Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater will host three community conversations as part of the launch of Arena Forum: Civil Dialogues this spring. The conversations seek to provide an opportunity for members of the Washington, DC, community to engage in civil discourse about social and political issues, and will demonstrate—with the goal—that people of diverse viewpoints can have fruitful dialogues with one another. Each Arena Forum will have a group of prominent Dialogue Starters and will be moderated by Amitai Etzioni, an author and professor at The George Washington University. The conversations will be dedicated to discussion among participants about topics related to current events.
Arena Forum: Civil Dialogues will be held in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on March 26 (exploring the thesis that surveillance is excessive and privacy is endangered by both the government and by private corporations), April 23 (exploring what we owe other people), and May 29 (exploring the future of race relations in America). There will be an Arena Forum reception before each discussion starting at 5:30 p.m. in the lobby. Because of space limitations, registration is required but attendance is free and open to the public.