Touchstone celebrates 30 years of original, professional, actor-created theatre!
The company is dedicated to being an active force in the renewal of theatre as a vital art form. At our heart is a resident professional acting Ensemble rooted in both the local community of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the international community of the actor/creator.

The Ensemble is engaged in:
The creation of original work
The ongoing discovery of a theatrical vocabulary in which the emotional dynamics of image, movement and space are as important as the text, be it original or classic
Touring selected works nationally and internationally
Offering educational programs that inspire students of all ages to discover their own creative expression, contribute to serious training in the field and demonstrate the power of theatre as a community building tool

Touchstone is a not-for-profit producing and presenting organization, which fosters inter-cultural, international and community collaborations. The focus of our presenting season is original work by other innovative theatre ensembles and solo artists.

Emma Chong, Ensemble Member/Stage Manager
Emma is a 2007 graduate of Gettysburg College, where she double majored in English and Theatre Arts with a minor in Classical Studies. While there, she directed, teched, stage managed, and performed in entirely too many theatrical productions, favorites including An Experiment with an Air Pump, Much Ado About Nothing, Metamorphoses, and Lebensraum. Other credits include internships at the Gettysburg Arts Festival and Williamstown Theatre Festival, as well as onstage work at the Actors' NET of Bucks County and the Renegade Shakespeare troupe. In her time at Touchstone, she has enjoyed hands-on involvement in production, with roles including stage management (Shipwrecked, The Tempest, YPF), lighting design (The Pan Show, The Walden Piece, Fresh Voices), and performance (The Pan Show, Follies, Dr. Horrible). When not immersed in production, Emma manages the space rentals and assists with marketing.

Bill George, Ensemble Member/Co-Founder
Bill received his B.A. in English Literature from Lehigh University and his M.F.A. in Acting/Directing from the Dallas Theatre Centre of Trinity University. He studied mime with Paul Curtis of The American Mime Theatre, founded the People's Theatre Company in 1977 and later co-founded Touchstone Theatre in 1981 where he was Producing Director until 1990. During a hiatus from Touchstone in 1996, Bill created Little Pond Arts Retreat in Nazareth, Pennsylvania with his wife Bridget--a retreat center dedicated to exploring the art of transcendence--and toured to Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, and throughout Canada and the United States with his original dramas: The Kingfisher’s Wing and The Marriage of Munirih Khanum. Bill returned to Touchstone as a full-time Ensemble Member in 2003 where he has won numerous awards over the years--including a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, and a Pennsylvania Solo Theatre Arts Fellowship. Bill has served as a panelist and adjudicator for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council and the Barrymore Awards of Philadelphia.

James P. Jordan, Ensemble Member/Artistic Director
James has worked in theatre professionally for the last 18 years. He began his career as a Stage Manager for illusionist Jeff O'Lear's anti-drug programs, which toured both nationally and internationally. During this period, James played in multiple music bands, performing to crowds as big as 5000 people. James graduated from Kutztown University majoring in Telecommunication (video production) with a minor in both Theatre and Music. He appeared in a number of Kutztown University's Theatre productions and played both guitar and trumpet in the University's Jazz band. Post college, James continued to play in small musical projects but mainly recorded in the studio. At this time, he began work at the newly opened Zoellner Arts Center on Lehigh University's campus. During his five-year tenure as Zoellner's Stage Coordinator, James helped in the production of hundreds of events; from lectures to Broadway musicals to some of the best ballets and orchestras in the world. While at Zoellner, James freelanced with many production companies and also began freelancing as both a sound and lighting designer. Now in his 6th year at Touchstone, James has played a crucial part in every production since his arrival, serving in multiple roles including Designer, Composer, Actor, Director and Playwright. James is also in charge of all print and electronic media design for Touchstone.

Lisa Jordan, Ensemble Member/Managing Director
Lisa holds a BA in theatre and minor in music from Kutztown University. After serving as Production/Administrative Intern at Civic Theatre of Allentown for their 2000-01 season, she came to Touchstone to stage manage Christmas City Follies '01. This initial experience with ensemble-created work opened her eyes to whole new world of theatre creation, and Lisa joined the company as Production Manager. In 2005 she joined the Ensemble, and in 2008 became the Producing Director. Over 50 productions later Lisa has filled many roles, including: stage manager (A Comic Strip, Don Quixote of Bethlehem), lighting designer (Shipwrecked!, Follies), props designer (Hit or Myth), costume designer (The Pan Show, The Tempest) and assistant director (Southside Experience, The Glass Menagerie).

