Words and Music = POWER I had the wonderful opportunity of working on Portraits on May 3 at the Park West. Writers, performers, students, teachers and people from all walks of life had their “stories of hope and survival" illuminated thru some amazing readers theatre performances. I wrote and performed original songs and transitional themes, directed fellow musicians (Marcin Fahmy, Bryan Doherty, Michael Caskey and Greg Ward) thru the script and augmented the pieces with additional multi-genre music. Mary Morten had producer duties and Illesa Duncan served as director/adaptor. It was great working with them again. “What Will It Take" is a yearlong initiative throughout Illinois headed by the Chicago Foundation for Women. It is based on the idea that in order to find answers, questions must be asked about violence against women and girls. Programming includes community forums, media campaigns and other public awareness events like Portraits.