Currently, the company is seeking a diverse pool of artists to submit proposals for work of seven minutes or less for three festivals planned for 2021: The Light, a summer festival showcasing Chicago artists 21 and under; Encounter Englewood, a new video fest created by and showcasing Englewood artists/activists, and the 6th Annual PEACEBOOK, Collaboraction’s fall festival of new theater, music, dance and spoken word about peace.
Proposals selected for each festival will be developed from concept to world premiere short work with professional support from a full production team.
Per Collaboraction’s Equitable Pay Policy, all participating artists will be paid $18/hour for a pre-determined number of hours to bring their new works to life.
All three festivals will be produced in 2021 either live, onstage or as a virtual video fest. Submissions should note if the work is suited for theater, video or both.
“As our country and city continue to grapple with our history of racism and white supremacy, it is critical to share new voices and visions exploring equity and racial healing to enlighten us and bring us all together. Collaboraction’s open-sourced submission process opens the gates for these critical works and we will continue to use our digital platform to amplify these artists to cultivate knowledge, dialogue and action,” said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley.
Festival descriptions, guidelines and submission deadline dates follow. To submit, visit collaboraction.org/submissions.
The Light – July
Collaboraction is seeking submissions of seven minutes or less from young people 21 and under for The Light, its annual summer festival showcasing the talent, power and activism of Chicago’s young artists. The company is open to numerous submission types and formats, including:
• A play that Collaboraction pairs the author with a director and actors, as needed
• A vision or concept for a piece that will be created in rehearsal (a devised play)
• A spoken-word piece
• A dance piece that you are either choreographing and/or in
The submission deadline is February 1, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Selected artists will be notified by May 2021. The Light will take place in July 2021 either onstage or as a virtual video festival.
Encounter Englewood 2021 – spring
For Encounter Englewood 2021, Collaboraction will produce three to five videos led by Englewood artists that speak to the company’s mission to incite social change. These videos can be theatrical, musical, dance-based or a documentary.
Submission deadline is February 15, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Encounter Englewood will be presented as a virtual festival in late spring.
PEACEBOOK – fall
PEACEBOOK, featuring artists from Chicago and beyond, is Collaboraction’s annual short work festival of theater, dance, and spoken word about peace. The company is seeking numerous submission types and formats of seven minutes less, such as:
• A play or script that Collaboraction assists in pairing you with a director and finding a cast, as needed
• A spoken-word piece that you may or may not perform in
• A vision or concept for a piece that will be created in rehearsal (a devised play/video)
• A dance piece that you are either choreographing and/or in
Submission deadline is February 15, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CT. PEACEBOOK will occur in August and September of 2021, either onstage or as a virtual video festival.
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.
Collaboraction’s new member-supported Together Network presents exclusive virtual content like 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 be 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 Together Network programming while providing steady financial support for Collaboraction and its artists. Sign up at collaboraction.org/together-network.
After 10 years at the Flat Iron Arts Building in Wicker Park, Collaboraction has moved to AV Chicago in Chicago’s South Loop and is now focused on producing high-end virtual theater, live, interactive talk shows and online special events.
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. Meanwhile, Collaboraction has initiated a search for its next home for live performances, community building and video production, exploring Chicago neighborhoods historically overlooked like Englewood, Austin and Lawndale.
Since its founding in 1996, Collaboraction has pushed artistic boundaries working with more than 3,000 artists to bring more than 60 productions and events to over 150,000 audience members. Collaboraction partnered with the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks program for five straight years cultivating relationships and theater in Englewood, Austin and Hermosa through the Crime Scene, PEACEBOOK and Encounter tours. Other memorable productions include Forgotten Future: The Education Project by Sarah Moeller, This is Not a Cure for Cancer by Anthony Moseley and Sarah Illiatovich-Goldman, Gender Breakdown by Dani Bryant and Erica Barnes, Dark Play (or stories for boys) by Carlos Murrillo, the Chicago premiere of 1001 by Jason Grote and the annual SKETCHBOOK Festival for 15 years.
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 by The Chicago Community Trust, The Joyce Foundation, The Field Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. A CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events partially supports Collaboraction 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.