John Oliver: Incarceration in America 2

Yesterday we shared a video from John Oliver’s show, Last Week Tonight, on the harrowing issues with America’s prison system. Today we’re sharing another video in our installment surrounding Incarceration in America that echoes the themes and questions asked in FST’s production of The Exonerated. Three years ago today, Clayton Lockett died from a botched execution. Clayton Lockett was killed by a mixture of drugs … Continue reading John Oliver: Incarceration in America 2

John Oliver: Incarceration in America 1

By Robin Mackey | John Oliver is the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight – a late night satirical take on the latest news, politics, and current events. Oliver has 100% complete creative freedom over the program. Each episode follows a similar structure: the first half of the show reviews the week’s headlines and the second half – sometimes more than half– is devoted to … Continue reading John Oliver: Incarceration in America 1

The Pen and The Trigger Finger

By Jordan Nickels | Theater is a constant reflection of the United States. Unfortunately, we live during a time in this country where gun violence is rapid and too frequent, which changes the narrative. Which begs the question, how do we handle such a topic on stage? Many contemporary plays have risen about gun violence and gun related crimes in the last decade, including FST’s recent productions … Continue reading The Pen and The Trigger Finger

Racism to The 13th Degree

By Jordan Nickels | In The Exonerated, the topic of race is very prevalent to the stories of the exonerees of color, especially in their experiences with police officers and the criminal justice system. This issues have recently been addressed in filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s new documentary The 13th on Netflix which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards. The 13th also opened the 2016 New York Film … Continue reading Racism to The 13th Degree

In Arkansas, the Exonerated Speak Up

The Exonerated is such a power story because wrongful imprisonment and the death penalty are topics we are still fighting against in our government today. The video below from The New York Times shows an anti-death penalty rally in Little Rock, Arkansas. This fully immersive video from The Daily 360  takes you into the demonstration to hear speech from exonerees Damien Echols and Paris L. Powell. Continue reading In Arkansas, the Exonerated Speak Up

Behind Bars: Writing The Exonerated

By Jordan Nickels | In 2005, The Exonerated helped opened the Stage III series at Florida Studio Theatre, as a part of our commitment to producing contemporary work that challenges our audience. What better play to reintroduce Stage III this year, than a play about the corruption in our American penal system and innocence of many death row inmates. But when did this play come to … Continue reading Behind Bars: Writing The Exonerated