Collaboraction Announces 25 Year Anniversary Production MOONSET SUNRISE

Collaboraction announces Moonset Sunrise, its 25 year anniversary production, with live performances June 8-18, 2022 at Beat Kitchen's new Bar Sol on Navy Pier, 700 E. Grand Ave., Chicago.

Through healing ritual, storytelling, song and dance, Moonset Sunrise honors the sacred moment between the setting full moon and the rising sun...reconciling the past and celebrating our new NOW on the banks of Lake Michigan.

"As we come out of the isolation and emotional toll of the past two years, we conceived Moonset Sunrise as an experience of self care and wellness, and a communal first step to solidarity and racial healing," said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley. "This 25 year production is really a gift to ourselves and our audience and, so, we have brought together an ensemble of incredible healer-artists to light up the vibration of love and care."

Moonset Sunrise is co-created by Pilar Audain, Anthony Moseley and Carla Stillwell, and features a six-piece live band and an all-star ensemble of poets/dancers/performers.

First, the artists and audience will meet outdoors, on the south side of Navy Pier, to join an opening performance by Susana Ollin Kuikatl Tekpatzin Banuelos of Aztec Dance Chicago and a land acknowledgment from Jose Rico of TRTH Chicago followed by an African ancestral libation.

Next, the artists and audience will come together for an inclusive, immersive experience rooted in healing, self-care and collective transformation. Act I will center a moon ritual in which everybody can release all that does not serve them. Act II will celebrate the sunrise.

Pilar Audain, lead writer/performer/guide for Moonset Sunrise, is founder and CEO of the Wrap Your beYOUty Movement and associate director for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Greater Chicago. Audain said, "I am both grateful and super excited to co-create this deeply spirit-U-well theatrical journey that will engage our audiences in a Sankofa-esque experience where we remember our past, affirm our present and set intentions for our future."

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Collaboraction company member and Chicago's Example Setter, Sir Taylor, will perform African dance as part of Moonset Sunrise, June 8-18 at Bar Sol on Navy Pier.

Photo credit: Joel Maisonet

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Audain will lead the experience which will feature an ensemble including Collaboraction company members Sandra Delgado and Sir Taylor, as well as AACM President Coco Elysses, and Ugochi Nwaogwugwu. Music Director is Dr. Marcus Robinson, who will lead a live band including Sam Thousand. The design team includes Dorian Slyvain (scenic design), Warren Levon (sound design), Phoenix Ballentine (lighting design) and Razor Wintercastle (production manager).

Moonset Sunrise will also feature local vendors selling self-care healing merchandise and products. Bonus: Wednesday and Saturday performances will be followed by free fireworks, courtesy of Navy Pier.

Regular performances are Wednesday through Saturday, June 8-11, and Thursday through Saturday, June 16-18, at 7:30 p.m. Moonset Sunrise is a suggested contribution event: $50 for the general public, or $15 for artists, activists, students, seniors and veterans. Or, join Collaboraction's Collaboractivist membership program for $25/month for complimentary admission. Reservations are recommended. Register online at collaboraction.org or email info@collaboraction.org.

Moonset Sunrise is the inaugural event at Beat Kitchen's new Bar Sol, a 14,000-square-foot restaurant/bar and event space on Navy Pier (700 E. Grand St.) opened by Robert Gomez, longtime Chicago music venue owner/operator (Subterranean, Beat Kitchen, Beat Kitchen Riverwalk).

"As a Chicago native Latino, I started Subterranean 28 years ago and I am honored and excited to bring this Latin-infused location to Navy Pier," said Gomez. We'll have our first floor space open seven days a week with a food menu and bar. One of the most spectacular views of the lake and the city is from our second floor event space, which will be available for weddings, corporate outings and unique artistic events like Moonset Sunrise."

Collaboraction's 25 year anniversary Moonset Sunrise performances are June 8-18, 2022 at Beat Kitchen's new Bar Sol on Navy Pier.

Collaboraction's Anthony Moseley and Carla Stillwell are co-directors. Stillwell said, "To have the opportunity to create an immersive theatrical event centered around harmony and self-care that uses song, dance, poetry and music as its bridge to our souls is truly a gift. Weaving Moonset Sunrise with this group of artists/activists into this unique performance experience has brought me not only joy, but a renewed sense of purpose as we the human collective work to come into equitable alignment."

For more information, visit collaboraction.org, or follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube.

Wednesday, June 15 marks the next full moon: Howl at it at Strawberry Moon Affair, a benefit performance for Collaboraction

Celebrate the next full moon with Collaboraction at its special benefit performance, Strawberry Moon Affair. The evening will feature a live performance of Moonset Sunrise, along with delicious food and drink by Bar Sol and special guest performers.

Tickets to Strawberry Moon Affair are $150. Or, join Collaboraction's Collaboractivist membership program for $50 per month for complimentary admission.

Moonset Sunrise is supported by funding from the Bayless Foundation, the Feinberg Family Foundation and Paul M. Angel Foundation. AV Chicago is the official production sponsor.

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