York’s Castillo Theatre.
Collaboraction is supported by The Chicago Community Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Humanities, Paul M. Angell Foundation, Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family Foundation, Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, the Bayless Family Foundation, Spreading Hearts, AV Chicago, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
For more information, visit collaboraction.org, or follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube.