Collaboraction Theatre Company is thrilled to announce its inaugural production at Chicago’s newest live theater space, Collaboraction’s new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park:
Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, the company’s award-winning live docudrama, will return in its most fully realized form yet. Featuring a powerhouse ensemble of returning artists and new voices, this urgent, unforgettable theatrical event invites audiences to confront the truth, honor a legacy, and experience history as if it were happening today.
A series of sneak-peek events will kick off in late January at Collaboraction’s new home in the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave in Humboldt Park.
Previews of Trial in the Delta, Sunday, February 1 and Thursday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m., will be part of the Grand Opening build-up. Collaboraction’s Grand Opening Performance and Ritual Celebration is Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances of Trial in the Delta continue through March 1: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. (Exception: No 3 p.m. show Saturday, February 7.) Run time is approximately one hour 50 minutes, including a short Crucial Conversation after every performance. Tickets are $25-$55, and go on sale today at collaboraction.org. Email boxoffice@collaboraction.org for information on group discounts.
“As Collaboraction turns 30 and opens our new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park, we couldn't co-dream a more relevant first production than Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, bringing to life the trial that served as a catalyst of the start of the Civil Rights movement," said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley. "When Mamie Till said that ‘everybody's business is my business,’ it’s as if she had a dream for a Beloved Community. We are honored to be a part of her legacy and manifesting our new space for arts, youth, social justice and community.”
Collaboraction, now open in the Kimball Arts Center, is a sleek, 4,000-square foot space featuring a new 99-seat flexible studio theater and a 50-seat cabaret with cafe/bar. Free and nearby street parking is available. For CTA riders, the 82 Kimball-Homan bus stops right in front of the building. The theater is also a short walk from the Kimball stop on the 72 North and 73 Armitage bus lines. For bikers and pedestrians, the Kimball trailhead on The 606 leads directly to the Kimball Arts Center.
Step inside the courtroom that changed America
Kayla Franklin (left) played Mamie Till-Bradley in Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till in 2023 at the DuSable Museum of Black History. Photo by Joel Maisonet
(center) Emmett Till’s uncle Mose Wright, played by Darren Jones, points out J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant as the boy’s murderers. (right) Willie Reed, played by Mysun Aja Wade, was a witness to the murder of Emmett Till. Photos by Joel Maisonet
On September 20, 1955, the trial of the men who murdered Emmett Till began—and the world would never be the same. In Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, Collaboraction transforms the original, long-buried trial transcript into a gripping, immersive theatrical experience that places audiences face-to-face with the people whose testimony shaped the civil rights movement.
Co-adapted by Willie Round and G. Riley Mills and co-directed by Anthony Moseley and Dana Anderson, Trial in the Delta unfolds like a live reenactment of the actual proceedings in Sumner, Mississippi. Actors seated among the audience rise to become witnesses for the prosecution and defense—including the trailblazing Mamie Till-Bradley, bringing raw, unfiltered history to life.
Watch the trailer for Trial in The Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, the feature film.
Download the video file here.
Born from a groundbreaking collaboration with NBC5 Chicago, Trial in the Delta won a National Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary, two Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards and a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. Collaboraction grew the teleplay into a full-length, immersive theatrical experience that had two short runs at the DuSable Black History Museum. The final live performance in February 2023 was professionally filmed and has been screened for groups including the The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the First Circuit Court of Philadelphia.
Now, Collaboraction’s live production will receive its most ambitious staging yet to inaugurate the company’s new House of Belonging. Boasting a dynamic cast of returning favorites and bold new talent, this multi-week run invites audiences to bear witness, honor Emmett Till’s legacy, interrogate America’s past, and ignite urgent conversation for our present.
