The Collaborator Party Demolishes Previous Attendance Records

	Founders of The Collaborator Party - John Gromada (composer/sound designer), Lindsay Jones (composer/sound designer). Photo: Jeffery Lee/On The Spot Image

The Collaborator Party, headed by theatrical sound designers Lindsay Jones and John Gromada, announced that their event was a complete sell-out in six cities across the United States, with unprecedented attendance in all cities. The Collaborator Party is the official Tony night party for the theatre sound community and all of their collaborators. The main party was held June 12, 2016 at Flatiron Hall (38 W. 26th St. in New York City) from 7:00 - 11:00pm.

"It's absolutely unbelievable," said Jones. "What started last year as a small venture to give sound designers and their collaborators a way to celebrate one another's work in theatre has now surpassed our wildest dreams of participation. When you look around this place, you see actors, directors, designers, producers, stagehands, every kind of theatre collaborator that there is. This is a community, totally inclusive and support. The spirit of collaboration is not only alive, but flourishing here at The Collaborator Party."

"The only way to describe it is a grassroots movement of people who support and believe in sound designers," said Gromada. "We have been completely blown away by the overwhelming response around the country from people who want to celebrate all of the many wonderful artists who make up the theatre community."

In addition to the party in New York, The Collaborator Party hosted numerous "satellite parties" in Los Angeles, Chicago, Syracuse, Houston, and Cedar City. Several regional theatres became hosts this year including Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, and Syracuse Stage in Syracuse. The entire event was sponsored by USITT, with social media management by Winged Pup Productions.

The pair also seemed confident that the party would return next year, with plans to grow larger and to many more cities.

"At this point, there's no going back." said Jones, "While the Tony Awards continues to exclude sound designers and other artistic collaborators from their events, The Collaborator Party will continue to flourish as more and more people in the theatrical community find their relevance here. We are sincerely excited about the future, and will work hard to surpass this event next year."

More information on the event can be found at the URL below.