There are numerous terms commonly used in the rhetoric about Detroit that are equally nebulous when habitually employed.  One term in particular beckons our attention: community. I am an ardent listener of WDET’s Craig Fahle Show and noticed that the term “the community” has become a particular favorite of Craig’s and guests’ alike when talking about matters in Detroit. What Craig Fahle, his guests and Detroiters for the most part know and acknowledge is that this notion of a locally unified community is an imagined group of people that is made up of numerous racial and religious groups, political constituencies, and subcultures that often have little to do with one another.  If we look at demographic models of segregation across the United States, Detroit ranks as one of the most racially and economically segregated cities in the nation.  Yet, this idea of Detroit as a singular community has gained exceeding popularity over the past two years as discourse of Detroit revitalization has burgeoned onto the national stage.  The city has become an entity unto itself in both local and national media, a singular voice that boasts that the Detroit community “hustles harder.”

Community is often assumed to be a positive word with positive connotations.  In fact, it is incredibly rare to hear this word used in a negative context.  It lures us in; it seduces us into believing that we are a part of something larger that is, in many ways, just like us, an entity that sees the world as we see the world.  It is for adults’ what a pretty rainbow-swirled lollipop is for kids: that sweet piece of satisfaction, sumptuous though not gustatory and as every bit as enticing.  It holds promises of a better world, one as equally tempting and ephemeral as a child’s piece of candy.

Yet, it is not just media outlets that have become infatuated with this notion of a financially destitute city pulling itself from the ashes through inspiring entrepreneurial and artistic activity; this also seems to be the mantra for recently arrived youth of a particular socio-economic background who have found opportunity in Detroit’s de-industrialized, informal economy by engaging in public or community based art projects in Detroit.  It is often all to easy to point to this young, often white, demographic and see how they have invested in Detroit’s communities and revitalization in a genuine, but opportunistic manner.  Many young artists are placing their cache in public or community based art in hopes of stabilizing Detroit neighborhoods, drawing attention to blighted houses, or simply to take advantage of large vacant spaces.  It is primarily these young artists, not black artists, who create “community building” art projects out of dilapidated homes.

Under the umbrella of monolithic communal terminology, Detroiters become a collective entity in this story of a city that is perpetually rising from the ashes, defending itself from an onslaught of national criticism. Detroiters assume a collective history and a shared struggle in it, silencing the numerous, and dissimilar, lived histories of Detroit’s ethnic neighborhoods.  For young Detroiters of who many, including myself, moved back to the city after our parents and grandparents left the city for lives in the suburbs, Detroit is an unfamiliar urban center with a history often only vaguely or textually understood.  I have often wondered how frequently young artists and entrepreneurs in Detroit reflect on their position and relationship to Detroit’s histories, how often they think of the freedom and prospects they have been afforded in this city oftentimes due to a blighted history of discrimination, oppression, and segregation against Detroit black and immigrant communities.  Unfortunately, we frequently forget that while we identify with the city of Detroit, we cannot claim to be a part of or understand all of Detroit’s disparate histories.

Nonetheless, Detroiters are portrayed, and portraying themselves, as a unified group at a national level, while heated debates of who is a native vs. a transplant rage within young affluent circles.  For many recently returned privileged youth, who is and is not a native is not a given.  Many young Detroiters who have made a name for themselves in the city often feel beholden to a city which has afforded them unconventional opportunities and, in some cases, status and local fame.   Unlike larger cities in which there are often numerous institutions with similar vocations, employment with one of Detroit’s up and coming institutions may provide a unique and rare platform from which to work, providing individuals lucky enough to receive these jobs with influence and status.   It seems as if this aspect of Detroit work life has created a sense of entitlement about positions of authority in the city.  I cannot count how many conversations I have had in the past two years in which people have imparted their opinion about how an outsider is “going about things all wrong.”  Detroiters are exceptionally particular about how people interact with “their” city.

