Florida Studio Theatre Joins Legacy of Valor Campaign

Florida Studio Theatre announces its participation in the Legacy of Valor, a campaign created by The Patterson Foundation to honor veterans and their families in Southwest Florida. FST will be teaching a series of 14 Spoken Word workshops from October through December at Booker Middle School. The theme of these workshops will be Speak! Of Service, Of Country, Of Freedom. Florida Studio Theatre's Legacy of Valor events are in collaboration with the Senior Friendship Center.

Florida Studio Theatre's Education Department is looking forward to the connections the Legacy of Valor campaign will allow us to make between the students at Booker Middle School, the Teaching Artists at Florida Studio Theatre, and the clients at the Brother William Geenen Living Room at The Senior Friendship Center. Each of the participants will have the opportunity to form and share their thoughts about Freedom, Patriotism, and Service.

"This opportunity to share thoughts, explore ideas, and learn about each other's experiences will enrich the lives of all the participants. We are looking forward to forging community between these two very different communities," says Beth Duda, Director of Education at FST. "I imagine the middle school students and the senior citizens will have very different perspectives and experiences. As they share their feelings with each other, and explain their realities, they will begin to understand each other in a way they have never before imagined. The diversity of our country is one of our strengths."

The goal is to get students thinking about what it means to be a veteran or an active military officer. This includes what it means to the individual service men and women, their families and the role they play in our everyday lives. This gives children a chance to speak their feelings about what freedom truly means to them, both in our country and also in their lives.

Legacy of Valor is a campaign that rallies our community to honor veterans, inspire patriotism and pass freedom on to others. A mosaic of community-driven partnerships will educate and focus the community to use time, talent and treasure to recognize the service and sacrifice of all veterans and their families. For more information, please visit FreedomPassItOn.org.Patrick A. Jackson an Acting Apprentice and Teaching Artist at FST says, "I served as a teaching artist with our after school acting and improv programs at Booker Middle School. While working with the students on strengthening their improvisation and acting skills, we constantly talked about what it meant to show truth on stage and allowing ourselves as performers to tap into the vulnerable moments in front of an audience. I believe our workshops this year will continue to encourage the students to investigate those feelings through activities and platforms that will allow a full range of expression. Each student is filled with untold stories and experiences and they have a right to be heard."

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 four theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the renovated Gompertz Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret and the John C. Court Cabaret. Soon to come in January of 2014, 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.

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