BIG events, BIG changes

Happy Friday, everybody!

When last we met, we were gearing up for the Cabaret, featuring Kate Brennan, Harvey Reed, and Paul Keller, and WOW was it a great night!

The whole staff came together and helped make the night a wonderful success, and we heard nothing but compliments from the attendees!  (And, rumor has it, the food was even. better. than last year!)

Now that we're over that major hump, though, we have two HUGE - or should I say "giant" - things going on this weekend!  First, have you heard about the march down Woodward Avenue commemorating MLK's 1963 march and rally?  He practiced his famous "I Have a Dream" speech right here in Detroit - 50 years ago (!!!), and tomorrow morning, the NAACP, the UAW, and the city of Detroit will come together to remember Dr. King and his message as they march down Woodward Avenue from Forest down to Hart Plaza.  And who better to lead that march than Matrix Theatre Company's giant puppet versions of Martin Luther King, Jr., A. Phillip Randolph, and Dr. Ralph Bunche?!  That's right, look for our giant heroes tomorrow, marching side-by-side with thousands of people in support of our freedoms!  It's a free event, so come check it out!

The other truly giant piece of importance happening tomorrow is that our Executive Director and Co-Founder, Shaun Nethercott, is leaving her post as ED and traveling cross-country with her husband (Co-Founder Wes Nethercott)!  The pair will be on the road early tomorrow afternoon and will make their way to Portland, Oregon to begin their travels (on BICYCLES!!!) all the way to Portland, Maine.  (I know, right?!)  When they get back - in early January - Shaun will return to Matrix at the CEO, which means there's a bit of a ripple effect here in the office:  I (Megan Buckley-Ball) am being promoted to Artistic Director, Andrea Scobie, though keeping the same title of Director of Education, will take on some added responsibilities within her School of Theatre domain, and Jake Hooker, the newest addition to the staff, will make the move from Operations Manager to Director of Operations.  Though we've played around with a couple of nicknames for this shared leadership plan, nothing has really stuck... yet.  (Though "the triad" was dangerously close.)

Sooooo.... like the subject of today's blog states, there's a whole lot of BIG stuff going on right now at Matrix.  Onward we go!

Happy 1st day of summer!