To be an outsider or a transplant implies that one is disconnected with local Detroit issues and history, and may be naïve or, worse yet, messianic in their ambitions to help the city of Detroit “turn around.”  On the contrary, to be an insider or native is to lay claim or ownership to the city of Detroit, a status that garners a seal of authentic experience and knowledge about the city, or in other words, a position of authority.  This debate often overlooks, and erroneously conflates, numerous issues: one being the question of authenticity itself; the second regarding what is really at stake in these discussions: the displacement of privilege in order to feel a part of the greater Detroit struggle.  The reality is white Detroiters who are often returning to Detroit after generations of flight have reason to fear the outsider label if being able to claim native status is rooted in generational occupancy or the number of years one has lived in the city.  Indeed, recently arrived Detroiters cannot claim to be a part of a historical Detroit struggle or hustle.  Yet, should the number of years one has lived in Detroit validate one’s right to speak on behalf of the city?  Again, Detroiters are not part of a monolithic community with one shared history.  Does one’s race give a person the right to speak on behalf of the city? Status? Privilege? Education? I think it is pertinent for us all to stop and question the grounds upon which we individually justify our own Detroit expertise.  Clearly, at this point in time, one’s experience (regardless of color) seems to trump all; yet, my understanding is that this issue of insiderism and outsiderism is not as important within Detroit’s black communities.  These types of conversations circulate amongst Detroit’s white communities, particularly the white communities that have received ample national attention for their revitalization efforts in Detroit.  I find it ironic that it is frequently white Detroiters who are critical of other white people coming to the city to do artistic or other work.

In many ways, guilt seems to weave in and out of debates regarding insiderism and outsiderism, referencing the affluence of our parents and our grandparents who fled the city, taking most of the cities capital with them.  Only amongst white Detroiters have I heard such heated debates regarding who should and should not be doing X project in Detroit, and, implicitly, who has the right to work, create, develop, and speak on behalf of the city.

Referring to Detroit as one monolithic community assumes that all Detroiters operate from an equal playing field.  It masks who often benefits from Detroit’s reputation as a broken city, as a land of opportunity where one can make a name for themselves and find purpose in the city’s spacious boundaries, while it simultaneously silences those for whom urban plight, abandonment and destitution has been an on-going detriment.  In other words, it enables us to overlook what privileges we may have been afforded in life and, in turn, imbues us with righteous purpose and certitude about what we know is best for this city.  We have lived the day in and day out struggles of Detroit and therefore we can lay claim to knowing something intimate about her.  Yet clearly we have not all experienced Detroit in the same manner; we cannot all claim the same histories of Detroit struggle.

The point is not to dwell on the past or to feel guilty for the privileges we’ve been afforded in life, but to cultivate an awareness that our life experiences inform our understanding of basic, and often assumptive, ways of being.  It is from this recognition that we move forward with a respect for difference.  Our life experiences shape the manner in which we experience and relate to the city of Detroit.  It is up to us to own and acknowledge what we have been afforded in life and recognize when others’ viewpoints come from life experiences we may never fully understand, much less, experience.   However, this beckons the questions: if we are fully aware of our respective privileges in life, how will that shape our day-to-day actions and how should it?  What do we expect to glean from reflecting on a history riddled with racism, hate and discrimination?  What knowledge comes from pondering our socio-economic disparities?

Two weeks after experiencing The Hinterlands amazing performance, Manifest Destiny, I can still hear Calamity Jane’s prophetic words echoing in my ears: “Detroit is the new frontier!”  I think it is worth contemplating the notable similarities between frontiers of the past, particularly the “Wild West,” and new frontiers of today (Detroit) as the settling of these frontiers is never an a-political process.  The West was seen as a blank canvas, ripe for the taking by new settlers.  At the end of the hour and forty-minute performance, after leading the audience through the dry deserts of the Wild West to the brothels of consolation and debauchery, Manifest Destiny led us in a toast to the New World shaped by man.  We sipped from our cups of salty water and only then began to satisfy our thirst.  Here’s to hoping for the recognition of our positions before the water turns to salt.

