In continuing our discussion of inspiring stories from Michigan’s biggest city, this week we take a closer look at a nonprofit organization called Shakespeare in Detroit.

When Samantha White was a young girl she fell in love with rap music. Her mother did not love rap music and didn’t enjoy Samantha’s newfound infatuation with the genre. Samantha would sneak a listen to the latest rap songs as quietly as possible, placing her ear right next to the barely audible stereo speaker in her bedroom so her mother wouldn’t hear.

One day Samantha’s mother opened the door and plunked a big old smelly book on her bed and said, “If you want to learn about lyrics, read this.” It was a book including the works of William Shakespeare.

At first, she didn’t understand what she was reading but throughout the years she kept rereading and rereading and eventually grew to not only understand, but love Shakespeare. As a young adult looking for a calling, she attended a Shakespeare festival in Utah which inspired her to bring Shakespeare to Detroit.

A traditional perspective of this type of endeavor would have someone looking for theater space with a fully stocked costume wardrobe; but not for Samantha. Her vision focused on taking Shakespeare to the people.

After collecting a group of equally passionate performers, work began for their first production, “Othello.” The most intriguing part of this story is Samantha’s mission to make the performing arts available to all.

Detroit is known for its performing arts opportunities but many of the more famous options require the purchase of expensive tickets; and then the proper attire to attend the show; and all else that goes along with a night at the theatre. Shakespeare in Detroit is refreshingly different in that this company performs in the places where people live, work and play.

Samantha wanted to provide approachable options for the city’s residents to be able to experience Shakespeare. Their first free show was held in Detroit’s Grand Circus Park and 500 people showed up to experience Shakespearian entertainment. Other venues include neighborhoods and businesses that reintroduce Detroit residents to parts of their city they may have forgotten about, or that have been recently rejuvenated; even including a recycling center. As a result, Shakespeare in Detroit is inspiring a love for theater arts and also infusing a new sense of pride for the city of Detroit among its residents.

This unique approach breaks down the barriers and makes the arts, in this case theatre, available and accessible to all. This method inspires minds, old and young, to establish a relationship of value with the classical art and culture. Minds that would not have had this experience otherwise.

A lesson can be learned as this approach and the organization itself grows in popularity. There is great value to you mission when you take your message to the people, instead of expecting the people to come to you.

A business can find inspiration in creating events outside their store walls that introduce the public to a different perspective of their services. An organization can release the traditional ties that bind a mindset and unleash a new surge of interest in its mission when the conversation is taken to the audience they are hoping to attract.

Two examples of this type of approach being implemented in Alpena include Thunder Bay Theatre’s Cabaret nights at John Lau Saloon and the soon-to-be unveiled DIA Inside Out program. The latter is a program in which the Downtown Development Authority is partnering with the Detroit Institute of Art to bring more than a dozen famous art piece installations to outdoor spaces in Alpena.

What other examples of this approach have you seen locally? If you can’t think of any, maybe it’s time to start creating some ideas and – take it to the people.

Mary Beth Stutzman’s Inspiring A-Town runs bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Follow Mary Beth on Twitter @mbstutz.