When the going gets tough, the tough get... creative. Local theaters, like pretty much everything else, are feeling the pinch. So, to help weather the storm local houses are tweaking their productions a bit and getting a little innovative.

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Corporate sponsorship is down, and season subscriptions are getting harder to sell. For Detroit's professional theater community, that means innovation, extra effort and even creative scheduling are required to keep audiences coming to live shows.

"It seems like now, more than ever, artists are working their butts off to bring audiences something truly amazing," says Joe Plambeck, whose tiny Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale opened in 2007. The Ringwald's third season got off to an early start this weekend with a scaled-down version of the demanding '90s Broadway hit Rent.

Northville's Tipping Point Theatre, which is doing only comedies this season, is getting a jump on fall, too, with A Sleeping Country. The play opened Thursday -- more than two weeks before Labor Day -- partly to attract actors like Sarab Kamoo and Aaron T. Moore before they made commitments to other theater companies.

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The Woodward Dream Cruise many things for many people. For car restorers it means a time to shine, for some it's a time for nostalgia, and yet for others, who live near Woodward, it's a time of car congestion and having your own street blocked off for parking. Regardless, what happens during the cruise is what made Detroit, well, Detroit. That's changing now-a-days... but, as the New York Times says, it's still the beating heart of the American automobile biz.

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Today, you won’t see much real racing on Woodward, and the Detroit Three are fighting their battles in other arenas. You will see some machinery that is obviously built more for go than show, and quiet negotiations are sometimes conducted at the side of the road. But if races take place, they’re probably held in some obscure and distant place.

For most Detroiters, Woodward is more about entertainment than competition. And perhaps more about the past and the future than the moment. Today, Woodward is the cruise, the party, the celebration and the affirmation. It’s a place where car folk can go to dream about the way things were and hope for better days. It’s the beating heart of the American automobile business.

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The next Michael Bay could be in our midst. Imagine that?! Hangin' out at the Java Hutt in Ferndale, shopping at Westborn, thinking about how to best blow something up cinematically. Anyway, Ferndale's S3 Entertainment Group has announced training programs for aspiring actors/filmmakers to get a leg up on their movie career here in Michigan.

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S3 Entertainment Group announced the summer training program to help aspiring actors/filmmakers jump start their careers in Michigan's growing film industry.

The program begins July 27 and will be led by industry professionals.

Training will be held at S3EG's studio facility, located at 1100 Woodward Heights in Ferndale, and will run Monday through Friday for two weeks.

Veteran Producer/Director Larry August will lead the training camp.

"We are thrilled to introduce the Hollywood Film Camp to Michigan students," said August. "As the film industry in Michigan continues to grow, S3 Entertainment Group is dedicated to supplying productions with a qualified and talented local workforce. This camp is an excellent opportunity for students to have access to leading film professionals as they train and become well acquainted with the film industry."

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So, Jim Lehrer wasn't there but his NewsHour was. A crew from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer stopped in at AJ's Cafe in Ferndale to hold a discussion on the state of the American auto industry. To owner AJ O'Neill, it seemed like a perfect fit since it was the same cafe that, earlier this spring, held a 288-hour music marathon in support of the auto workers.

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On May 27, the crew of the Public Broadcasting Service's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer visited AJ's Cafe, 240 W. Nine Mile Road, for a roundtable discussion about the current state of the American auto industry. PBS News correspondent Paul Solman led the interview with five United Auto Workers members and various PBS News pundits, focusing on, among other topics, the future of the union's pension fund if General Motors files for bankruptcy. Lehrer himself wasn't there.

At press time, the segment was scheduled to air on PBS at 6 p.m. on either May 29 or June 1.

"It was great to be a part of that," said cafe owner A.J. O'Neil. "I really appreciate them coming out here to our little cafe. It was a lot of fun."

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While MTV was busy pimping out rides, Ferndale businesses were busy pimping out their pots. Yeah, pimped out pots. What the heck does that mean, you ask? Well, a new Ferndale DDA program is asking local businesses to snazz up a flower pot to not only bring more green to downtown but to pimp it out a bit. And by pimp, we mean snazz.

Don't take it literally.

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With its new "Pimp Your Pot" program, the Downtown Development Authority's design committee is encouraging all downtown merchants to put their personality on the sidewalk by creating a "pimped-out" flowerpot for their storefront and helping the blossoms flourish all summer long.

The ultimate goal, said DDA Executive Director Cristina Sheppard-Decius, is to bring more greenery to downtown Ferndale. But it is also an opportunity for business owners to express themselves creatively.

"We're looking to bring some artistic elements to the downtown," she said. "This will hopefully add some flavor of what the city is all about. On display in front of our businesses, there will be living, growing plants that add to the vegetation of the downtown and give people a sort of buffer zone before they step into traffic."

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A package of cucumber seeds for pocket change could yield pounds of cucumbers that would cost more than the toll to get to Canada. So, it's not exactly science... it's horticulture! Your garden will save you money and it doesn't hurt to get a few green things in your diet - especially if they come out of your own garden.

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"I know it saves me money when you compare it to the price of produce in the store," said Tracy Parrish of the vegetable and herb garden she plants every spring in her Ferndale yard. "When you grow it at home you can just go outside and get it for free."

Garden advocates have dubbed the renewed green-thumb movement "recession gardens" and the trend -- part self-sufficiency, part health-consciousness -- has even reached the White House where last month first lady Michelle Obama unearthed a grassy patch of the south lawn to start a fruit and vegetable garden for the first time since the Roosevelt administration.

"Growing vegetables at home has never been easier. Plants can be grown in the ground or in containers. There are many products on the market that can be used if you don't have space or enough sun in the ground," said Jennifer Youngquest, marketing manager with locally based English Gardens florist and garden center. The company, with seven area outlets, has seen double-digit seed sale increases, she added.

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A tween, if you don't know, is that time in one's life when you're not exactly a teen and you're not exactly a pre-teen. You know, it's between. It's tween. With that said, a show about 'em will be entirely done here in Michigan and produced by Ferndale's own S3 Entertainment Group.

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Titled "The Wannabes," it's described as a tween sitcom filled with singing and dancing. It’s set to star members of a real-life teen group called Savvy.

S3EG is partnering on the project with Stern-LeMaire Productions, a Texas-based company that manages Savvy, whose members also are from Texas, according to online biographies of the group's members.

Shooting is supposed to start in June. Jeff Spilman of S3EG said today that he expects to have a virtually 100% Michigan crew.

The show has been sold to various networks internationally, according to an S3EG spokeswoman. Spilman said he anticipates it winding up on a U.S. network aimed at the tween -- or preteen -- market.

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Ferndale has been a hotspot for Southeast Michigan for a while, everyone knows that. But, did you know that it's becoming even hotter? Not temperature wise, but in terms of nightlife and dining options and chic boutiques. And how could you go wrong with alliterations like this: Friendly Ferndale, Fabulous Ferndale, Fashionable Ferndale.

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The city has gone from a cool place to buy records and get some pizza with friends, to a diverse epicenter of all things hip and chic. You can dance. You can dine. And you can absolutely be yourself.

"It's a city that others should model their own after," says 23-year-old Eric Allen, a new Ferndale resident. "Everyone is so accepting. The streets are clean and safe, and things just seem to be generally more upbeat and happy when I see people out and about downtown."

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