“Good times, bum times, we’ve seen them all, but we’re here!� Anyone who lives in Topanga for any period of time finds it a mysteriously magical place. Contributing to the magic is the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum that is celebrating 50 years of theater and arts education. Its four plays of the 2023 repertory season are all running through Oct. 7, with a chance for theater-goers to binge-watch all four in a single weekend. Our tribute to Theatricum starts with our cover photo by Kevin Rudnell and pages 8, 9 and 10 that include a review of A Perfect Ganesh and an invitation to attend the Gala event on August 5, hosted by Wendie Malick and Pamela Adlon and the presentation of the 2023 Will Geer Hmanitarian Award to Debbie Allen. In addition, if you’re concerned about Fire Season, which you should be, you’ll find information about a new emergency preparedness effort called Emergency Preparedness in Calabasas (EPIC) on page 4; and, of course Topanga’s own volunteer group, the Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness (TCEP), and a fleet of of high-tech firefighting helitankers known as the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) protecting three counties, Orange, Ventura and Los Angeles, whose first test seems to be the Rabbit fire in Orange County, as well as four other fires (Page 5). The Topanga Town Council reminds us to be Firewise to receive an insurance discount (Page 6); and we included tips on beating the heat. (Page7) Do you know who Rick Turner was? Do you know what a luthier is? Turner, a luthier, passed away last year, but one of our readers tossed us a tidbit of Topanga history over the transom that inspired us to reprint his obituary. Musicians and rock ‘n’ roll aficionados will appreciate this. Finally, if you’re down in the dumps with all that’s going on in the world, columnists Paula LaBrot and Kathie Gibboney might cheer you up with a dose of optimism. (Pages 11 & 12).