Rachel Yezbick
Cultural Anthropologist

For more on her work, see Arab Detroit 9/11: Life in the Terror Decade to be released this fall on 9/11/11.

La Vie Bohème!

Oops, wrong version.

Mark Stryker of the Detroit Free Press said of La Bohème that “there is no better starter opera for newcomers,” referencing the “across-the-board” appeal of Puccini’s emotionally nuanced compositions and the overall timelessness and universal accessibility of the opera’s core love story.  Both of these things are true, but I think we need to consider a few other more contemporary factors as well.

La Bohème is also a great “starter opera” because of its pop-cultural familiarity, and not just in its depiction of the shared human experience of love and loss.  Perhaps you’ve heard of a little stage play called Rent?  Or maybe (to a slightly lesser extent) Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 romantic musical Moulin Rouge!?  RENT-heads will find much of La Bohème more than a little familiar, from the self-possessed bawdiness of the Musetta/Maureen character to the duet sung by Mimi and Rodolfo/Roger as she asks him to light her candle and they fall hopelessly in love.  Moulin Rouge! also borrows many of the same plot elements and themes (bohemian subculture in 19th-century Paris, the dying love interest), so anyone new to the opera and/or new to THIS opera will find a lot with which they are already familiar.

This predisposed familiarity will inevitably make audiences more receptive to this Italian opera (with English subtitles).  It also helps that the opera is broken down into four short acts (versus the two long acts most are written as), making it easy to digest without getting sleepy or distracted.  Yes, as a beginner’s opera, La Bohème — the second most-performed opera in the United States — makes for good training wheels.

But it is also, quite simply, a great story, full of love, humor and raw emotion (anger, jealousy, grief).  There is also something impossibly romantic about bohemian Paris (despite the poverty and disease) that lends La Bohème endless intrigue.  The story focuses on the relationship between Mimi and Rodolfo, a seamstress and a writer who live in the same tenement building.  Other characters include Rodolfo’s roommate, the painter Marcello, and Marcello’s torrid relationship with the fun-loving (yet well-intended) free spirit Musetta, as well as more of their bohemian friends.  The heavy-heartedess of the doomed love story is offset by playful interactions amongst the characters, from mostly harmless trickstering to friendly jabbing and horseplay.

The Michigan Opera Theatre’s production of La Bohème at the Detroit Opera House does not miss a beat in balancing the humor with the tragedy.  (After all, life is a little of both, is it not?)  The cast assembled for this production are not only tremendous vocal talents, but also tremendous actors, able to convey playful wit and powerful emotion not only with their refined voices but also in their body language and physical interaction.  A viewer doesn’t need to watch the projected subtitles to still have a good sense of what is happening onstage, once again making it a bit more accessible for opera “n00bs.”  Kelly Kaduce — who plays Mimi on 11/13, 11/17, & 11/20 and who was also the saving grace of the MOT’s Don Giovanni earlier this year — sings with such delicate intonation it makes the emotional expression in her voice seem almost intuitive; she is once again the prize jewel of the production (I wonder how much it will be affected when the role of Mimi is played by soprano Grazia Doronzio on 11/19 & 11/21?).  Kimwana Doner as Musetta is a riot and a diva and a wonder.  The four male bohemian friends — Rodolfo (Francesco Demuro), Marcello (Marian Pop), Colline (Andrew Gray) and Schaunard (Lee Gregory) — were all while males with similarly-coiffed shaggy brown hair of comparable length and all of only slightly varying height and weight which made distinguishing them from each other a bit of a challenge, though this may simply be my own experience having left my glasses at home.

The sets are also impressive, structures made to look like paintings made to look like structures.  Particularly the set for Act 3, which is made to look like a snowy winter night, in which the backdrop looks like the night sky reflecting the light from the moon, the stars, the snow … I swear I could almost see the northern lights.