NK Gutiérrez as Mamie Till-Bradley, Mickey Dolan as the clerk and John Henry Roberts as lead prosecutor Gerald Chatham in Collaboraction’s Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till in September 2025 at the Chicago History Museum. Photo by Joel Maisonet
NK Gutiérrez as Mamie Till-Bradley and Mickey Dolan as the clerk. (right) NK Gutiérrez (right) as Mamie Till-Bradley, framed by her son’s murderers (front, from left) Tyler Burke as Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam as Matt Miles in Trial in the Delta at the Chicago History Museum in September 2025. Photos by Joel Maisonet
Collaboraction’s path to its new House of Belonging
Collaboraction's new 99-seat theater, a House of Belonging. Credit: Ryan Brandoff
After departing its previous space of 10 years in Wicker Park’s Flat Iron Building at the start of the pandemic, Collaboraction leaders scouted more than two dozen spaces on Chicago’s south and west sides before breaking ground in Humboldt Park in March 2025
Today, in what used to be a pet store, Collaboraction boasts a sleek, 4,000-square foot space with a new 99-seat flexible studio theater plus a 50-seat cabaret with a cafe/bar. The company has begun activating both spaces with live theater, spoken word, music, dance, film, improv, workshops, community meetings and special events, produced by Collaboraction and with guest artists and companies. Collaboraction’s House of Belonging is also home to The Light, the company’s paid youth artist-activist program.
Collaboraction’s 99-seat performance space is a clean, hi-tech flexible studio with state-of-the-art light, sound and video equipment, including an HD multicam system ready to stream live and recorded content worldwide. The theater also serves as a digital studio for video projects and a learning space for youth interested in careers in production and tech. Collaboraction’s tech booth was intentionally designed to be ADA compliant, unlike most booths in Chicago theaters. Backstage, artists and staff have access to two brand new dressing rooms, bathrooms, storage, green room/office space and an exterior dock.
At Collaboraction’s groundbreaking in February 2025, Chicago 26th Ward Alderperson Jessie Fuentes said, “Poetry, theater and hip-hop saved my life when I was young and looking for community growing up in Humboldt Park. It was art that made me a politician. So this groundbreaking means more to young people and families than many of you may believe.“
To manifest its new home, Collaboraction has launched a $3 million House of Belonging capital campaign. The campaign kicked off with a $200,000 grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Other lead supporters include The Paul M. Angell Foundation, The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, The LaChapelle Family Foundation, Kerry James Marshall and Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Cordogan, Clark & Associates, AV Chicago and ETC’s Light the Way Program. collaboraction.org/our-new-house-of-belonging
Collaboraction’s design and construction team was led by Cordogan, Clark & Associates, Evan Williams and John Clark, project architects; with general contractor Troy Riley, Oakwood Construction, and Collaboraction company member John Ross Wilson. AV Chicago, ETC, and Kerry James Marshall and Cheryl Lynn Bruce came together to support high production values. AV Chicago, a top Chicago provider of production solutions for live and virtual events, provided high-end gear, technical expertise and installation services. ETC, a leading supplier of lighting solutions and control equipment for theater, film, TV, architectural spaces and entertainment industries, provided lighting equipment through its Light the Way Program.
Collaboraction's new cafe and lounge in the Kimball Arts Center. Credit: Ryan Brandoff
One of several seat configurations possible in Collaboraction's new House of Belonging. Credit Ryan Brandoff
About Collaboraction
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026, Collaboraction is an award-winning Chicago theater company that uses immersive, socially conscious performance to spark change and build equity. Across all platforms, Collaboraction uses its KEDA methodology - Knowledge, Empathy, Dialogue, and Action - to spark changes in behavior and attitudes that manifest social change.
Collaboraction’s work includes NBC Chicago’s three-time Emmy Award-winning The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Trial in the Delta, the resulting live stage play film, Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, live productions of Crime Scene, Moonset Sunrise, A Blue Island In the Red Sea, its annual Peacebook and Sketchbook festivals, and its youth ensemble, The Light.
Collaboraction receives generous operating support and program funding from the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family, Gary Grube, the Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts at the Chicago Community Foundation, Naperville Rotary Club, Field Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Collaboraction is led by Darlene Jackson, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director; Anthony Moseley, Chief Programming Officer and Artistic Director; and a dedicated board, company members and staff.
For more, visit collaboraction.org or follow Collaboraction on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Bluesky.
Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave, where Humboldt Park meets Logan Square