Matrix Theatre Company readies its newest Hero Puppet, ADA pioneer Justin Dart

(Justin Dart.)

Matrix Theatre Company is creating a new Giant Hero Puppet to memorialize Justin Dart, the disability rights activist who advanced the cause of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA became law in July 1990, and the hero puppet will be ready to mark the act's 20th anniversary.

Matrix's newest creation will also be paraded during events planned for the U.S. Social Forum to be held June 22 - 26, 2010 in Detroit. The U.S. Social Forum is a movement-building process bringing people together to solve the global economic and ecological crises. Following its debut at the USSF, the puppet will be headed to Chicago to appear in the Seventh Annual Disability Pride Parade on July 24, 2010.

(Working on the Ella Baker Hero Puppet.)

Matrix has begun raising the $7,500 needed to construct the work. The Justin Dart puppet will be made in "the Matrix way" of community collaboration. This is how Matrix created its roster of giant puppets including Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez and Ella Baker, and the way that Matrix creates its original theatre productions. The Justin Dart puppet presents a unique challenge for its designers: to make a larger-than-life functioning wheelchair to hold the puppet. Justin Dart (1930-2002) acquired his disability from polio at the age of 18, and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The completed puppet will require at least three people to operate it.

(Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Jones, Ella Baker in action.)

"If the giant Justin Dart puppet is used to communicate his cry for everyone to 'Lead the Revolution of Individual Empowerment' particularly to youth with disabilities, it would be awesome, and extremely meaningful and valuable," said Yoshiko Dart, Justin's wife, in 2008 when the project was proposed to her by Matrix.

"'Lead on! We love you,' Dart's famous quote is recognized still as both a call to action and a reminder that, in the struggle against oppression and the movement toward equity... [that] all things are possible and the resultant change will be powerful, positive and worth the effort," said Dan Wilkins, advocate for people with disabilities.

"The notion that any one person is the single cause of any significant social change - that Abraham Lincoln alone freed the slaves - is a devastating stereotype which robs individuals of responsibility and credit, and actually inhibits social change. You can be a revolution of one. In your living room, in your family, in your community," said Dart, when the 10th anniversary of the ADA was marked by the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

The Justin Dart Puppet Project cause is set up on Facebook. Matrix invites you to please join and invite your friends to join and support the project. Donations can be made directly through Facebook. Donations can also be made over the phone by credit card, 313-967-0999, or by check to Matrix Theatre Company at 2730 Bagley St. Detroit, MI 48216.

The entire creation process will be documented by Matrix. Check the website to follow events and for updates on the construction and fundraising efforts. Matrix is seeking donations of time, construction materials and funds to bring the work to completion. For more information on the project and how to get involved, please contact Ken Srdjak, Volunteer Coordinator for Matrix at ksrdjak@matrixtheatre.org, or call 313-967-0999.

Four Months at Matrix

Having spent the last four months with Matrix Theatre Company has been an eye-opening experience. Not just into the power of the art form that is theatre, but also the change that a small theatre can effect and the conversations that it can foster within a community. I came here from editing a small newspaper in Eastern Pennsylvania. The only times I encountered theatre were when I came across Shakespeare, Wilde, Chekov, Beckett or Ibsen in classes.

But at Matrix it was beyond just studying text, it was the physicality of the entire experience that was everywhere. Within the first few weeks I had helped to be build the risers for our seating, worked on painting sets for Confessions of Women From East L.A., started working on promotional material for our production of Happy Days, participated in DPS’s kick off parade for the school-year and started running all the social networking.

There was a little bit of everything to be done, but beyond just that, the mission and the people were here for a reason. It wasn’t just a theatre, it was all intentional. We had our mission to “change lives, build community and foster social justice” through the “transformative” power of theatre as an art form. Seeing that ideal come through (Not just as some preprogrammed thing you say to people, but as something that exists in every facet of the theatre) is a powerful concept.

Confessions tackled issues around Latina stereotypes and made the audience ask hard questions like: Is America any better of a place now than it was in 1997 (when the play was written), and how do we deal with racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination across our city and nation? It was a great first play to see at Matrix.

Happy Days continued the asking of hard questions, and we purposefully brought in some different groups to talk to the audiences about their reactions to the play and how to bring the themes home. The play’s protagonist is buried in sand with no escape in sight. The focus is how she deals with her fate and makes it from moment to moment and day to day.

And that is what makes Matrix really interesting. Instead of picking something easy and fun, Matrix's founder Shaun Nethercott wanted to direct this challenging play that is practically a 90-minute monologue. We knew it wouldn’t have the built in audience of something like recent Matrix productions of To Kill A Mockingbird or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but we put the play on anyway because it is something that this community needed. As a journalist, it is moves like this which I see as separating the good from the bad: in theatre, in journalism, in life. Give the people what they need.