On opening night the orchestra overpowered the singers’ voices a little, though that seemed to be corrected by the second act.

This was overall a great production with wide audience appeal, though admittedly I left there with “Seasons of Love” and “La Vie Boheme” ringing through my head.  Whether you’re new to the opera or a longtime supporter, La Bohème at the Opera House is a fine production with which to cross this integral piece off of your cultural bucket list.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Wednesday and Nov. 19-20; 2:30 p.m. Nov. 21. Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway, Detroit. 313-237-7464. michiganopera.org. $29-$121.

For the launch event of the 2010-2011 season of the Detroit Passport to the Arts, 400 passport holders were welcomed into the Detroit Opera House for the penultimate performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado. I was warned prior to the performance that it was comedic, even campy. Reading through the cast of characters – names like Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum – I found myself wondering just what kind of cheesy musical theatre had I committed myself to for the night?

The result was a wacky, delightful opera experience, certainly unlike anything I had ever seen before. Gilbert and Sullivan were known for their bracingly political works satirizing 19th-century British government and aristocracy (ironically what would have been the same audience who attended their shows). The Mikado, set in the fictional “exotic” location of Titipu, Japan – the “exoticness” of which is commented on very directly within the show itself, making a mockery even of what (and why) an audience might believe a place in the ORIENT, the FAR EAST would be “exotic;” in other words, further cutting commentary on the arrogance of the audience that likely went largely unnoticed in Gilbert and Sullivan’s day.

Much of the satirical humor would be lost on modern audiences, or perhaps more accurately would not be appreciated as the biting social commentary it once was. Right from the opening number “If you want to know who we are” sung by the male chorus, court life is described and duly mocked;

“If you think we are worked by strings,
Like a Japanese marionette,
You don’t understand these things:
It is simply Court etiquette.”

Then there is the discussion in the beginning of Act II between Yum-Yum and her handmaids, commenting on how beautiful she is and how much MORE beautiful she is than anyone else in the world: the arrogance of the aristocracy is flayed at every opportunity from the safe removal of being set in such a far-flung foreign land. Characters are bestowed with multiple titles of authority (the Brits did love their lords and chancellors). Witty ridicule becomes outright ridiculousness when considering the entire premise of the story is based on people trying to avoid execution for outlandish reasons — clearly Gilbert and Sullivan were not fond of British imperial law. Death here — specifically unjust execution — is treated lightly, as if it could be so commonplace. The laws are absolutely absurd — flirtation is punishable by death — and the story follows minstrel Nanki-Poo (secretly the Mikado’s son) and Yum-Yum as they try to circumvent the laws requiring both of their executions so they can be together.

The fact that the opera itself is in English and there are also spoken parts make it much more accessible to a wider audience. And what really made this production exceptional was the way in which it was modernized for a contemporary audience and further targeted specifically for this Detroit audience. When Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko (Yum-Yum’s warder and fiance played by Michael Wanko who is hilariously reminiscent of Vizzini in the Princess Bride) performs his “List Aria” in Act I and the Mikado sings “A more humane Mikado” in Act II the lyrics are changed to reflect modern absurdities, everything from “the ladies from The View” to Kwame’s text scandal. At first the audience seemed hesitant to laugh, not really sure if they really just heard the contemporary jokes correctly, but as Ko-Ko continued rattling off his list of modern-day cultural, social, and political offenders (“They’ll none of ‘em be missed!”) the audience broke out in raucous laughter, drowning out half of the remaining jokes. The wink-wink tone and mannerisms Wanko used ensured that the audience knew that ALL of us, cast included, were in on the joke. From that moment on the audience seemed to relax and embrace this irreverent (yet still relevant) production, like opera by way of Monty Python.

