| EVENT REPORT 10.15.08 12:29 PM |
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| Party Like a Rock Star |
| From a trashed-hotel-room set to fake obsessed fans, the spirit of rock 'n' roll infused all aspects of Collaboraction's Beggars' Banquet. |
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Saturday night's Beggars' Banquet, held at the Park West, raised funds for local arts organization Collaboraction. Dubbed "Back in Black," the event was inspired by rock stars and everything that surrounds them—from groupies and tattoos to trashed hotel rooms and paparazzi.
Seth Bockley, Collaboraction's creative director, oversaw the nearly year-long planning process, which involved searching for a venue, signing on co-chairs, finding a host committee, and landing sponsors. "In all, there are about 10 core planners and then a team of about 75 volunteers—performers, greeters, artists, organizers, and production crew—that make the event happen," he said. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | Fake groupies surrounded the live auction M.C.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | For Beggars' Banquet, Park West was transformed into a rock-themed venue complete with a private groupie lounge.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | The 25-member Rock For Kids choir performed classic songs such as Queen's "We Will Rock You."
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | Collaboraction company members dressed as rock stars, posing with blow-up guitars on elevated platforms throughout the venue.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | Collaboraction company members posed in the trashed hotel room.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | A trashed-hotel-room installation featured ripped-apart couches and old pizza boxes.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | At an interactive tattoo decoration station, makeup artists painted guests' skin.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | The tattoo lounge featured a vintage motorcycle, which guests posed with for pictures.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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 | A broken radio and torn-up records decorated the buffet table, which overtook the dance floor for part of the evening.
Photo: Kirstie Shanley |
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The theme of Saturday's event was evident even before the 200 guests made it inside the Park West: Outside the theater, fake paparazzi snapped pictures as partygoers headed down a red carpet and into the door. Inside, the tone carried on with the Rock for Kids choir, a chorus of 20 children that took to the stage to perform rock classics such as the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Elsewhere in the venue, performers from Collaboraction (the organization specializes in art-based and theater performances) acted as guest-besotted groupies, weaving their way through the crowd, acting frenzied and starstruck.
Thematic decor elements included classic rock photography, flashy lights, and live video feeds of moments from rock history. Next to the stage, an installation meant to evoke a trashed hotel room featured torn couches, greasy pizza boxes, and ripped-apart musical instruments. On the dinner tables, artificial flowers sprung from folded vinyl records, and blown-up air guitars were scattered throughout the space. A cascading sculpture of bras and underwear was a kitschy nod to the obsessed fan.
Along with dancing, live and silent auctions, and a buffet dinner (which overtook the dance floor for part of the evening), activities included interactive stations dedicated to temporary tattoo application, T-shirt decoration, and ice cream sundae-making.
Correction: The photo credit in this piece has been changed to correctly attribute photos to Kirstie Shanley.
—Rebecca Taras
RELATED TOPICS
Collaboraction
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