Message from the President, January 2026

Many of you probably know that I am an occasional performer with local community theatre groups.  I had an interest or curiosity about performing for years and years before I ever took a single step.  One day in 2014, my wife, Dawn, and I were walking in downtown Greensboro and saw a poster.  Community Theatre of Greensboro was advertising upcoming auditions for “To Kill A Mockingbird.”  Given my curiosity about theatre and my then-sixteen years of criminal defense practice in the South, this grabbed my attention.  “I should go out for that,” I mused.  “Yes, you definitely should,” Dawn replied.

I had all the excuses against this idea that everyone raises: “I don’t know what I’m doing,” “I don’t have time,” “I’ll look like an idiot,” etc.  Against all these, Dawn exerted kind but firm encouragement.  Eventually, I relented and went to the audition.  To my great surprise and excitement, I was cast (as Walter Cunningham).

After the first time, it became easier to put myself out there and audition for other shows.  Over the last 11 years, I have appeared in around 11 shows with community theatre groups in the Triad.  I have also served as a performer-mentor in a local accessible theatre program for performers with disabilities, and have been a stagehand for some shows along the way as well.

This whole experience with theatre unlocked a new world for me.  I have gained a whole community of talented and supportive friends.  I have gotten to engage with creativity and emotional expression in new ways.  I’ve played parts as diverse as a pirate, a blind violinist, a citizen of Oz, and King Herod.  Of course, this has also been a hedge against professional burnout, as I developed whole different worlds to inhabit outside the courthouse.

It is not uncommon that I have friends who tell me that they have also been curious about trying theatre.  Invariably, I encourage them to come out to an audition sometime and, inevitably, they raise many of the same objections that stood in my way for so long.

January is a time for reflection, resolutions, and renewals.  Perhaps many of you have an interest, a curiosity, or an itch to try some new activity.  Maybe you have been telling yourself some of the same reasons or justifications for not doing it.  I want to be that kind and firm encouragement.  If you want to try that thing, if it’s something that really lives in your heart, then you have the power to take the first steps.  Let go of your fears or excuses.  Clear space in your schedule.  Commit yourself to just go and try it.  If nothing else, make that your resolution for 2026.  You owe it to yourself.  You may find a new community, develop new skills, find a new voice, or develop an outlet away from work.  You may unlock new worlds for yourself.

Hon. Bill Davis
President, Greensboro Bar Association
and the 24th Judicial District Bar