Birthday Candles bkg 1617x1055
The Measure of a Life
Meaning and Mortality in an Age of PerfectionThe Measure of a Life
The Measure of a Life
Meaning and Mortality in an Age of PerfectionIn a culture dazzled by polished surfaces and curated joy, we are urged to chase perfection: the flawless morning routine, the ever-improving self, the life without cracks. Yet beneath the glow of projected happiness lives a quieter truth — life is messy. The stumbles, the losses, and the uncertain seasons are not detours from a meaningful life, but the very moments that shape it.
Birthday Candles invites us into the intimate reckoning of living fully: women from teens to timeless women explore life’s passages. How do we embrace the beauty of our failures alongside our successes? How do we cultivate joy when the world demands constant achievement? And in the balance of highs and lows, what does it mean to lead a life that embraces imperfection and becomes fully human?
Running Time
No one is more different from the next person than a person is from themselves at different times.
IN THIS FORUM
Co-Moderators
Kate Alexander & Renée James Gilmore
Panelists
LINDA CARSON joined WWSB-TV in 1995, and currently co-hosts the daily show “Suncoast View.” Linda started in Atlanta in1964 as a “TV Weather Girl” and became one of the first female TV reporters and prime time female anchors in the country. She covered Dr. and Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr. extensively and was in a classroom with President Bush on Sept. 11th. when the terrorists attacked. She was married to NFL Coach Bud Carson, and they have 4 children.
DR. MARY DAVENPORT is a psychotherapist in individual, couples, family, and group therapy with offices in downtown Sarasota. A Florida licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and Certified Sex Therapist, she trained at the University of Pennsylvania and later taught at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Her work with LGBT people led her to the HIV community where she provided help for people with AIDS. Currently, Dr. Davenport provides a support group for transgender individuals and their loved ones.
BRYN DURGIN is a writer and humorist based in Sarasota, FL. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, her work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times. She is the Director of Programming at Bookstore1, where she leads the popular Banned Book Club. A certified Master Gardener and volunteer with the Blue Butterfly Family Grief Program, she is also a Featured Storyteller with The Moth’s Mainstage. Instagram: @brynreadsbooks
QUINIYA WILKERSON is a student at Booker High School in the VPA theatre program. Acting is her passion and her dream. Some roles she has played are Tyablt in Romeo and Juliet and Tweedle Dee in Alice In Boogie Wonderland. She can’t wait to speak with everyone about her experience.
FST Forums
In keeping with this mission, FST presents an annual Forums Series, dedicated to further exploring themes raised in plays programmed during FST's Season. At each Forum event, FST brings together community experts, representing diverse perspectives, and invites the public to join us as we dig deeper into questions, topics, and ideas sparked on the FST stage.