Even our Halloween teen-production of Haunted Theatre had the mission firm in hand. We were aiming at bringing some life into a vacant building, while teaching the audience about the power of fear and how to keep your fears in check. It was powerful to be able to take a piece of land that wasn’t in use and bring it back to life. Vacant land just sucks energy from the community around it.

Now we’re headed towards Puppet Scrooge, the local and modern adaptation of the Dickens’ classic tale about being thankful and understanding how important we are to each other, especially around Christmas. Our big puppet production of the year, watching piles of sticks and foam turn into little people is definitely an amazing thing to watch.

In the Spring, we’re tackling immigration, citizenship and how the government can make people disappear without explanation. Vanished is another teen-production, and it should be great to see the issues from the eyes of local youth living in a border city.

We’ll end off the season with Ghost Waters, our huge, multimedia, multi-location day-long event about the lost and buried rivers and streams of the city.

All the while, we’ve had classes going on in a variety of locations and schools. Kids are learning how to act, write plays, make masks and puppets. I love all the stories of kids growing up in the Matrix School of Theatre and then going on to study, write, act, teach and create things on their own.

And, of course, our iconic giant puppets that we use for events and parades are always present. All hugely positive and influential people from history, it is always a breath-taking experience to see them in action.

Not to forget out Inclusive Theatre Initiative, which makes it so that all people can enjoy theatre. American Sign Language interpretations, braille programs, audio descriptions, touch tours, accessibility, parking, etc, are all available.

So that’s my update four months into my 12-month time at Matrix. Hopefully this blog space will have many different authors and we’ll be able to get you all kinds of content into how we do what we do here at Matrix and why we do it. Thanks for your interest in Matrix, and please come see Puppet Scrooge this weekend, it should be a lot of fun.

David P. Anderson
Matrix Theatre Company
Communications Coordinator
danderson@matrixtheatre.org
313-967-0999

Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan CHALLENGE!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

To Our Highly Esteemed Patrons, Matrix Family Members, and First Time Donors, we have $1 million worth of exciting news to share with you! Matrix Theatre Company has been selected to participate in an amazing fundraising opportunity! 

Beginning August 18 at 10:00 a.m., the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, through the Community Foundation Challenge – Arts & Culture, is providing up to $1 million to match general operating gifts made online at www.cfsem.org to support participating arts and cultural organizations, including Matrix Theatre Company! 

A match of $1 will be provided for every $2 contributed!

Matrix Theatre Company is racing against some of the largest and most prestigious arts organizations in southeast Michigan. Even so, the Community Foundation Challenge has given us a shot at earning our share of the $1 million matching funds. All we need is your on-line support to make it happen. 

We need you to act quickly on August 18 at 10am, because when the $1 million matching funds are gone - they're gone! 

Gifts eligible for match: Starting August 18, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. gifts for the Community Foundation Challenge can be made online at www.cfsem.org to support Matrix Theatre Company and other participating arts and cultural organizations. Through the Web site, donors can choose one or more organizations to receive support by using a simple menu to locate organizations participating in the challenge. Gifts must be made online by credit card or e-check and can range from $25 to $10,000 per contributor, per organization. Only completed gifts will be matched – no pledges. 

Matching funds will be awarded on a “first gift, first match” basis. The matching program will end as soon as the $1 million of match funds are gone. With dozens of organizations eligible to participate in this challenge, the matching funds will go quickly!

Why you should donate to Matrix Theatre Company: We are a small arts organization with a big impact. We are housed in a former storefront in southwest Detroit's Mexicantown, a popular destination that lies near the foot of the bridge to Canada. What we lack in grandeur, we make up for in mission, vision, and community outreach. We promise to stretch every single dollar you donate because we are a bare bones arts organization with no extravagant overhead or staff to support. New or returning donors can give with confidence knowing that every dollar donated to Matrix Theatre Company is stretched to the max and accounted for. 

So mark your calendar to go to www.cfsem.org at 10:00 a.m. on August 18 to make a gift in support of Matrix Theatre Company. 

Please share the news: Please take a moment and forward this e-mail to your friends and colleagues who care about arts and culture in southeast Michigan. This is a great opportunity to raise money and awareness of our great arts and cultural organizations and we appreciate your help in spreading the word about this important opportunity. 

For more information: For more details, visit www.cfsem.org. If you have any questions, please call Matrix Theatre Company at -313-967-0999, or e-mail info@matrixtheatre.org. 

Thank you for your support: With your help, we can continue to be an essential arts organization in southeast Michigan. 

This opportunity will help to offset the severe cuts in arts funding. We can’t do it without you!

Set your calendars, clocks, cell phones, and everything else for  August 18 at 10:00am. On this date, donate to Matrix Theatre Company at www.cfsem.org