Collaboraction Theatre Company announced today two major productions for its 2026-27 season: the world premiere of Mud Life this fall, and the return of Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till in February.
“For our 31st season, at our House of Belonging, Collaboraction opens our chamber of change to Chicagoans to cultivate new knowledge, empathy, dialogue, and action with two plays by writing partners and Collaboraction Company Members, G. Riley Mills and Willie Round. One play is in the present. The other in the past. Both impact our future,” said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley.
Collaboraction's 2026-27 season opens in October with the world premiere of Mud Life by Collaboraction Company Members Willie Round and G. Riley Mills, drawn from Round's life experiences as a Chicago writer, rapper, and producer. In February, Collaboraction remounts
Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till at its House of Belonging in Humboldt Park.
“Mud Life, set in a worn down recording studio on Chicago’s West side and based on Willie's actual life, is a raw, revealing look at the hopes and dreams of escaping poverty and scarcity through music. Trial in the Delta is based on the heartbreak of Mamie Till-Mobley's life, an excavation of the once-erased courtroom proceeding where a mother and others risked their lives to confront and dismantle white hatred, changing us all, forever.”
Both productions will have multiweek runs at Collaboraction’s new House of Belonging, now anchoring the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave. in Chicago’s Humboldt Park community. Tickets to both productions are already on sale at collaboraction.org.
Collaboraction’s season opens in October with the world premiere of Mud Life, written by Collaboraction Company Members Willie Round (left) and G. Riley Mills, based on Round’s life experiences as a Chicago writer, rapper and producer.
First this fall is the debut of Mud Life, a raw, intimate drama by and based on Chicago writer, rapper, producer and Collaboraction Company Member Willie Round’s experiences growing up on Chicago’s west side making music.
The plot spins around Anthony and Devontae, two aspiring hip-hop artists from Chicago’s North Lawndale community who are struggling to climb beyond their circumstances while creating music under the control of a manipulative strip-club owner. When an enigmatic outsider offers them a rare shot at escape, their loyalty fractures, and their bond is tested in ways that alter the course of their lives.
Willie Round, co-author, Mud Life
Mud Life first entered Collaboraction’s orbit in 2019 as the seven-minute short play Broke Down Drone in Collaboraction’s Peacebook Festival. That experience spawned an award-winning short film of the same name. More recently, Round returned to the script, which received workshops and readings earlier this summer at both Bramble Theatre and Definition Theatre.
Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley will direct Collaboraction’s world premiere of Mud Life. Martine Kei-Green Rogers, Dean, The Theatre School at DePaul University, is dramaturg.
Previews are Wednesday through Saturday, October 21-24 at 7:30 p.m. Press Opening is Sunday, October 25 at 3 p.m. Performances run through November 15: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 3 p.m. Industry Night is Monday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. No show Saturday, October 31. Tickets are $15-$50.
Collaboraction’s season continues with the return of its critically acclaimed smash hit Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, February 3-March 14, 2027. Back by popular demand, Trial in the Delta is an unforgettable theatrical event that invites audiences to confront the truth, honor a legacy, and experience one of the greatest injustices of all time as if it were happening today.
NK Gutiérrez returns (left) in February as Mamie Till-Bradley in Collaboraction's Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. (right) Prosecutor Gerald Chatham (John Henry Roberts, center) holds a photo of Emmett Till as he asks Roy Bryant (Tyler Burke, left ) and J.W. Milam (Matt Miles, right) if they recognize their victim, as Till’s mother Mamie Till-Bradley (NK Gutiérrez) looks on in Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. Credit: Ryan Brandoff
On September 20, 1955, the trial of the men who murdered 12-year-old Emmett Till began in Sumner, Mississippi, and the world would never be the same. In this immersive, 90-minute live docudrama, Collaboraction transforms the long-buried trial transcript into a gripping theatrical experience that places audiences face-to-face with the people whose testimony spurred the civil rights movement. Actors seated among the audience rise to take the stand as witnesses for the prosecution and defense—including Mamie Till-Bradley—bringing raw, unfiltered history to life. The Chicago Reader called last year’s staging, the first production in Collaboraction’s new home in Humboldt Park, “a sharp reminder of how close the events of 70 years ago are to our own time.” The Chicago Tribune gave it 3-½ stars, noting it “makes plain the injustice of that moment.”
