FST Announces Thought-Provoking Forums Series for the 2024-2025 Season!

FST Announces Thought-Provoking Forums Series for the 2024-2025 Season!

(Sarasota, FL) – Florida Studio Theatre (FST) announces the lineup for the 2024-2025 Forums Series, featuring three panel discussions inspired by the themes explored in the theatre’s productions of Off the Charts & 59^th Street Bridge, The Heart Sellers, and The Cancellation of Lauren Fein. Forums events are free to attend, but registration is required. To register, visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org or call FST’s Box Office at 941.366.9000. A full list and schedule of this season’s Forums Series follows the end of this release.

“The themes this year are invigorating,” explains Kate Alexander, FST’s Associate Director At-Large. “We are at a critical moment in public dialogue where people are polarized in their personal viewpoints and missing opportunities for thoughtful discussion. No matter your political proclivity, the Forums provide a place for real, meaningful dialogue – a need that is more important now than ever.”

Kicking off the Forums Series is The Poetry of Our Lives: How Popular Music Brings Us to Our Humanity, inspired by Off the Charts and 59^th Street Bridge. This panel discussion explores the history of popular music and its ties to social and cultural issues. Moderated by Catherine Randazzo, this forum asks, “Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?” In this discussion, you will find that perhaps both are true. This conversation covers everything from the anti-Vietnam War movement in the U.S. to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and how music played a key role in implementing widespread change throughout. Panelists include Richard Hopkins (FST’s Producing Artistic Director), Joe Casey (59^th Street Bridge Cast Member), and Dr. Andrew Berish (Associate Professor of Musicology at USF). This forum will take place Thursday, December 19, 2024, at 5PM in FST’s Bowne’s Lab.

The next forum is inspired by the themes presented in FST’s production of The Heart Sellers and will take place on Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 5PM in the Keating Theatre. Moderated by Kate Alexander, this event delves into the human stories behind immigration policies and why we fear “The Other”. Titled Bring Me Your Poor, Your Tired, Your Hungry: The Complexity of Immigration in Today’s World, this forum sheds light on the profound impact of how the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965, from which the play is inspired, fundamentally revolutionized U.S. immigration policy. Attendees will discuss the lives of immigrants, the price paid by newcomers, and what they bring to the country.

Our fourth conversation is titled is Cancel Culture: Progress or the Closing of the American Mind?, which dives into the topics tackled in The Cancellation of Lauren Fein. Moderated by The Honorable Judge Charles E. Williams, this forum will address power dynamics and their connection to the issues of race, sexual orientation, and intersectionality. Prepare for a fascinating dialogue that questions morality, cancel culture, and ethics. This event will take place on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at 5PM in FST’s Gompertz Theatre.

FST’s 2024-2025 Forums Series includes three panel discussions inspired by the themes explored in the theatre’s productions of Off the Charts & 59^th Street Bridge, The Heart Sellers, and The Cancellation of Lauren Fein. Forums events are free to attend, but registration is required. To register, visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org or call FST’s Box Office at 941.366.9000.

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FST’S 2024-2025 FORUMS SERIES

The Poetry of Our Lives: How Popular Music Brings Us to Our Humanity
Inspired by themes presented in Off the Charts and 59^th Street Bridge
WHEN: Thursday, December 19 @ 5PM
WHERE: FST's Bowne’s Lab

Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? Both are true. From the revolutionary, anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa of the 1990s, music has played a key role in implementing widespread change for decades. With music from the great lyric poets of our time, including Carole King, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and Smokey Robinson, music has reflected history and the state of the present world. From the rise of Motown and the representation of Black American voices in the mainstream to the British Invasion and the HIV/AIDS crisis, the music we hear has substantial impact on our lives.

FEATURED PANELISTS
Richard Hopkins, FST’s Producing Artistic Director
Joe Casey, 59^th Street Bridge Cast Member
Dr. Andrew Berish, Associate Professor of Musicology at USF

MODERATED BY
Catherine Randazzo, FST Associate Artist/Literary Manager

Bring Me Your Poor, Your Tired, Your Hungry: The Complexity of Immigration in Today’s World

Inspired by themes presented in The Heart Sellers
WHEN: Thursday, January 9 @ 5PM
WHERE: FST's Keating Theatre 

Inspired by the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965, The Heart Sellers sheds light on the profound impact of this legislation, which fundamentally revolutionized U.S. immigration policy. It emphasizes the human stories behind policy changes, highlighting their enduring effects on the lives of immigrants. Why do we fear “The Other?” Are our fears justified? Under what circumstances? What is the price paid by immigrants? What do immigrants bring to the country? The Hart-Cellar Act, enacted just a year after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, aimed to reshape America's perspectives on immigration.

MODERATED BY
Kate Alexander, FST Associate Director At-Large

Cancel Culture: Progress or the Closing of the American Mind?

Inspired by themes presented in The Cancellation of Lauren Fein
WHEN: Thursday, February 20 @ 5PM
WHERE: FST's Gompertz Theatre

This forum will explore topics tackled in The Cancellation of Lauren Fein. This new play by Christopher Demos-Brown surrounds a tenured university professor accused of various wrongdoings under the university’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. Demos-Brown’s play addresses power dynamics and their connection to issues of race, sexual orientation, and intersectionality. This provocative play questions morality, cancel culture, and the ethics of stripping someone of their livelihood.

MODERATED BY
The Honorable Judge Charles E. Williams, 12th Circuit Judge

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About Florida Studio Theatre

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is Sarasota’s contemporary theatre. Founded in 1973, FST has grown to a village of five theatres located in the heart of downtown Sarasota. Each theatre is small in size and large in impact— providing intimate and engaging settings for high-quality, professional performances.

Today, FST has established itself as a major force in American Theatre. FST is the largest subscription theatre in the state of Florida and among the largest in the country, serving more than 200,000 live attendees each year across its diverse programs: Mainstage, Cabaret, Stage III, Children’s Theatre, The FST School, New Play Development, and FST Improv.

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to as many people as possible. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins, FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. Hip and historical, entertaining and challenging, we are where everyone is welcome to engage in the art of theatre.

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