Oct 11, 2023
WOA has two celebrations to cover in this week's episode, with
Waves' very own Matt "The Man" Moore celebrating his 34th birthday
and Backlight Productions celebrating 10 years! The Executive
Director of Backlight
Productions, Melissa Smith, joins us and shares how Backlight
has been offering opportunities for adults with intellectual and
developmental disabilities to engage with the performing arts for
10 years now. This year they're putting on their biggest production
yet, "Cinderella", with over 100 individuals performing and only
half the time they usually have to put the show together. Matt
talks about his own work on Cinderella as a dancer with 5 dance
numbers throughout the play. Melissa and Matt have worked together
on various shows for a while now and swap stories with WOA on their
time together. Here to share her own memories with Matt, Waves
Early Learning Program Director Gina Wilson joins the episode and
tells us about her favorite birthday memory with Matt. Gina's son
Eric Wilson has also been a part of Backlight Productions and
speaks on how Backlight brought out an entirely new side of Eric
after he joined the production company. Enjoy listening to Matt,
Melissa, and Gina chat about their favorite memories together and
how Backlight Productions has empowered the community of adults
with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Cinderella's first performance will be held on Oct. 22. For access
to tickets head to:
https://www.tpac.org/event/2023-10-22-to-2023-10-22-cinderella/
For more information on how to get involved with Backlight
Productions head to: https://backlightproductions.org/
This podcast is made possible through partnerships with
Spread the Positive, TN's Department of Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities, and the Community Foundation of Middle
TN. If you like what you hear, share it with a friend and leave a
review on any streaming service. Got an idea for a guest, email us
at podcast@wavesinc.com.