a more welcoming place for all

Amy Keller

            Our time in Detroit has been full of new adventures and exciting challenges.  Just last week, all of us moved into a beautiful new house and have since been setting it up to make it presentable for when the sisters come to visit, which is often!  Last weekend we had the joy of celebrating Mercy Day with the sisters in Detroit and had a wonderful time being welcomed into their evening of prayer and dinner.  As someone who attended a Mercy High School, I was thrilled to once again spend the day with the sisters!

            My experience at work has been wonderful so far. I am the Education and Community Playwriting Coordinator, which basically means I help organize and teach classes and also update scripts for the Matrix Theatre Company.  Both of these things are tremendous fun, and I love working with the kids to create new scripts based on their open imaginations.  Classes begin this week for all age groups and each one will be creating their own script and acting it out in December.  I am really looking forward to what they come up with! On Thursday evenings I work with a different section of the theatre that is creating a play about the use and abuse of water in Detroit. It will be presented here in February, and the writers don’t necessarily have a theatre background, but all of them enjoy the process of collaborating with writing.  I am learning a lot from them, because I usually just write solo.

            Justice issues are certainly coming up every day I am here as well.  I am learning much more about water preservation, and helping the swamplands in Michigan, which I knew hardly anything about back in August.  Also, the topic of immigration has always been important to me, and I have encountered many sisters who are passionate about the issue as well. There are rallies in Detroit and other events to raise awareness for why Detroit needs to be a more welcoming place for all, and I am excited to get more involved with this. 

            All in all, the experience so far has been great. I enjoy the job, fellow MVC family, and the opportunities here.  Next up on the list is seeing a Detroit Red Wings game!

Amy Keller - Matrix Theartre Company - Detroit, MI