The set was very simple, comprised primarily of large ornately-painted “oriental” screens that could be easily rolled across the stage.  The costumes were elegant yet also simple.  The actors were all talented (though I simply couldn’t help but notice that feudal Japan was certainly rather multi-cultural) without a single disappointing or lacking performance in the group, though the real standouts were Wanko and Melissa Parks as Katisha, Nanki-Poo’s mistakenly betrothed.  Parks was a comedic gale force with an equally powerful voice, demanding laughs from the audience as she commands the cast to “BOW!” in “Mi-ya Sa-ma” as easily as she demands tears in her mournful aria “Alone, and yet alive.”  It would also be easy to assume that Arthur Sullivan’s score would take a backseat to the sharp wit of W.S. Gilbert’s lyrics, but the music is also quite beautiful, and despite its satirical undertones, The Mikado is still an earnest love story with a refreshingly happy ending.

In other words, this is not, by ANY stretch of the term, a typical night at the opera.

PS, every time I hear “Three little maids from school are we” I think of the Simpsons; I can’t help it.

Afterwards the DP2A afterparty on the second floor of the Opera House featured sushi and chicken satay as well as Asahi beer, sake and live music from traditional Japanese instrumentalists.  I missed the boat on the sushi unfortunately, but space was packed and I was able to meet some of the other passport holders and chat with DP2A organizers and Opera House staff.  The entire evening was fun and light-hearted, an all-around great way to kick off a new season of arts.

My only complaint?  That it appears the overpaid and overprivileged (yes I said it and I will again: overpaid and overprivileged) DSO musicians will not have their wage disputes resolved in time for DP2A Destination #2 at Orchestral Hall, which was to include a performance of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.”  I’m sure an equally great performance will be rescheduled in its place for passport holders, but despite the fact that I’ve seen the DSO perform this piece before I’m still disappointed.  All I can say is that they BETTER get this settled by the end of November because if I don’t see Robert Schumann’s ONLY Violin Concerto performed I WILL cut a bitch.

The accomplishment is impressive, considering that the story for CATS is culled entirely from the poems of T.S. Eliot whose work, in terms of mainstream accessibility, tends to be a bit obtuse. Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939) provided the majority of content, and most of the poems were set to music in their original published form. Others had an occasional tweak to tense or pronoun, eight lines were added to “The Song of the Jellicles,” some lyrics were taken from unpublished works, and “Memory” (probably the most famous and recognizable song from a musical ever) was taken from and inspired by “Rhapsody on a Windy Night.”

Enter the world of the Jellicle cats, where each cat has three different names and their “true” names are things like Jennyanydots, Old Deuteronomy, Bombalurina, and Munkustrap. (The cast is huge and they’re all dressed like cats—it can be hard to keep them straight but, luckily, it’s not all that necessary to do so.)

There really isn’t a storyline, per se…the performance more or less runs as a series of vignettes (separated into songs) that add up to an overall image. What HAPPENS is the cats get together for their annual ball and await the arrival of their patriarch to choose which among them gets to be “reborn” into another cat life (I think I’m already stating the obvious when I say that it is the tattered and taunted Grizabella, she who sings the infamous “Memory,” who receives this honor). The rest is just a lot of singing and acrobatics.

Part of it feels like a fantastical romp through a land of childhood make-believe; another part of it feels like a big gay disco rock opera, with all the spandex and fur and feathered hair and pelvic thrusts (particularly from the Rum Tum Tugger, who looks like one of the Bee Gees as seen through an acid trip). But for the most part, it’s fun and frivolous, and however incomprehensible the plot and lyrics might be it more than makes up for in stellar performances by an extremely talented touring cast.

This cast of cats is full of seasoned vets, many of them having been with the CATS National Touring Company (the only production in North America sanctioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber) for several years. They prowl amongst the audience, crawl across the stage, and sing with great gusto while performing feats of physical prowess. What makes CATS so popular is not its inaccessible literary references, but in its visual spectacle. The staging is set full of platforms and cubbies for the cats to curl up in and disappear inside; they leap and backflip and cartwheel across the stage. The actors display all the energy of cats at play, and that’s what makes it so very fun.

