Collaboraction Sets 18 World Premieres for SKETCHBOOK 14: 2049, 5/22-6/15

Continuing with its new "incite change" mission, Collaboraction presents SKETCHBOOK 14: 2049 with 18 world premiere theatre pieces addressing a wide range of contemporary social issues. Collaboraction's 14th annual SKETCHBOOK festival will transport audiences to 2049, a post-apocalyptic world of regeneration and birth, where 18 shows from the past are being staged to remember the way we were before the Revolution.

For the past 13 years, Collaboraction has produced the annual SKETCHBOOK festival, a rapid-fire showcase of world premiere theater pieces, each ranging from under a minute to 50 minutes in length, featuring a combination of both established playwrights and up-and-coming new talents.

This year, Chicago-based playwright Ike Holter (Hit the Wall, Loom and B-Side Studio) is the Guest Curator of SKETCHBOOK 14 , which features new work by Caitlin Parrish, The New Colony, Usman Ally, Seth Bockley and Holter himself in a collaboration with director Dexter Bullard.

"Each year SKETCHBOOK brings together more than 150 actors, visual artists, musicians, writers, directors, designers, and stagehands from all over the city to collaborate on this beautiful and ambitious undertaking," said Anthony Moseley, Founding Executive and Artistic Director of Collaboraction, as well as SKETCHBOOK 14's Festival Director. "With the theme of our society's current challenges, we will set this year's festival in a positive post-apocalypse."

"Many participants return year after year, drawn by the energy and passion that drives the festival forward," Moseley added. "SKETCHBOOK serves as an invaluable opportunity for both seasoned and emerging artists to connect and grow together, turning our theater into a hub of talented individuals working together toward the common goal of bringing a broad array of innovative art to a diverse audience."

SKETCHBOOK 14: 2049 will run May 22 - June 15, 2014 at Collaboraction on the 3rd floor of the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave in Wicker Park. The festival is divided into two programs, each complemented by visual art and live music to create a full-bodied experience of multidisciplinary work. Press Opening is Sunday, May 25. On that date, both programs will be performed.

Single tickets to each program are $30; $15 for students, educators and industry. All-Access festival passes to both programs are $50; $25 for students and industry. Purchase tickets and All-Access passes online at collaboraction.org or call 312.226.9633.