Playwright Linda Parris-Bailey, executive artistic director and principal writer-in-residence for Knoxville’s internationally celebrated Carpetbag Theatre, will be reading scenes from her new commissioned work, “Giants of Lehigh Valley,” in the Commons, second floor of Hodges Library, Saturday, February 2, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

The play, commissioned by Touchstone Theatre and featuring the music by Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock, grew out of oral histories collected by students from Muhlenberg College and Kutztown University and story circles conducted by Peggy Pettitt. The piece is a powerful tapestry of theatre and song highlighting a century of the African American experience in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.

Also participating in the reading (via videoconference) will be director Mark McKenna, producing artistic director of Touchstone Theatre, and select cast members. The public is welcome to attend the reading and join in the question-and-answer session that follows.

The reading and videoconference are being sponsored by Lehigh University, the UT Theatre Department, and UT’s Office of Information Technology.