But the true moment of grandeur, the one the audience waits for with anxious anticipation, is when the grisled Grizabella (here played by Anastasia Lange) sings her mournful rendition of “Memory” solo, belting out the final chords with power and triumph, her voice without hesitation. Love it or hate it, there is no denying that this song packs quite an emotional wallop…even if you’re not fully sure why.

Opens May 14th through through June 5th, 2010

Planet Ant Theatre proudly presents The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh. From the same playwright that brought us The Pillowman (produced with great reviews by Breathe Art Theatre Project in 2007), and A Beheading in Spokane which is currently running on Broadway. The Lonesome West is a hilarious and shocking tale that follow two brothers Valen and Coleman, the local priest Father Welsh and Girleen directly following the funeral for Valen and Coleman’s father. Directed by Breathe Art Theatre Project artistic director, Demetri Vacratsis and featuring: Stephen Blackwell (Berkley), Dave Davies (Warren), Katie Galazka (Hamtramck) and Kevin Young* (Detroit). The Lonesome West opens May 14th and runs Fridays and Saturdays (with Sunday matinee performances May 23rd and 30th at 3pm and 6pm) through June 5th. Tickets are general admission $20. Senior, student and Hamtramck resident discounts available. 6pm shows on Sunday are half price! Planet Ant Theatre is located at 2357 Caniff Ave in Hamtramck. For reservations call 313.365.4948 or email reservations@planetant.com. For more information visit www.planetant.com

THE LONESOME WEST
The Lonesome West is the third installment The Leenane Trilogy by contemporary Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. All three plays depict the shocking and murderous goings-on in the western Ireland town of Leenane. In this darkly comic tale McDonagh invites us to join Valen and Coleman, two brothers living alone in their father’s house after his recent death. The brothers find it impossible to exist without the most massive and violent disputes over the most mundane and innocent of topics. Only Father Welsh, the priest, is prepared to try to reconcile the two before their petty squabbling spiral into vicious and bloody carnage

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, May 14th 8:00pm
Saturday, May 15th 8:00pm
Friday, May 21st 8:00pm
Saturday, May 22nd 8:00pm
Sunday, May 23rd 3:00pm
Sunday, May 23rd 6:00pm
Friday, May 28th 8:00pm
Saturday, May 29th 8:00pm
Sunday, May 30th 3:00pm
Sunday, May 30th 6:00pm
Friday, June 4th 8:00pm
Saturday, June 5th 8:00pm

Theatres attending auditions will be Abreact Performance Space (Detroit), Blackbird Theatre (Ann Arbor), Breathe Art Theatre Project (Detroit/Windsor), Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company (Detroit), Matrix Theatre Company (Detroit) Performance Network (Ann Arbor), Planet Ant Theatre (Hamtramck), Project Theatre (Detroit), Who Wants Cake? Theatre (Ferndale) and Williamston Theatre (Williamston).

Male and female actors over the age of 18 from all racial and ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to attend. Appointments are required; walk-ins are welcome but are not guaranteed a slot. Actors must make appointments by e-mailing frannie@magentagiraffe.org, including in the body of the e-mail full name, desired appointment time and phone number. Headshots and résumés should not be attached to the e-mail. No appointments will be made by phone. There will be a first-come, first-served waiting list at the theatre each night of auditions; we will do our best to see everyone. Actors should also bear in mind that several theatres will be holding additional general auditions, and all theatres will hold callbacks for individual productions.

Actors should prepare two contrasting contemporary monologues no longer than three minutes total. Actors should bring ten sets of headshot/résumé and all schedule conflicts for the season (one set for each attending company).

All roles offered will be paid. Most theatres may offer Guest Artist Equity contracts. Performance Network is an Equity house – SPT 3; paying non-equity $125/week for rehearsals and performance weeks. The Williamston Theatre is an SPT-4 Equity house, and non-Equity actors are paid $200 per week for rehearsals and performances.

