The summer of 2025 marked the First Capital Region Festival of Threatre: 4 days of theatre productions, readings, discussions, workshops, and panel discussions. Hudson Mohawks Magazine’s Andrea Cunliffe attended the panel discussion “Fighting Censorship Today.” The discussion was about the impact censorship has on the arts and its mutual responsibility with society. The panel discussion included moderator Sara La Duke, and panelists: Ari Edelson - Artistic Director of the Orchard Project The Orchard Project (OP) is a preeminent artistic development laboratory and accelerator for creators of performance and dramatic stories, based in NYC and summers in Saratoga Springs Joanna Palladino, council member for the local ACLU, Actress and Creator of “Read Out “Capital Region literary project. Howard Sherman Arts Administrator, Arts Writer and Advocate on behalf of productions Academic professional and community confronted with censorship Justin Harrison Senior Policy Counsel for the NYCLU. Representing 1st amendment law and litigation