Collaboraction, Chicago’s theater for social change, is moving its base of operations from the Flat Iron Building in Wicker Park to AV Chicago, 619 W. Taylor St. in Chicago’s South Loop as part of a new Digital Media Residency starting December 1, 2020.
AV Chicago, Collaboraction’s #1 provider of audio visual production and event management expertise for 10 years, has been a particularly supportive partner this past year as Collaboraction has pivoted from live performances to producing high-end virtual theater, live, interactive talk shows, and online special events.
“Until its safe to be back together in a theater, AV Chicago’s warehouse and access to their state-of-the-art equipment and production studios make it the ideal home for Collaboraction and our new digital platform, the Together Network,” said Anthony Moseley, Artistic Director, Collaboraction.
“We are grateful to AV Chicago and its co-presidents, Justin Frick and Andrew Brode, for providing us with a new, high-tech base of operations, where we will continue unabated to pioneer and produce important new works of digital theater.”
Anthony Moseley (left), Artistic Director, Collaboraction, with Collaboraction Executive Director Dr. Marcus Robinson
Meanwhile, Collaboraction will initiate a search for its next permanent home for live performances, exploring real estate opportunities in Chicago neighborhoods that have been historically overlooked as potential cultural hubs. While based at AV Chicago, Collaboraction’s new space committee will target their search in Englewood, Austin and Lawndale as potential sites for a new, brick-and-mortar home for the company.
As soon as it's safe to present in-person performances again, Collaboraction will continue to use the theater at Kennedy-King College in Englewood as its mainstage producing home.
In the short term, however, Collaboraction’s theater artists will benefit from the equipment, open spaces, recording studios, technical expertise and free on-site parking afforded by AV Chicago.
Over the past nine months, AV Chicago has partnered with Collaboraction in its sudden ramp-up to all digital programming due to Covid-19, providing technical support for Collaboraction’s annual youth theater festival The Light, its successful fall 2020 Peacebook Festival, and the company’s Utopian Ball live streamed virtual fundraiser which netted more than $50,000 for Collaboractiob earlier this month.
AV Chicago also has been critical in developing and supporting the launch of Collaboraction’s new member-supported Together Network (TN). Recurring TN series include Crucial Connections, a live, interactive talk show that brings social justice warriors, artists and community residents together for crucial conversations (third Thursday of every month, 8 p.m. CT), and Becoming: Unlearning White Supremacy, a live web show for all people looking to being active anti-racists (every other Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT). A $5 monthly subscription fee allows unlimited access to all of the company’s digital programming while providing steady financial support for Collaboraction and its artists. Sign up at collaboraction.org/together-network.
“The last decade at the Flat Iron Arts Building provided Collaboraction with a foundation for our transformation into a theater for social change, while the Covid-19 pandemic created an opportunity for us to expand into digital media and begin to enter the next phase of our One City Strategic Plan: to find a permanent home in a south or west side Chicago neighborhood,” said Dr. Marcus Robinson, Executive Director, Collaboraction.
“We are grateful to Berger Realty of the Flat Iron and the Wicker Park/ Bucktown community for the decade of work and memories and hope audiences will join us as we continue our ‘One City’ trajectory.”
“We are delighted to welcome Collaboraction to a Digital Media Residency and to continue to contribute to their mission to incite social change around our city’s biggest,” said Justin Frick, Co-President, AV Chicago, also a Collaboraction board member and past board president. “We are excited to explore even more synergies between Collaboraction’s programming and our proprietary digital platform.”
Justin Frick, Co-President, AV Chicago and Collaboraction board member
What’s next?
Stay tuned for exciting news about new online projects that will be coordinated virtually and from Collaboraction’s new home at AV Chicago starting in December including:
Family Tree Circle
Collaboraction is honored to be a recipient of a Healing Illinois grant from the State of Illinois for its Family Tree Circle project.
First, Collaboraction will interview more than 30 people from across the city with diverse backgrounds, histories and experiences. The interview will cover their family tree story, how racism has impacted their family history, how it affects their lives today and their vision for racial healing.
Then, Collaboraction will commission artists to use the interviews, visuals, and storytelling to create five unique video works that speak and respond to our current time. The videos will be shared with a wide audience through Collaboraction’s Together Network streaming platform, including as part of their Crucial Connections program and long-running anti-racism workshop, Becoming, throughout January 2021.
Call Time
From its new home at AV Chicago, Collaboraction will launch a new project called Call Time, a social media awareness and resource distribution campaign for Chicago artists who need support maintaining their mental and spiritual wellness while enduring the pandemic and closure of public performance events.
Call Time will consist of PSA-type videos and other publicity and social media tactics connecting Chicago artists to specific resources at this difficult time.
CANTV partnership
Collaboraction will unveil a new partnership with CANTV in December to broadcast featured programming from its Together Network to CANTV’s audience of more than one million Chicago households.
Featured programming will include the ten critically acclaimed videos from the company’s 5th annual Peacebook Festival this past fall, along with Collaboraction’s ongoing online talk shows Crucial Connections and Becoming: Unlearning White Supremacy.
To learn more about Collaboraction and its upcoming work, visit collaboraction.org, follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, or call the Collaboraction box office, (312) 226-9633.
About Collaboraction
Collaboraction, Chicago’s theater for social change, collaborates with a diverse community of Chicagoans, artists and community activists to create original theatrical experiences that cultivate dialogue and action around the city’s most critical social issues. Since the company’s founding in 1996, Collaboraction has pushed artistic boundaries working with more than 3,000 artists to bring more than 60 productions and events to more than 150,000 audience members.
Collaboraction partnered with the Chicago Park District through their Night Out in the Parks program, returning for five consecutive years to cultivate relationships and theater in Englewood, Austin and Hermosa through the Crime Scene, PEACEBOOK and Encounter tours. Other memorable productions staged at the Flat Iron Building include Forgotten Future: The Education Project; ten out of 15 years of Collaboraction’s annual SKETCHBOOK Festival; the Chicago premiere of 1001 by Jason Grote; the world premiere of Jon by George Saunders and directed by Seth Bockley; and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow: an instant message with excitable music by Rolin Jones.
Collaboraction 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 (DCASE), the 2020 Multi-Racial Unity Award from the First Unitarian Church - Chicago, a 2018 Stand For the Arts Award from Comcast, and an Otto Award from New York’s Castillo Theatre.
Collaboraction is supported (Elsa should probably check this list!) by The Chicago Community Trust, The Joyce Foundation, The Field Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wicker Park & Bucktown SSA #33 Chamber of Commerce, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Collaboraction is led by Artistic Director Anthony Moseley, Executive Director Dr. Marcus Robinson, a company of 27 talented Chicago theater artists, and a dedicated staff and board of directors.
For more information, visit collaboraction.org.
About AV Chicago
For over 30 years, AV Chicago has specialized in audio, video, lighting, staging, event services and equipment rental. The company provides its clients with second to none production and event services for small and large meetings, conferences, galas, fundraisers, private gatherings and live performances.
AV Chicago has developed a proprietary virtual event platform designed with the attendee experience in mind and has served clients such as the Chicago Department of Public Health, Northwestern University, Collaboraction, Lululemon, ADD HERE. It also rents audiovisual equipment directly to consumers for their own use via easy pick up or delivery to their location.
AV Chicago works with each client to understand and execute their vision and well over 80 percent of its business each year is generated from repeat and referral events. The AV Chicago team has more than 300 years of combined experience and serves more than 2,500 events each year.
For more, visit avchicago.com.