Collaboraction To Host UTOPIAN BALL To Build Support For New Home At Kimball Arts Center

Collaboraction Theatre Company will bring people together to cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue, and action at its 28th Utopian Ball gala benefit, Saturday, November 2 at 6 p.m. at Venue One, 221 N. Paulina St. in West Town.

Join over 200 of the company's lead supporters at a fancy, fun-filled gala dedicated to celebration, recognition, and commitment to arts excellence. Tickets are on sale now at collaboraction.org/utopianball for $250 or tables of 10 for $2,500.

At Collaboraction's Utopian Ball, you'll:

Experience "a place of ideal perfection" at the intersection of social action and theater, where Collaboraction strives to incite positive social change. 

Enjoy an evening emceed by legendary Chicago Hip Hop artist Pinqy Ring, featuring performances by Montiara and Earl Hester of Collaboraction's youth program, The Light, as well as Chicago music legend Nicholas Tremulis.

Meet special guests, participate in an opening ritual, dine on gourmet cuisine, bid on unique silent auction packages, take in live performances and awards, and discover how to champion Collaboraction's mission. 

Celebrate Collaboraction's THIRD (!) Emmy Award for The Lost Story of Emmett Till, Then and Now, produced in partnership with NBC5 Chicago, the most recent national Emmy announced last week. 

Congratulate Collaboraction company members G. Riley Mills and Willie Round, authors of Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. The play was originally commissioned by NBC5 and is soon to be published by Dramatic Publishing and produced at theaters nationwide.

Be the first to learn the latest about Collaboraction's new home, a "House of Belonging," now in development at the Kimball Arts Center, off the 606, where Humboldt Park meets Logan Square.

"Particularly now, like never before," said Darlene Jackson, Collaboraction's new Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, "as we're growing our campaign for our new home at Kimball Arts Center, your presence and support can significantly impact our ability to develop programming that promotes arts excellence and social justice through theater." 

Utopian Ball Co-Chairs Carolyn Gold Aberman and Elsa Hiltner, who have both demonstrated their support for Collaboraction for years, will speak to their connections to the company before kicking off the awards portion of the evening. 

This year's honors go to Ryan Brandoff, who contributes greatly to Collaboraction's art and branding with his excellent photography, videography, and digital media talents, as Collaboraction's 2024 Artists Award winner. 

Lee Dickson of Baum Realty, who was instrumental in Collaboraction's search for a new space, and John Clark and Evan Williams of Cordogan, Clark and Associates, architects for Collaboraction's new House of Belonging, are the winners of the 2024 Ourhaus Award, given annually to the top Collaboraction donor or business partner.

Collaboraction's 2024 Utopian Ball, designed for its third year by Ethos Event Collective, is a major reason why its annual gala is widely regarded as one of the city's coolest theater fundraisers.