Here's a sneak peak!!!

Sorry we've been so quiet for so long, but we've been REALLY busy around here!  We've been getting ready for next season, and boy do we have some GREAT selections.  The official press release will be sent out this week, but here's a sneak peak!  

The Matrix Theatre Company's 2013-2014 Main Stage Season is:

No Child... by Nilaja Sun
September 20 – October 13
No Child… examines the day-to-day life within an inner city high school and the effect that a teaching artist has on a sophomore class during a six week residency in their classroom.  The goal is to teach them drama and ultimately produce a performance of Our Country’s Good.   Combining humor and heartbreak, this play takes a realistic – yet optimistic – look at the plight of urban education and the future of not only its students, but also our country as a whole.  This play is not to be missed by anyone who is concerned with the state of our education system… and how we might fix it. 

Visiting Mr. Green by Jeff Baron 
November 1 – November 24
Mr. Green is an elderly retiree, orthodox Jew, and a recent widower.  Following the death of his wife, he retreats from his life and allows himself and his apartment to go to ruin.  When he wanders out into traffic one day, he is nearly hit by a car driven by Ross Gardiner, a young, gay man climbing his way up the corporate ladder.  Found guilty of reckless driving, Ross is ordered to six months of community service, all of which is to be served by visiting the cantankerous Mr. Green once a week to help him around his home.  What ensues is an often funny and very touching story about not growing up according to parents’ plans, the value of following traditions versus rethinking old rules, and what happens when you push love away because it doesn’t conform to certain conditions.

Detroit Dreaming Film Festival
January 30 - February 2
Big budget films have been shot in Detroit for decades - and for good reason!  Detroit has a plethora of visually unique landscapes and backdrops for every scene you can imagine.  As Detroiters, we know that for ever one landscape we see in the final cut, there are a thousand unique stories that aren't getting told.  That's why the Matrix Theatre Company piloted the Detroit Dreaming Film Festival (DDFF) this past winter: to give local and Detroit filmmakers the opportunity to be the voice for our city's stories.  Coming on the heels of last year's successful inaugural festival, Matrix Theatre Company will once again host the DDFF, which showcases locally-made films about the city and people of Detroit, giving local filmmakers a chance to attract new audiences, gain community feedback, and win awards.  This festival enables Detroit to be properly represented by way of sharing the myriad of experiences and perspectives our city has to offer as we look towards the future.

Collected Stories by Donald Margulies
February 21 – March 16 
Collected Stories explores the relationship between Ruth, a renowned writer and college professor, and her student-turned-protégé and assistant, Lisa.  Over the course of six years, Ruth mentors Lisa away from her insecurities and into becoming a successful writer.  After Lisa makes the shift from student to colleague, she publishes a novel that threatens to destroy their fragile relationship.  Both women are forced to intimately confront ideas of love, success, and failure as they debate questions regarding creative freedom: Do we have a right to our own life stories once we share them?  Are one’s personal experiences suitable for use by another in their own creative process?  Is it ever okay to plagiarize someone’s life?

And there you have it!  We have a few more exciting announcements to make, too - those will be coming over the next couple of weeks.  But in the meantime, have you heard about the Cabaret performance we have here on June 14th?  Matrix Theatre is proudly presenting Kate Brennan in "The Melody Lingers On," a jazz cabaret celebrating some of the great melodies of our time... according to Kate!  This one-night-only performance will take place on Friday, June 14th at 7:30pm at Matrix Theatre, and features Harvey Reed as Musical Director and Paul Keller on bass.  Tickets are availably by calling our box office at 313-967-0599 or visiting www.matrixtheatre.org!