This Summer, we are turning our hit original play Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology into an evolved sequel entitled Crime Scene Chicago: Let Hope Rise and touring it to four public parks this summer with free admission in partnership with the Chicago Park District.
Starting at 3:00 pm on the scheduled Saturdays, there is an acting/writing workshop followed by a BBQ at 5 and the show starting at 8.
ALL OF THESE EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Crime Scene: Let Hope Rise will perform at the following parks:
July 12-13: LeClaire -Hearst Park, 5120 W. 44th St.
July 26-27: Sherman Park , 1301 W. 52nd St.
Aug. 16-17: Hamilton Park , 513 W. 72nd St.
Aug. 23-24: Austin Town Hall Park , 5610 W. Lake St.
Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are free and can be reserved by emailing [email protected]. Learn more at www.collaboraction.org or call 312.226.9633. Crime Scene: Let Hope Rise runs approximately 85 minutes, followed each night by a facilitated discussion. The show is recommended for ages 14 and up due to violence and mature content.
Crime Scene Chicago: Let Hope Rise is a timely new theatrical reaction to Chicago’s history of violent crime and a call to discover what it might take to create lasting change in our city. The show, a Collaboraction world premiere conceived and directed by Anthony Moseley, couples nonfiction source material such as interviews, articles, and online comments with re-enactments of true Chicago crimes to raise critical questions surrounding segregation, poverty, the news media, popular culture, and our numbness to it all.
When it originally opened in mid-February, the play was universally lauded by the local press, receiving 3 ½ stars from the Chicago Tribune, a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating from the Chicago Sun-Times, a video profile on WTTW-TV Chicago Tonight, and national feature coverage in the March issue of American Theatre Magazine.
In adapting the play for the tour, the team envisions a sequel that takes a closer look at the systemic conditions that enable and abet violence, and incorporates a more hopeful tone than the original piece, whose primary goal was to awaken patrons to the epidemic of senseless violence in the city.
Community Involvement
Collaboraction is not interested in merely performing the play for a new audience. Rather, they seek to form lasting connections with community members in each of the four neighborhoods they visit, and to engage the public in a two-way conversation about the crime epidemic. The team will conduct interviews with residents and business owners in order to incorporate the specific nature of each community into the piece, as well as incorporating community members into the actual performance. Collaboraction will also be offering free workshops on turning your stories into devised theater on Saturdays in each location.
On Saturdays before the 8 p.m. performance each week, Collaboraction will host a free barbeque in the park featuring their renowned Dome of Dance dance-battle tournament, food, and other activities.
Every performance will also be followed by a facilitated conversation with the audience about what we as Chicagoans can do about the prevalence of violent crime in our city. Representatives from our Community Partner organizations will serve as co-facilitators, helping to guide the discussions alongside the cast and crew. Through meeting other concerned community members, learning about the many great nonprofits that are working to stem the violence, and openly discussing many conflicting perspectives of the epidemic, these conversations will provide audiences with a bright spark of hope within this dark subject matter.
Press accolades include:
"Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology, far and away the best Collaboraction show I've seen these past 14 years, is indeed a call for collaborative action…There is something particularly special about this cast. Three and a half stars.” – Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
"…There is something about the 85-minute Crime Scene that is so direct, visceral, youthful and winningly honest (meaning not at all predictably politically correct) that you might at least find yourself listening again — willing to get beyond the overload of disgust, impotence and sense of futility…Conceived and expertly directed by Anthony Moseley,Crime Scene has the feel of a streetwise Greek tragedy as it employs elements of history, testimony, song and hip-hop oration.”
– Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"...a gripping tale of the Chicago condition that gets to the heart of our suffering."- Mark Konkol, Pulitzer-Prize winning crime writer for DNAinfo.com
“The success of this work as theater indicates its potential to reach beyond its black box space and start vital conversations, and yes, even incite actions needed to staunch the flow of blood in Chicago streets…” – Erika Mikkalo,StageandCinema.com
Behind the Scenes of Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology
According to director, co-deviser and Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley, “the inspiration for Crime Scenecame from a need to create work connected to important issues in our community. I strive to create a visceral experience that will awaken and spur personal change. I believe theatre can serve a critical role in addressing the issue of violence by offering Chicagoans a transcendent artistic experience that forces us to confront and question the core elements of the senseless violence.”
Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology is co-devised by an ensemble of community activists and Chicago theater professionals from diverse neighborhoods throughout the city. Co-devisers include Scott Baity Jr., Victoria Blade, Sara Carranza, Luis Crespo, Miranda Gonzalez, Michael Johnson, Eddie Jordan III, Laura Korn, James Lynch, Patrese McClain, Eamonn McDonagh, Niall McGinty, Medina Perine, Shavac Prakash, Adam Seidel, Lisandra Tena and Eric Walker.
Ensemble members performing in the production include Scott Baity Jr., Victoria Blade, Luis Crespo, Michael Johnson, Eddie Jordan III, Laura Korn, Patrese McClain, Eamonn McDonagh, Niall McGinty, Medina Perine, Shavac Prakash and Lisandra Tena.
Designers include John Wilson (set and technical direction), Jeremy Getz (lights), Livui Pasare (video), Elsa Hiltner (costumes) and Angela Campos (props). Samantha Chavis is dramaturg. Fight choreography is by David Woolley. Sara Carranza is stage manager. Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology is produced by Sarah Moeller. Production management is by Susanne Hufnagel.
For more information, visit www.collaboraction.org.
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