Cathleen O’Malley, Ensemble Member/Education Director
Cathleen trained in Lecoq-based physical theatre at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) and holds an MFA from Naropa University. She was a founding member of all-female grotesque comedy troupe, Relax Your Face (UK) and has performed original solo and ensemble-devised theatre in London, Budapest, Silkeborg (DEN), Washington DC, and various venues across the Pacific Northwest. Onscreen, Cathleen has played principal roles in Canadian director Guy Maddin's silent feature, Brand Upon the Brain! (2006), and Christy Elton's The Suit, as well as smaller roles in a handful of other indie features & shorts. In 2010, Cathleen joined Zany Umbrella Circus on tour in Amman, Jordan, where she performed and taught physical theatre/clowning to 150 Jordanian youth. As an educator, Cathleen has facilitated youth arts curricula at the University of Washington, University of Virginia, Goucher College, The Circus Space and others institutions locally and abroad, and was a 2005-2007 teaching artist at the WA State Corrections Center for Women. Cathleen is the Education Director and an Ensemble Associate of Touchstone.

Amy Meleck, Director of Development
Amy Meleck is a native New Yorker who has lived in the Lehigh Valley since 1983.
A life-long supporter of the arts, Amy began her career in development at the Pennsylvania Stage Company in 1988. She headed the development effort at Valley Youth House for 10 years and was Director of the Annual Fund at DeSales University. Meleck obtained her CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) which is the credential awarded by CFRE International to fundraisers who demonstrate tenure in the fundraising profession, continuing education, professional achievement, ethical standards and commitment to service for not-for-profit organizations.

Katy Fitzpatrick, Ensemble Apprentice
Born and raised in the inland northwest, Katy, grew up at the Spokane Civic Theatre, where she traded lines with Patty Duke in Gypsy, sang and danced all over town with the Box'n'Hat touring group, and won an Audience Choice Award for her original play Only the Library. In 2008 she graduated from Drew University with a double major in theatre arts and anthropology. As a student she enjoyed producing the Plays-in-Process series of staged readings for new student work and performing in The Diary of Anne Frank and The Most Massive Woman Wins. After graduating Katy served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Kazakhstan for two years, teaching English at a village school and training local teachers on how to use drama games and exercises in their classes. Most recently, she taught GED classes in downtown Allentown. Katy is very excited about working with Touchstone!

Meggan Gomez, Ensemble Apprentice
attended Montclair State University and Excelsior College, where she received her bachelors in Theatre and Communications. A Lehigh Valley native, she grew up performing at Pennsylvania Youth Theater, Civic Theatre of Allentown, and the Arts Academy at William Allen High School. Some of her favorite theatrical experiences include creating original work under the guidance of Tim Miller and Julian Boal, working with Cornerstone Theatre in Los Angeles California as part of their summer institute 2010, participating in an artist/activist conference in Colombia, South America, and creating her own Bill of Rights/ bathroom stall project in New York City. Meggan has been working with Touchstone for about a year; she is very excited in her new role as an apprentice and looks forward to the year ahead.

Nicole Javier, Ensemble Apprentice
Nicole joins Touchstone as an Ensemble Apprentice directly after graduating with honors in the BFA Theatre Performance program from Chapman University. During college, Nicole performed in numerous productions including Beirut Rocks, Macbeth, La Ronde, Woyzeck, Hedda Gabler, and the world premiere of If All the Sky Were Paper. In her last couple months in California, she also made her debut with the Shakespeare Orange County ensemble in Comedy of Errors. Nicole is ecstatic to create new works with her new Touchstone family, and cannot wait to see what else the future will reveal!

