FREUD'S LAST SESSION to Play Florida Studio Theatre, Begin. 3/12

Florida Studio Theatre announces FREUD'S LAST SESSION by Mark St. Germain as part of FST's Stage III program. It will have a limited engagement beginning March 12, 2014 in the Keating Theatre. Tickets range from $32 to $34. Tickets are on sale and may be purchased from the FST Box Office in person, by calling (941) 366-9000 or online at www.FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Freud's Last Session is in an imagined depiction of a meeting between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, set in the final days of Freud's life, on the very day that England entered the Second World War. The play is inspired by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi Jr.'s book The Question of God, which speculates on the meeting between Freud and Lewis that history can neither confirm nor deny. St. Germain's play takes the scenario one step farther, bringing the imagined meeting to life in exquisite, thought-provoking detail. In a meeting of the minds unlike any other, the intellectual pair faces off over the existence of

God and a variety of other topics. Mark St. Germain has previously worked with Florida Studio Theatre on last year's production of Best of Enemies.

Director, Kate Alexander describes the show stating, " World War II was one of the most horrific times in the 20th century that birthed the existentialist atheists such as Freud, Camus, Sartre, Beauvoir and more, who could not believe that a God could exist amidst such world depravity. There, in the cozy study amidst of gasmask and sirens sits C. S. Lewis, with an equally profound belief that God does exist. These are not mere ideas to be discoursed in a parlor or academia, but they are fundamental human principals that motivate us and must be forged again and again. Mark St. Germain asks us to delve deep - deeper than deep. Mr. Germain is in residency with us during this time and his fearlessness in noting the big questions of our age and asking us to engage with them is exhilarating."

When asked why FST is bringing this dramatic work to the season, Richard Hopkins Artistic Director stated, "This is the quintessential "Faith vs Reason debate between two of the 20th Century's most formidable thinkers: Sigmund Freud, the atheist, and C.S. Lewis the Christian. It is our Stage III theatre at its most articulate. This play is a highly intellectual piece of writing by Mark St. Germain that promises to provoke more than a few heated discussions."

FREUD'S LAST SESSION received its world premiere at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 2009. Following its premiere, the show has been produced off-Broadway at Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, New World Stages in New York, Mercury Theater in Chicago and Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia and others. Upcoming productions will be running at The Broad Stage in California and the Alley Theatre in Texas.

FREUD'S LAST SESSION will begin performances March 12, 2014 and run for a limited engagement through March 23, 2013 in FST's Keating Theatre. Single tickets range from $32 to $34. Tickets are on sale and may be purchased from the FST Box Office in person, by calling (941) 366-9000 or online at www.FloridaStudioTheatre.org. FST is located in historic downtown Sarasota at 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota FL 34236.

About Florida Studio Theatre: Known as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. The company eventually settled down into a permanent home, acquiring the former Woman's Club building - now renamed the Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American Theatre, presenting Contemporary Theatre in its five theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the renovated Gompertz Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret, the John C. Court Cabaret, FST will open its fifth theatre venue, the Bowne Lab Theatre.

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience. Under Richard Hopkins, Artistic Director and CEO, FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. As FST grows and expands, it continues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs.