PERFORMING ARTS FOR ALL

Sarah Beth Byrum grew up in a house full of creative expression, which led her to get a degree in dance. By the time her children were in school, the local arts programs had been cut to a bare minimum. Kids who weren't interested in athletic activities had no place to go. To fill the void, Sarah Beth and her mother, Eularee Smith, started Upstart Crow Studios, a nonprofit performing arts center offering drama, dance, music, and art classes to children regardless of their skill level or ability to pay. And they truly will not turn anyone away; the Byrums regularly create extra roles to accommodate everyone who wants to perform in their productions.

After a few years of holding rehearsals in church basements and even their garage, Sarah Beth and her husband, Josh, leased a 7,000-square-foot facility and built the permanent theater and studio spaces they needed. The Byrum kids help out backstage and with classes, do office work -- and, naturally, they often end up onstage. The Studios serve hundreds of kids every year, with an average of 60 kids working on each performance, from full-scale Broadway plays and musicals to entirely original productions.

Sarah Beth:
"Every child has the talent and the ability to be involved in the arts. Our tagline is, No child is turned away."

Josh:
"I've seen so many kids come in, and they're really reluctant at first. Then they put a toe in, and a foot, and next thing you know, they're doing every production, and they're hanging out and feeling like part of a community."

Coleman, 13:
"My mom and my grandma did a play for kids who are blind, and the kids did really great. It means a lot to me that we are doing this kind of stuff."

Kaelen, 13:
"(Over the years) we've improved things around the place, and we've gotten a ton more people to come and just have fun."