FST Announces Forums Series Events for 2022-2023 Winter Season

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) has announced the lineup for the 2022-2023 Forums Series, featuring three panel discussions inspired by the themes explored in the theatre's productions of What the Constitution Means to Me, Network, and Visit Joe Whitefeather. 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.

"For the last seven years, FST's Forums Series have embraced the idea that open, honest, and unfiltered dialogue is the key to understanding each other," said The Honorable Charles E. Williams, 12th Circuit Court Judge and Chair of FST's Forums Steering Committee. "Please join FST as we continue the tradition of conversations without judgment as we navigate the issues of our day through this season's contemporary plays."

Kicking off the Forums Series is The U.S. Constitution and America Today: Is it Flourishing or Floundering?, a panel discussion exploring the power and purpose of the U.S. Constitution. Hosted by The Honorable Charles E. Williams, this conversation will examine such questions as, "Is the U.S. Constitution outdated, or is it simply being manipulated and interpreted in a way that was not anticipated when it was written?" and "Is the document being used as intended?" Panelists include The Honorable Larry Eger (Head of the Manatee County Division of the Public Defender's Office), Trevor Harvey (President of the Sarasota NAACP), and Matt Walsh (CEO of Observer Media Group). This forum will take place Thursday, February 9, 2023, at 5PM in FST's Keating Theatre.

The next forum is inspired by the themes presented in FST's Regional Premiere of Network and will take place on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 5PM in the Keating Theatre. Hosted by Renee Gilmore (Executive Producer of ABC 7's Empowering Voices) and Tom Tryon (Former Opinion Editor for Sarasota Herald-Tribune), this event examines the challenges the media and consumers face. Titled Walter Cronkite, Where Are You?, this forum explores the role contemporary media plays in our lives-from platforms that lean right or lean left to the impact of today's ever-expansive digital landscape. Attendees will discuss how the media has changed over the last few decades, along with what these changes mean for news outlets and the public as news consumers today. Panelists will include Richard M. Lobo (Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau from 2010-2013) and Mercedes Soler-Martinez (Co-Owner and President of Solmart Media).

Wrapping up the 2022-2023 Forums Series is "I Didn't Mean to Offend!" - The Politics of Cultural Appropriation, a dialogue about cultural appropriation within the context of the World Premiere of Visit Joe Whitefeather (and bring the family!) by Bruce Graham. Hosted by The Honorable Charles E. Williams, this forum will explore the broader, often unintended, consequences of cultural appropriation in society today. This event will take place on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 5PM in FST's Keating Theatre.

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