Collaboraction

El Grito Del Bronx Program

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Anthony Moseley on El Grito Del Bronx

Earlier this week, Diana Pando had a chance to pick Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley's brain on the upcoming production of "El Grito Del Bronx" by Migdalia Cruz.  Anthony will be directing this co-production with Teatro Vista at the Goodman's Owen theatre, opening July 17th.

Diana Pando: Why is "El Grito del Bronx" an import story to tell on stage?

Anthony Moseley: Because it is an authentic story about life - suffering, race, abuse, marriage, murder, and the power of redemption. It tells the story of the things that we often choose to ignore, to not look at, to be blind, deaf and dumb to and it does so with great heart, humanity and humor. It is so important that we give a voice to these characters and their stories because they exist and need to be heard in order for our communities to evolve and change.

Diana: How is "El Grito del Bronx" impacting you as a director?

Anthony: The process of living with the play for 4 years, getting to know Migdalia, leading an incredible ensemble and working with a talented and passionate design team has been a dream come true. To work on beautiful and painful material with a team that is connected to each other and the material is a great honor and joy.

Diana: What are your thoughts on The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation's "Money Back" guarantee on the play?

Anthony: It is a brilliant and progressive funding concept that takes away the financial risk associated with seeing a bold artistic piece of theatre. I hope it will get people to come out and take a chance on this great production.

Diana: What makes this co-production of "El Grito del Bronx" between Collaboraction and
Teatro Vista so unique?

Anthony: Sandra Delgado is a company member of both Teatro Vista and Collaboraction. She is also my wife and muse. She has connected these two companies for years and this production kinda officially unites our organizations. The play itself reflects this union in it's themes, ensemble, and the combination of styles (lyrical text, cinematic staging, beauty and pain).

Diana: What are your top three tips for emerging directors?

Anthony: Whoa.

1. Only direct plays you love, with people you love.
2. Be humble. As hard as it is to believe, you are not the smartest person in the room and you will make mistakes.
3. Be open and listen to your collaborators. Their great ideas and feedback can fuel your process, imagination and get you much further than you can alone.

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CLICK HERE FOR EL GRITO DEL BRONX TICKETS!

Stay tuned for more interviews with the cast and crew of El Grito Del Bronx by Migdalia Cruz! 

Coming next: an exclusive talk with Migdalia Cruz!

SKETCHBOOK

last night was an incredible night at SKETCHBOOK. a capacity crowd sat on the floor and soaked up the stories, songs and socializing. one more show to go.

photo from cassy sander's cell phone.....

SKETCHBOOK CLOSING WEEKEND - an insider's guide

Hello All,

3 days to go till we fade the lights on the 9th annual SKETCHBOOK. It has been a really special festival this year due to many various reasons (photography, devisers, BYOB!, Building Stage vibe, 100 Donors campaign, the weather, the economy, popcorn, an ensemble of 40 supposed to be's, Carmen, Fat Charlie, Kattywampus, and much more). I hope you can find a way to participate before we close. Here's what going on over the next 3 days -

Fri., May 8th (tonight) - only 20 tickets left!
- Musical Guest Charles Kim - charleskimmusic.com
- Pre-show presentation of the Arts and Civic Award Emerging Playwright Prize ($1000 to Laura Jacqmin, Emma Stanton and Chelsea Marcantel - writer of Beatric and Beau)
- Post Show drinks and dancing with the cast and crew at Rednofive (440 N. Halsted) with special guest DJ Darren Spitzer of the Changes - no cover with mention of SKETCHBOOK, $5 driunk specials

Sat., May 9th - 7 pm (only 15 tickets left!) and 9 pm
- Musical Guests - Starina - (www.myspace.com/starinaandtheveljohnsons) at 7 pm and Jon Langford at 9 pm (www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/jon-langford) - wow.
- come see the whole festival tomorrow!

Sun., May 10th - 3 pm - 7 pm MOTHER's ARE FREE (email boxoffice@collaboraction.org to reserve your Mommy Comp) - $30 tickets ($20 industry/student) include all shows, awards and post show party,
- Musical Guests - Starina at 3 pm and Anacron at 5 pm
- 5 camera video team shooting the show in HD! be there live.
- free PBR's from 5 pm on
- conclusion of the photo auction - get a 24" x 26" high quality photo print for a steal (as low as $50) - bid here - http://collaboraction.typepad.com/sketchbook_9/the-featured-photographers.html
- Awards presenation folowing plays
- STRIKE RITUAL - that 's when we tear it all down!

Last call for our 100 donors campaign for SKETCHBOOK. We have received 55 donations totaling $4350 thanks to 55 generous souls. Ticket sales alone do not cover the cost sof SKETCHBOOK.  Please help us get to 100 by making a donation of any amount at http://collaboraction.typepad.com/sketchbook_9/be-a-part-of-sketchbook.html

It truly has been a remarkable festival. Thank you to everyone who helped put it together and came to see it. If you haven't, you got 3 more days....

Best,

anthony

SKETCHBOOK. a new empty space.....

photo by Michael David Rose

SKETCHBOOK PR UPDATE - Photo Essay at Gapers Block and more

here is the Gaper's Block Photo Essay
it includes thoughts of inspiration from the photographers.

and here is an interview Anthony did with Chicagoist

http://chicagoist.com/2009/04/17/sketchbook_2009_qa_with_artistic_di.php

also, check out

Emily Schwartz in Cheeky Chicago
http://www.cheekychicago.com/cheeky-gets-nosy-with-emily-schwartz/

SKETCHBOOK on Chicago Tonight with Hedy Weiss and her review
http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,1&pl=New%20Video
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/weiss/1534315,CST-FTR-weiss20web.article

Chicago Tribune - Nina Metz
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0421-collaboraction-sketch-ovnapr21,0,5138540.story

and keep up with the Tweets here
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=collaboraction

see you at SKETCHBOOK! Leroy Bach this Fri.!!!

