Roosevelt Grad Hopes to Fulfill Dream in Wyandotte

Angie Kane Ferrante stood on the stage as a sophomore at Roosevelt High School during a production of Children of Eden and realized, “This is it.”

She fell in love with theater.

Ferrante was born and raised in Wyandotte. She attended for elementary school and then went on to and .

Theater and music are part of her DNA. Ferrante's mother, Kathy Kane, teaches music at Wilson, Roosevelt and Eastern Michigan University. She also is the director of the Children’s Youth Academy Choir in Wyandotte. Ferrante’s father, Bob Kane, sings and plays guitar.

Growing up, Ferrante was part of a few musical productions that her mother choreographed, including Carnival, Hello Dolly and Oliver. She always loved the theater, but it wasn’t until high school that she realized how much.

Ferrante graduated from Roosevelt in 2002 and went on to study theater at Wayne State University. She said she would have liked to have earned a teaching degree to teach theater, but theater is the only art in Michigan you can’t get a teaching degree in. Most high school theater directors teach other subjects because there simply isn’t a demand for theater classes, she said.

Ferrante spent part of the summer of 2006 abroad, studying at Moscow Art Theatre. She said she was very inspired by her experience and the enthusiasm of the audiences there.

“I would love to be able to do the things here that I did there,” she said. “We can’t change an entire culture somewhere, but you can help.”

Ferrante created the AKT workshop to teach students at Roosevelt about real world theater. She directed and choreographed plays and musicals at Roosevelt High School from 2006-2010. The workshop grew into , now housed in the .

So far, AKT relies heavily on ticket sales to fund future projects. They've hosted fundraisers and gladly accept donations, she said. Last year, the project hosted a cabaret fundraiser—a night of music and dancing. They will host another one in October.

Many people have volunteered time and money to the project. Ferrante’s husband, Aaron, works the box office. Her mother bought her a program stapler for the first show. The group has borrowed lighting and sound equipment and has to take microphones off and tape them on new people in between acts.

Funding is their biggest hurdle, Ferrante said, adding that she is debating turning AKT into a nonprofit organization.

“The enthusiasm is definitely there,” she said.

In addition to AKT, Ferrante works an instructional aide with the music department at Wilson Middle School. She also works seasonally at outdoor festivals, including Arts, Beats and Eats, the Red Bull Air Races and the Detroit Winter Blast. She said working on music with middle school students has strengthened her own musical skills in reading music and playing piano. It's also been a true test of patience, she said.

Ferrante hopes to turn AKT into a full-time career. She said her dream is to run a repertory theater where more than one show runs at a time. Wyandotte is part of that dream.

“I’ve been here my entire life,” she said. “I love Wyandotte. I feel like there is something about Wyandotte, that I am meant to be here.”