Collaboraction’s fourth remount of the award-winning Trial in the Delta, co-adapted by Willie Round and G. Riley Mills, co-directed by Anthony Moseley and Dana Anderson, will feature a powerhouse cast of returning artists, including NK Gutiérrez as Mamie Till-Bradley, along with new faces.
Previews are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, February 3-5 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is Saturday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through March 15: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Each show will be followed by a short Crucial Conversation.
Tickets are $20-$60. Twelve premium seats inside the jury box are sold at every show. Groups of 10 or more receive a 10% discount. Email boxoffice@collaboraction.org or call (312) 226-9633 for more information.
Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till is presented in partnership with The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, as part of the Till Life Matters Initiative. Thanks to this relationship, Trial in the Delta was showcased at The Till Institute’s Emmett Till’s 85th Birthday Commemorative Dinner on July 31, the first public gala at the new Obama Presidential Center.
Also on stage this season at Collaboraction
Collaboration’s new You Belong Here series is keeping the company’s home in Humboldt Park activated year round.
You Belong Here provides a new platform for independent artists and groups at any stage in their career, with an emphasis on those who live in proximity to the Kimball Arts Center in Humboldt Park. Curated by company member Sandra Delgado, the series is meant to take the barriers out of self-producing by providing free space and equipment, stage management, marketing and PR support and a generous door split model.
To illustrate, You Belong Here shows this August at Collaboraction include:
- Bilingual Improv School’s ¡El Showcase!, Wednesday, August 12 at 7 p.m.,
- A night of hard-core dance music with Silver October’s HEARTFELT HARDCORE, Friday, August 14 at 8 p.m.
- Darshita Jain and Ghutarghoo Productions’ literary reading series Roomani, Tuesday, August 25, 6:30 p.m.
- The People’s Pot & Pantry, serving free, healthy meals to Chicago’s performing arts community, Monday, August 24 at 4 p.m.
- The hilarious comedy variety show Max and Binkey: The Funktion, Wednesday, August 26 7 p.m.
- Bilingual Improv School’s Cómo Se Dice?, Friday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m.
That’s not all. Collaboraction Executive Director Darlene Jackson, aka DJ Lady D, continues to present her new monthly gathering series, The Frequency. Collaboraction’s youth ensemble The Luminaries continues to take over the stage once a month with its open mic night, Radiate. And Collaboraction looks forward to being a new host site for the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance’s Destinos Festival this fall.
For tickets and more information about any of these shows, visit collaboraction.org. To submit a You Belong Here performance proposal, visit collaboraction.org/you-belong-here.
Note: Free and nearby street parking is available near the Kimball Arts Center. 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.
Darren Jones (from left) plays Mose Wright, NK Gutiérrez is Mamie Bradley, Donald Fitzdarryl plays Chester Miller and Mysun Aja Wade is Willie Reed in Collaboraction's 2026 production of Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. Credit: Joel Maisonet
Emmett Till’s murders, J. W. Miliam and Roy Bryant, are played by Matt Miles (left) and Tyler Burke respectively in Collaboraction Theatre’s 2026 production of Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. Credit: Joel Maisonet
About Collaboraction
Collaboraction's new 99-seat theater, a House of Belonging. Credit: Ryan Brandoff
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 past 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 ensembles, The Light and The Luminaries.
Collaboraction's new cafe and lounge in the Kimball Arts Center. Credit: Ryan Brandoff
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 Foundation, Gary Grube, the Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts at the Chicago Community Trust, 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 information, visit collaboraction.org or follow Collaboraction on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok.
Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave, where Humboldt Park meets Logan Square