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.