$3 off with password 114

to wet your SKETRCHBOOK appetite, here's a photo by Saverio Truglia of Constriction by Jennifer Barclay; directd by Devon De Mayo

SKETCHBOOK SESSIONS AT REDNOFIVE on FRIDAY!

Don't miss Collaboraction Company Member Anacron Allen and his Gallery Quartet this Fri., April 24th at Rednofive (440N. Halsted - wlaking distance from SKETCHBOOK) after the festival. SKETCHBOOK artists and audience get in free. Check out the line - up

THE AFTERSKETCH
Post-Sketchbook Live Show and Dance Party
Presented by The Out Crowd for Collaboraction
10pm – 4am, Friday, April 24, 2009
RedNo5, 440 N Halsted (at Hubbard)
Free with Sketchbook ticket stub, $5 with “The Out Crowd” as admission code, $20 otherwise.
21+ w/ID, no dress code

FEATURING
- The Gallery Quartet featuring Anacron(Mike Andersen - Bass, Marshall Greenhouse - Drums, Roger Panella - Guitar, Michael Cole - Piano, Anacron Allen - vocals, Saxophones)
- British Knights (DJ/Producer, Los Angeles)
- DJ Shon Roka (BHZ ENT, Chicago)
- dj.AnaRoxSicc (The Out Crowd, Los Angeles) featuring MC PopsQ (Peanut Gallery, Chicago)

HOSTS / PROMOTION
- Lee Skywalker (The Out Crowd, MidWestCoast Division)
- Dana Anderson (Concrete Runway and Collaboraction Development Council)

LINE UP / SCHEDULE
10pm to 11:30pm - The Gallery Quartet
(Two 20-minute sets with 20-minute DJ break, hosted/introduced by Lee and Dana)
11:30pm to 12:30am – British Knights (DJ set)
12:30am to 1:30am – DJ Shon Roka (DJ set)
1:30am to 3:30am – dj.AnaRoxSicc (DJ set)

a photo of Anacron beating it down at Carnaval....

9th annual SKETCHBOOK. We Open....

Photo of Big Tent from Phil Dembiniski on Opening Night of the 9th annual SKETCHBOOK. We are up and rocking at the Building Stage. BYOB. Thinking of pre-show tailgating on Sat. and enjoying the great vibe. Come on by...

Para Carmen y Para Stella

Founding Collaboraction Company Member and Leading Lady, Sandra Delgado (also my muse and spouse extraordinaire) has devised a piece for this year's SKETCHBOOK called Para Carmen. It is dedicated to Sandra's Grandmother, Carmen, a beautiful woman of great wisdom and grace who passed away a few years ago. The peice itself is a fusion of theatre, music and dance and i am so proud of the work Sandra has created with her team of incredible collaborators (the ensemble and choreography by Jasmin Cardenas are really wonderful). The idea of a piece of theatre like this has been in Sandra's head for a while and to see her bring it to life with such passion and care has been really special and it reinforces what SKETCHBOOK is all about to me....a place where artists and audiences can take calculated risks in the spirit of creating a tapestry of artistic experiences. Here are a few photos by superstar Saverio Truglia of Para Carmen. The first is a photo is of Sandra and Chrstina Nieves. The second is a photo of Sandra and I surrounded by the ensemble. In many ways, Sandra and I feel Carmen presence through our 19 month old daughter, Stella. As we took production stills, i couldnt resist jumping into the shot and capturing the moment for Stella, she may be too young to fully appreciate or remember the magic Sandra and the ensemble are conjuring at the Building Stage for the next 4 weeks, but we'll be able to share the photo with her and tell her the story of the time when Sandra poured her heart into a play for her Abuelita Carmen, who will always be with us. Thanks for reading and i hope you get to experience Para Carmen..... anthony

SKETCHBOOK is HERE

Everybody involved is too busy building the set, running the lines, putting finishing touches on costumes, and preparing our space, so I thought I would remind you guys about SKETCHBOOK. We open on this Saturday for crying out loud. And if you can't wait for April 18th to come, shoot me an email and I'll see if I can get you in to see a preview. (If you don't have my email yet, just do a little snooping around the site.)

SKETCHBOOK is literally the reason I became involved with Collaboraction in the first place. I encountered Collaboraction while doing some work for Chopin Theatre during SKETCHBOOK 6. The energy was fresh, the people were attractive, the theater was innovative, and the environment felt like a party. When I found out these guys needed some financial guidance, I couldn't resist.

It's been over two years since then and SKETCHBOOK has come a long way, including some major revisions to the format for SKETCHBOOK 9. In addition to the traditional playwright submitted short plays that made SKETCHBOOK "the best short play festival in the midwest," we are bringing you SIX ensemble-driven, devised pieces, led by:

• Paula Gilovich
• Greta Honold
• Andrew Hobgood
• Carolyn Hoerdemann
• Atalee Judy
• Mark Comiskey
• Sandra Delgado
• Dean Evans

Come on. It doesn't get more exciting than that. Or......

We've also brought back the BEER.

That's right. SKETCHBOOK this year is BYOB--and jam packed with a different musical guest every night. So whether you want to come once, or get a festival pass for $40** and see them all, just be sure you don't miss it.

**OK, fine. I'll give you $3 off just for reading this whole thing. Enter 252 as a discount code. It'll work on any ticket.

***Martin***