This is to announce that goingbarefoot is goingtoretire, stretching my jiggly arm up to take the artist representation shingle down as of March 31, 2025. During the past year, it has fueled my joy to have been collaborating with soulmates Sharon Moore and Tracy Francis within our ‘goingbarefoot collective’ to edge ourselves into this future. I depart knowing that artist Mike Wiley’s ever-expanding career is in good and caring hands.

It’s been eighteen years since I ventured into artist representation – excitingly weaving it into a then-approaching 30-year career as a performing arts presenter and my years as the director of NC Presenters Consortium. I took the goingbarefoot tagline seriously - “From a presenter’s point of view… An artist’s standard of performance” - and hope that I've adhered to that pledge throughout.

While the roster morphed over the years, I so respect and admire every artist and presenter I worked with and know I always will. A number of years ago, when I was first thinking about a possible documentary film with jazz singer Carol Sloane, I chose to rein the roster representation down to one singular artist – actor/playwright/changemaker Mike Wiley - the visionary teller of stories who was the reason I started the agency in the first place. His astounding talents have left me in awe during every moment I’ve ever been able to spend with him or in his audiences since first seeing him premiere his gut-wrenching play about the life and murder of a young Emmett Till.

Sharon, Tracy and I will continue to directly service all presenters who have goingbarefoot contracts in place for future 2025 dates as of March 31, regardless of how far in advance their dates might be. Booking inquiries coming in following the end of March should be directed to mikewileyproductions.com. (All current presenters with goingbarefoot-contracted dates will be provided a private link to all of Mike Wiley’s current resources on goingbarefoot.com. However, the agency’s public presence online will cease as of March 31.)

I am personally choosing to make this significant change in my own days to permit myself hours to return to a too-long-postponed writing project. Today, I raise a loving glass to all the remarkable presenters with whom I’ve had the fortune to collaborate, and to the artists who’ve shared the goingbarefoot rosters, stages, conference booths and – most of all - space in my heart since 2007. “Encore! Brava! & Bravo!” to Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada; QuinTango; Lynne Rothrock; the late Linda Lavin & Carol Sloane; Curtis Stigers; Emile Pandolfi; Dad’s Garage; Danny Ellis; Glenn Singer; Lauren Kennedy & Alan Campbell; "It’s a Wonderful Life;" Justin David; Rozlyn Sorrell; Shana Tucker; “Yesterday & Today;” John Brown; Frank Vignola; Bill Leslie & Lorica; The Malpass Brothers – and, of course, Mike Wiley and the hundreds of important voices who are safe inside his brain.

If I’ve somehow overlooked a name that should be in the list above, my sincere apologies. That’s even more proof that it’s time for me to reach for that shingle. Please be in touch with any questions at all – and thank you.