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News and Events from the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Jackson MI.
Michigan Shakespeare Festival Awarded Grant
June 12, 2008
The Michigan Shakespeare Festival announced today that it has received a grant award of $25,000 from the Jackson County Community Foundation. The grant was made possible by the MACI Youth Fund, a component fund of the Foundation. Mary K. Matthews, the Festival's managing director, explained that the grant was earmarked for the Festival's Family Show presentation.
The Festival annually presents a Family Show suitable for pre-school and early elementary aged children as part of its summer season. The show has always been free of charge for children and only charged accompanying adults. In addition to the performances on stage at the Potter Center, the Family Show is usually offered to day camps on-site at the YMCA and King Center.
"This grant will allow us to do so much more," Matthews said. "The show will now be free for adults as well as children. Perhaps even more importantly, the grant will allow us to take the show into classrooms around Jackson County. We will begin an initiative late this summer to make arrangements with area school districts. This program will become a major component of our education outreach effort."
Cheryl Norey, community relations coordinator for Michigan Automotive Compressor Inc. (MACI) said she was excited about the possibilities of the grant. "For many children this may well be their first exposure to the fun and enchantment of live theatrical performance. MACI is pleased and proud to be a part of this effort to enrich the cultural life of the Jackson community."
The Michigan Shakespeare Festival was established in 1995. Its mission is to provide the highest caliber of classical theatre in the region to a broad-based audience. Thousands of audience members attend the mainstage productions each year and 500 to 700 children have been entertained annually by the Family Show productions. Rick Davies, recently retired president of Comerica Bank's Jackson Region, is the president of the Festival's board of directors.