Detroit Theater

Hi everyone,

Thanks to Charlie's suggestion at our last meeting, I've come across the Matrix Theatre Company, which is located in Southwest Detroit. A glimpse of their Mission Statement:
Matrix Theatre Company uses the transformative power of theatre to change lives, build community, and foster social justice. It creates opportunities for children, youth, adults and elders, especially those in isolated or challenged communities, to become creators, producers, and audience of original theatre.

Matrix Theatre Company will be premiering their newest production on March 12, created by Matrix's Young Playwrights: "Vanished". I would like to go to this. Here's the description of the show, about immigration to the U.S., and in particular in Detroit:

Matrix Theatre Company premieres its newest original production, “Vanished” on March 12, 2010. “Vanished” is a creation of Matrix’s Young Playwrights, who will perform the play in partnership with adult mentors trained in the Matrix way. “Vanished” is the story of a family literally torn apart by immigration laws and enforcement policies.

Set in present-day Southwest Detroit, “Vanished” shows one family’s struggle to live the American Dream, a struggle that is defined differently for parents born abroad and their kids born in the U.S. It deals with the realities of life for immigrant families without preaching or choosing sides.

“Vanished” was created in keeping with Matrix’s mission, to use the transformative power of theatre to change lives, build community and foster social justice. The Young Playwrights who created “Vanished” researched the history of U.S. immigration laws, learned about the recent changes made to enforcement policies, and explored the myths and prejudices at work in the formation of public opinion about immigrants. The result of their efforts is a new work that is designed to open discussion, so that audiences can share their ideas and experiences about an issue that impacts the lives of tens of thousands of Detroiters.

Check out Matrix Theatre Company's blogsite: http://matrixtheatre.blogspot.com/, along with their website: http://www.matrixtheatre.org/index.html.

There's also an interesting article about several theater groups in Detroit who are alive and thriving, one of them being Matrix Theatre Company. You can read the article here: http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/theater011910.aspx.

I'll also plan on discussing this more on Monday!!