South Berkshire Community Health Coalition Announces Upcoming Trainings

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.— The Southern Berkshire Community Health Coalition (SBCHC), a program of Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP), has announced three upcoming trainings in May.

Translate Gender will present a Caregiver/Parent Forum on Tuesday, May 20, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Sheffield. This trans-led organization will cover the basics of gender identity to support transgender, nonbinary, gender expansive, and/or questioning youth. Registration for this event is available at this link.

Two Kitchen Table Talk (KTT) Workshops will be held at the Great Barrington Family Resource Center, 141 West Avenue in Great Barrington. A Facilitator Training will take place on Monday, May 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., covering the philosophy and facilitation practices of KTT. A Practice Training will be offered on Thursday, May 29, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., providing an opportunity for facilitators to practice with volunteer parents. The Practice Training will be available in both English and Spanish.

On Tuesday, May 27, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., a Mocktail Demo and Conversation will be held at NoComply Foods, 258 Stockbridge Rd, Great Barrington. Laura Rodriguez, Director of SBCHC, and Elliot Seward, RSYP’s Youth Advocate, will lead a demonstration on making summer mocktails, followed by discussions on youth alcohol and substance use in South County.

 

 

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King and Confidantes Debate Hope and Change in 'American Five'

By Alan PetrucelliSpecial to iBerkshires
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Fiction and fact meld in the regional premiere of "The American Five," now playing at the Larry Vaber Stage of the Unicorn Theatre. 
 
The play takes a fictionalized look at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his four closest confidants in the months leading up to the famed March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. The quintet, through differing opinions, animated arguments, constant threats of violence and a late-night meal featuring challah bread and wine, become a family as they prepare for the history-making march that galvanized the Civil Rights movement.
 
Most of us know the King saga. It's the second act in which playwright Chess Jakobs' genius shines. Prejudice runs rampant here: Is Stanley Levison, a Jewish lawyer from New York who shows up in Montgomery to join the fight for racial equality and "to repair the world," viewed as white? Jewish? Both? And march strategist and organizer Bayard Rustin experiences his own fight for civil rights because of his homosexuality. Here, Jakob explores prejudice on different levels.
 
The cast is top-notch with many emotional highs. As King, Rashun Carter (who would look more like his character if he had a full moustache) and Sydney Elisabeth (as Coretta Scott King) are at their best during a scene that bounces between humor and poignancy. 
 
She questions her husband about his meeting with President John F. Kennedy; he is angry and refuses to discuss it. "There is no 'you' out there, without a 'me,' in here," she says, leading King to agree that because of her self-worth and unwavering devotion to him, she is "Coretta Scott Queen."
 
As Clarence Jones, King's personal counsel, Brett Diggs has assurance and dignity; Harry Smith's portrayal of lawyer Stanley Levison, is nothing short of extraordinary. Destan Owens' performance as gay Bayard Rustin is the play's most outstanding performance as he defends his relations with men: "You don't get to judge me!" he tells King. "I'm just trying to find love."
 
"The American Five" is tightly directed by Gerry McIntyre; the historic period projections and footage/designed by Alex Hill remind people that there are dreams, such as hope and change, that are still being fought.
 
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