Florida Studio Theatre to Present 'Dialogues On Diversity' Series in 2016

Florida Studio Theatre presents Dialogues on Diversity. This call to conscience will include several discussions as well as events and exhibits from various community partners. Participating organizations include ABC News, Embracing Our Differences, the Sarasota County Public Libraries, the Jewish Federation, the Sarasota Ministerial Association, the Ringling Museum, and many more. These events will all coincide with FST's hit production, Butler and upcoming productions of Alabama Story and My Name is Asher Lev. Panels are free to attend but reservations are required and can be made by calling the box office at 941-366-9000 or online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org. For a full list of events, please see the end of the release.

This community wide discussion will cycle through topics starting with historical truths from the past, to the cultural masks we all wear, to the institutional control of thought, all the way to the moral citizenship that we all have a right to exercise and a responsibility to recognize.

Leading FST's efforts is Kate Alexander, Associate Director of FST, and the Forums Director. Alexander states, "It's important that our theatre has become a hub, so to speak, where other institutions can all join together and have voice on the issues of our day. Together, our libraries, religious organizations, museums, media, and more can speak to the cultural issues of our city. Where else could one do that?"

Chairing the Butler Steering Committee is Chief Judge Charles E. Williams, Circuit Judge of the 12th Judicial Court. Judge Williams agrees with Alexander stating, "In light of today's headlines, the need for our community to have an honest discussion about our differences is more urgent than ever. In order for us to understand our differences, we must first talk about them." The conversation will not just be heard within the FST walls but also at the local libraries, high school classrooms, church pulpits, local museums, and every household with cable TV.

Dialogues on Diversity community partners include: Bookstore 1 Sarasota, Chautauqua Institution, City of Sarasota Mayor's Office, City of Sarasota Redevelopment Office, Embracing Our Differences, Political Strategist Ed James III, The Florida Holocaust Museum of St. Petersburg, Florida Veterans of Common Sense, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Gilbert King, Sy & Shelley Goldblatt, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Housing Authority of Sarasota, Jewish Federation, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America and Beth Blickers, Manatee Educational Television, Morehouse School of Medicine, New College, Ringling Museum of Art, Roy McBean Boys and Girls Club at Newtown, Sarasota Bar Association, Sarasota/Manatee Democratic Black Caucus of Florida, Sarasota County Commissioner Carolyn Mason, Sarasota County Public Libraries, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota Ministerial Association, and WWSB ABC 7 News.

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Guest panelist President Emeritus of Morehouse College and Director of Religion at the Chautauqua Institution, Robert Michael Franklin speaks to the immediate need for these types of discussion in today's cultural climate stating, "I believe that our next phase of history must flow from a public to a private embrace of the need for progress in socioeconomic class and racial equality. We now must move beyond law and policy to changes in our personal attitudes, custom, culture and daily practices. Good law expresses our deeply held moral values. We are a great nation, in large measure, because of laws like the Nineteenth Amendment that enfranchised women, the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and laws that protect hard working Americans. But surely we can now see that although law is necessary, it is not sufficient to produce the societal change we should expect as moral citizens."

Alexander concludes stating, "Like peeling layers of an onion, each forum brings us a different vantage point, a different experience. We grow through this ever deepening understanding of our country."

For a full list of Panel discussions and other partnering events, please see the end of the release. Panels are free to attend but reservations are required and can be made by calling the box office at 941-366-9000 or online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

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