Information about the companies:

THE ABREACT (Detroit)
www.theabreact.com
The Abreact is Detroit’s most dynamic and exciting FREE performance spaces! We are dedicated to creating an open forum/venue for Detroit performing artists and audiences. The Abreact, formerly the Abreact Playhouse was founded in 2000 by two Detroit actors whose goal was initially to hone their craft by creating their own artistic dojo of sorts. What blossomed as a result was a theatrical venue unparalleled in its freedoms and resourcefulness. Seven shows later the venue changed hands and the mantle has been passed on to the next generation. We pledge to do our best, to do our worst, to cut our teeth, to share our wit and skills, and learn together. Come join us!

BLACKBIRD THEATRE (Ann Arbor)
www.blackbirdtheatre.org
Ann Arbor’s daredevil professional theatre. Also home of the Blackbird Theatre Academy, a free theatre arts program for youth. More intimate. More exciting. More fun.

BREATHE ART THEATRE PROJECT (Detroit/Windsor)
www.breathearttheatre.com
Committed to the principle of contemporary programming through the collaboration of Windsor/Detroit actors, directors and designers, Breathe Art Theatre Project’s mission is to advance the spirit of contemporary social theatre in its community by nurturing and supporting artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships, and offering a skilled environment for established and developing artists from the Windsor/Detroit community. Breathe Art is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect within our communities and across our borders.

MAGENTA GIRAFFE THEATRE COMPANY (Detroit)
www.magentagiraffe.org
The Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company acts to eliminate apathy, violence, prejudice and barriers to education through theatre productions, projects and programs; and further acts to reestablish and expand Detroit’s theatre district.

MATRIX THEATRE COMPANY (Detroit)
www.matrixtheatre.org
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.

PERFORMANCE NETWORK (Ann Arbor)
www.performancenetwork.org
Performance Network is Ann Arbor’s resident professional theatre company, featuring Off-Broadway quality productions in an intimate 139 seat theatre. Our mission is to provide uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produce works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists.

PLANET ANT THEATRE (Hamtramck)
www.planetant.com
Planet Ant Theatre is an organization founded on the principle of artistic freedom and artistic experimentation leading to the growth of community, to artistic fulfillment, and to artistic success. This has been the main attraction to its artists since its conception and in turn has been the main attraction to its audience.

PROJECT THEATRE COMPANY (Detroit)
www.projecttheatre.com
Project Theatre Company is an ensemble of creative artists that write, direct, produce, and act in original multi-media works that play the emotional strings of the human heart. A group of young, talented and dedicated actors work to create an enriching, original theatrical experience for Individuals in all facets of life; Bringing the hunger and desire for live theatre to the streets of Metropolitan Detroit. No need to travel to Chicago or New York, when you have quality entertainment right in your very own backyard. That’s right, we will come to you! Project Theater Company seeks to impact our community one production at a time. Opening their eyes to the possibilities… the misconceptions, and shedding light on their true potential. A potential within themselves that they didn’t know, or maybe just didn’t believe existed. Showing them how to really LIVE! And how to start a new tradition of stability and love for their future generations.

WHO WANTS CAKE? THEATRE (Ferndale)
www.whowantscaketheatre.com
Who Wants Cake? is dedicated to providing a creative environment for local artists to produce works that challenge, confront, and entertain. Who Wants Cake? is known primarily for staging works that are of the indie/alternative bent.

WILLIAMSTON THEATRE (Williamston)
www.williamstontheatre.org
Williamston Theatre’s mission is to produce professional theatre that excites and engages our audiences while challenging us all to explore our lives. This mission statement is supported by the following objectives:
~ To be an integral part of the cultural fabric of Michigan.
~ To pursue innovative collaboration in every aspect of our work.
~ To establish a home for Midwest artists.
~ To engage audiences of diverse ages, cultures and economic backgrounds.

