Florida Studio Theatre is thrilled to announce our theme for the upcoming Forums for our 2015-2016 Season! This year, we have chosen the title “Dialogues on Diversity.”  Reigniting the success of our Fly forums last season, we will use our discussions to stimulate conversations within our community about diversity and inclusiveness.  Through panel discussions following our productions of Butler and Alabama Story, the themes we will address will cover an array of topics such as race, classicism, educational censorship, and how history affects our behavior today.

Butler, written by Richard Strand, is a comedy set during the Civil War based on a real-life incident between the Major General of the Union Army, Benjamin Butler, and a runaway slave.  It’s 1861. An escaped slave seeks sanctuary, but the laws of the land are unrelenting. With sharp wit and tongue-in- cheek humor, Butler takes us on a journey through legal loopholes to find the true meaning of freedom.

Information on the Butler Panel Discussions can be found here.

Alabama Story, which will close our Mainstage season, tells of a children’s story book which reflects the political and racial tensions gripping the community of 1959 Montgomery, Alabama.   The civil rights movement is flowering in America. A children’s book with a hidden message stirs the passions of a segregationist senator and a no-nonsense state librarian. Inspired by true events, Alabama Story puts political foes, childhood friends, and one feisty author at opposite ends of clashing perceptions.

Information on the Alabama Story Panel Discussions can be found here.

We hope you will join FST for our Forums this year and be a part of this community platform for learning and growth within our theatre and social communities!