ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Here's what you need to know about "Pipeline," the new production opening at American Stage this weekend and running through February 24.

• This 2017 work by playwright Dominique Morisseau draws its title from a trend among minority students, showing them going straight from school to jail as a result of harsher treatment in the school system.
• Though the play is a work of fiction, this production's director, L. Peter Callender, and performers all have some experience with or knowledge of the situations depicted in the play in real life.
• According to the ACLU of Florida, Florida's black students are 2.5 times more likely to be removed from class than their white peers while in school. Away from the classroom, black students are more than three times as likely to be arrested and twice as likely to be charged as adults when arrested.
• Members of the production hope audiences will come away from viewing "Pipeline" feeling moved to take action for the future success of all children.

To learn more about the production, watch the video above and visit http://americanstage.org.