What was once an empty auto repair shop has now been converted into an expansive theater and dance rehearsal space by Light Opera Works, a local musical theater company.  The old garage, 76 foot by 48 foot in size, was leased to the non-profit theater company for $1 a year.  One of the founders of the 32-year-old theater company, who is a Rotary member, was given the opportunity to use the garage by a fellow Rotary member.  During a meeting in 2011, Rotary member Brian Moak, who is also one of the owners of Duxler Auto Care Centers, announced that he wanted to rent out the space to a non-…

Kenilworth resident Fitz Bowen was a captain of the New Trier High School JV lacrosse team his sophomore year, so he was stunned when he was cut from the varsity team as a junior. “I needed to find something that would get me out of myself, because when you don’t make a sports team that you’re expecting to make, you’re mad at yourself,” Bowen said. “The other game I play is golf and that’s a game of ups and downs as well, so I couldn’t always count on that. I need something I could find constant joy in.” Bowen found that joy volunteering for Special Olympics. He’d done some work with the …

After spending 25 years working with children and families as a clinical psychologist, Wilmette resident Antoinette Saunders felt she no longer had all the answers. “In my midlife, I became very interested in my own spirituality, and then I began studying it,” Saunders said. In 1988, Saunders enrolled in the Institute for Spiritual Companionship. She began working to share her experiences exploring feelings of forgiveness, compassion and gratitude with her patients at her home practice, and in 1998 she founded the Northbrook-based Transformations: the Institute for Psychological and Spiritual…

The serene yet diverse landscapes of an island inspired Wilmette native Sean Ackerman to produce and direct The Diary of Preston Plummer. Set on Amelia Island, off the northeast coast of Florida, The Diary of Preston Plummer takes a look at a college graduate’s journey as he falls in love with a beautiful but troubled woman, and how he struggles with the relationship when he uncovers her family’s dark past. “The island is quite compact, it’s 17-miles long and only a mile wide, but you have a lot of different cultures and landscapes in one place,” Ackerman said. "When you are standing at a gas…

"When I first came to Wilmette, kids would show up at my door with a guitar and ask me if I could show them how to play it," said Chris Karabas while sitting in the Rock House's new headquarters in the 1100 block of Central Avenue. In addition to being a practice space for blossoming performers, the space is set to open a cafe in late October. The new location is a realization of Karabas' dream to have a place where people can hang out with coffee and listen to music—some of which will be provided by the same musicians taking lessons upstairs. "This, the upstairs and downstairs, was always …