In two days, 20 actors for Bards of Birmingham, ranging in age from 4 to 68, will take the stage under my direction to perform Shakespeare's Henry V. The leading role of King Henry is being played by a high school junior, 17-year-old Sara Bateman. Sara and the rest of the cast learned how to perform Shakespeare convincingly, execute stage combat flawlessly, perform live music, and become enmeshed in their characters. They did all of this in spite of the fact that conventional

Like many of you, I have been challenged by recent events, and the almost hourly stream of news, tweets, and alternative facts that have been pouring from our nation’s capitol. What has become clear is that no matter how involved a citizen I was before, it is now time for me to step it up a notch, and I think that most of us probably need to step up our civic involvement, as well. Taking action instills hope, combats fear, and as we make progress, fuels gratitude. It align