For more information about Joint General Auditions or to make an appointment, please e-mail frannie@magentagiraffe.org.

M-1 Studios in Ferndale is producing several 30-second spots as part of an advertising campaign for a local client.

Auditions are being held to cast these spots. This is a paid job. The auditions will be held at:
The Actors Loft
Friday April 23rd starting at 6PM
Saturday April 24th starting at 1PM

Looking for males and females, 18 – 65, all types. The spots will be shot Sunday May 2nd, so you must be available that day, and be available for a short rehearsal period prior to the shoot. Experience preferred but not required.

Please e-mail casting@m-1studios.com to request sides for the audition. E-MAILS ONLY. DO NOT CALL. Also, please indicate which audition day you plan to attend.

You are invited to attend, one of the top training/Acting workshops in the country, right here in Michigan, right here in Detroit! There are a few seats left! Next week, Monday April 12th! You are invited to sit in on the 1st class of the workshop at NO charge! This is your chance to learn from Movie Producer, Director and Actor, Hugh Gall. This level of training is not offered anywhere!

Just e-mail or call to reserve your seat!

Monday, March 12th – 7PM
The Actors Loft
919 S. Main St.
Royal Oak, MI 48067
(248) 850-8592
www.actorsloft.com

Wanna be on Big Brother? Head to WWJ-TV’s open call for Big Brother 12 on Wednesday, April 7th, from 2-7pm at the Silverdome in Pontiac, for your chance to audition! YOU MUST BRING A COMPLETED APPLICATION TO AUDITION.

Download application at http://llnw.static.cbslocal.com/station/wwj/BB12Application.pdf

Applicants must be 21 and over.

Please review the official application and eligibility requirements (http://llnw.static.cbslocal.com/station/wwj/BB12Eligibility.pdf)
before attending and bring a copy of the COMPLETED application, and a valid Driver’s License with you to the open call.

Upon receiving these items from you, WE will film your application video, live, on site.

Silverdome
(Gate 5, Box Office Entrance)
1200 Featherstone Road
Pontiac, MI 48342

Enter the Silverdome parking lot at Gate 5, and enter the building at the Box Office Entrance.

Plus, go to http://cw50detroit.com/events/top.model.cw50.8.1585846.html for details on an AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL CASTING CALL that will also be taking place at the same time!

Opening April 2nd and running through April 17th, 2010

Planet Ant Theatre announces the next installment of the 2010 Late Night Series directed by BoxFest 2010 Winner Molly McMahon. Henrietta Hermaline’s Fall from Great Heights is a Michigan premier by playwright Maggie Smith. Opening April 2nd and running Fridays and Saturday at 9:30pm through April 17th. Tickets are general admission $10. Featuring Jonathan Davidson , Jill Dion , Richard Payton.

Henrietta Hermaline’s Fall from Great Heights is the story of Henrietta, a shy, awkward secretary, living an invisible life in Manhattan. Little does she know, however, that her world is about to change. By chance, Henrietta meets a suave editor, Richard Prymus, who sweeps her off her feet. Throughout their whirlwind romance, Henrietta is introduced to adventure and the world of elite society. Meanwhile, a mysterious Birdman, who has been watching her every move, proclaims that she is the rightful Queen of the Bird People. Rooftop pigeons attempt to steer her journey and help her take her place at the throne of Birdland. Henrietta soon finds herself torn between the human world and the world of the birds. The story of love, heartbreak, and fantasy culminates as Henrietta is forced to choose in which world to exist.

For reservations call 313.365.4948 or email reservations@planetant.com. For more information check out www.planetant.com

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, April 2nd 9:30pm
Saturday, April 3rd 9:30pm
Friday, April 9th 9:30pm
Saturday, April 10th 9:30pm
Friday, April 16th 9:30pm
Saturday, April 17th 9:30pm