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originally published: 06/04/2023 

(WEST ORANGE, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG), Central Jersey’s professional regional theater company, will host a panel discussion on Social Media Power and Control following its 7:00pm performance of the new play Right to Be Forgotten on Thursday, June 8, 2023 at JCC MetroWest in West Orange.

Written by award-winning playwright and TV writer Sharyn Rothstein (Suits, By the Water) Right to be Forgotten is powerful look at today’s social media landscape, exploring how a young man’s mistake at age 17 haunts him online a decade later. Desperate for a normal life, he goes to extraordinary lengths to erase his indiscretion. ATG Board President and South NEXT founder & producer Stephen Schnall will moderate the discussion, and will be joined by:

Ruth Tsuria, a tenured Professor at Seton Hall University’s School of Communication, Media, and the Arts. Her research, which investigates the intersection of digital media, culture, and feminism, has been published in various prestigious academic outlets. She is the recipient of The Inaugural Digital Religion Research Award for her contributions to the field of Digital Religion, and the 2023 Researcher of The Year Award for her impressive publication record which includes 23 articles and book chapters, and two edited books.

Caroline Chubb Calderon, a futurist and humanist who studies the impact of autonomous and intelligent machines on business and society. As the Founder & CEO of HelloHumanity, she leads a groundbreaking company at the forefront of reshaping human work in the age of intelligent machines. Recognized as a leading voice in human-machine frontiers, AI, and disruptive leadership, Caroline has shared her expertise with renowned organizations such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM. She is also a TEDx speaker and frequent guest lecturer at leading MBA schools, aspiring to grow positive leaders of tomorrow.

David Leit, recently appointed Assistant Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, helping to lead the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group. This group brings affirmative enforcement and litigation against individuals and entities that have caused harm to the State or its citizens.  Leit is a Tech and Intellectual Property attorney, and a former partner at Lowenstein Sandler LLP,  and Vice Chair of its IP Litigation Group.  His intellectual property experience includes transactional, litigation, and advisory work, with a focus on copyrights, trademarks, data privacy, and licensing. His pro bono docket at Lowenstein has included work in landmark SCOTUS cases on partisan gerrymandering, and in cases protecting immigrant rights.

 

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“We will examine social media and the question ‘Has it lived up to its intention or gone farther than anyone could plan? If so, can it be controlled and governed, and how?” noted Schnall. “And for future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, how will humans coexist without letting the proverbial genie out of the bottle, and lose control? We'll listen to experts share their opinions as well as ask the audience to share their thoughts and concerns.”

The Maurice Levin Theater at JCC MetroWest is located at 760 Northfield Ave in West Orange, NJ. Performances will run Thursday through Saturday, June 8-10, at 7:00pm with an additional 1pm matinee on Saturday the 10^th.  Shows continue at the Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge from June 15-18.  Tickets for all performances can be purchased at: www.americantheatergroup.org.

ATG staged Rothstein's play, A Good Farmer, to wide acclaim in 2018. She is an award-winning playwright and television writer. Her plays have been produced around the country by theaters such as Williamstown Theater Festival, Manhattan Theater Club, Ars Nova, Chicago's Raven Theatre, DC's Arena Stage and others. Her play By The Water was the recipient of the American Theater Critic’s Association’s prestigious Francesca Primus Prize.

Kathy Gail MacGowan will direct the production, and most recently directed the New York premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s play Emilie: La Marquise du Chatalet Defends Her Life Tonight at The Flea Theatre and Conor McPherson's The Night Alive at The Chain Theater.  She has directed hundreds of developmental readings for new work in New York, leading to the direction of 15 premieres by New York playwrights.

American Theater Group (ATG), founded in 2012, produces new and classic works primarily by American playwrights with an emphasis on the development of new works and the rediscovery of undeservedly neglected older ones. It also provides quality arts-in-education initiatives, including its annual DramaFest for students and its PlayLab program for BIPOC and queer playwrights. ATG programming is made possible in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Made possible by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.