Robert White, Ensemble Apprentice
Rob graduated from Gettysburg College with a BA in Theatre Arts. During his time at Gettysburg he participated in numerous productions as both an actor and technician, including The Illusion (Clindor/Calisto/Theogenes), The Imaginary Invalid (Cleante), and Winter's Tale (Florizel). His technical roles included, Student Technical Director, Shop Supervisor, Carpenter, Lighting Technician, and Assistant Lighting Designer. Rob is looking forward to the opportunity to create new works in collaboration with the fantastic Touchstone Ensemble.

Jen Jaynes, Ensemble Affiliate
Jen Jaynes hails from the suburbs of Philadelphia where she writes and performs for the sketch comedy group, High Dramma, as well as other professional theatre companies in the city. She has her degree in Music Performance from Kutztown University where she discovered her love for physical theatre. This passion led her to apply and participate in Touchstone's Apprenticeship for their 2007-2008 season. She has performed in two of Touchstone's Christmas City Follies productions as well as in their children's show Tales from the Middle East. Along with her theatrical endeavors, she also dabbles in film work and most recently can be seen in the film Calendar Girl alongside Brian O'Halloran of Clerks fame. She sends her love to her friends and family who support her in all of her artistic and ridiculous adventures!

Adam Kissinger, Ensemble Affiliate
Adam lives in Berks County PA and gradutated from Kutztown University with a BA in Theatre and minor in Musical Theatre. He began studying dance at the age of two, acting professionally at twelve, and has been in and out of musical groups since high school, most notably Far From Westfall. Since graduating, Adam has been employed as a Theatre Jobber; he makes his living as a freelance stage hand, performer, set carpenter, et cetera. Outside of Touchstone, where he was an '08-'09 apprentice, Adam is involved with Metamorphosis Performing Company, the Reading Theatre Project, the Yocum Institute of the Arts and Primary Stages, and is the ATD for Kutztown University. Adam is studying to become an instructor in an emotions technique called Alba Emoting, and as a student of stage combat he is also a member of the SAFD, and is working with James N. Brown and Andrew Dell to open a stage combat school based out of the Berks County area.

Mary Wright, Ensemble Affiliate
Mary Wright has been a professional theatre actress, director, playwright and storyteller for more than 25 years. Her affiliation with Touchstone began when she moved to Bethlehem in 1997. Since then she has been a Community Guest, a volunteer, a part-time employee, an Ensemble Associate, and Ensemble Member and now an Ensemble Affiliate. She has taught classes(Apprentice Training, Camp Touchstone, arts residencies, Young Playwright's Lab), made costumes, written and directed plays (Aesop & Co., SouthSide Experience), swept the stage, managed marketing, performed roles from Tennessee Williams (Laura in The Glass Menagerie) and Shakespeare (The Sonnets) to original plays (Julian in If At All) and created a host of original characters in numerous productions of Christmas City Follies (Little Red, Moxie Cocoa, Agnes Chundlebatch). In addition to her work with Touchstone, Mary is a founding member of the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild, co-founder of Friends of Liberty Theatre (a non-profit raising money and awareness of the power of theater in education), is rostered with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts as an Arts-In-Education teaching artist, teaches presentation skills at NCC, and is a member of the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission. She resides in Bethlehem with her husband, and when not involved in artistic pursuits of one kind or another can be found out in her garden or experimenting with a new bread recipe.

Christopher Shorr, Ensemble Affiliate
Christopher Shorr is is a visiting Assistant Professor at Moravian College, where he is the director of the theatre program and Artistic Director of the Moravian College Theatre Company. Shorr came to Pennsylvania from Petersburg, Virginia, where he was the founding artistic director of Sycamore Rouge—a professional, non-equity theatre and multi-disciplinary arts venue. Primarily a stage director, Shorr has also worked as an actor, playwright, and composer for theatre. Through his work, he strives to prevent audiences, fellow artists, and himself from succumbing to complacency. He is particularly interested in the creation of new theatre pieces (“Tribute: 9-11”—Americulture Arts Festival, MA—an original play commissioned to mark the first anniversary of the event), and in the aggressive re-working of classic texts (“Rina”—Chekhov Now Festival, NYC—his two-person deconstruction of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”). Current projects include “Clytemnestra’s Daughters”—an original play based on three Greek tragedies—and “The Pan Show”—an original musical (co-written with Touchstone’s JP Jordan) about the horniest god in the world. Shorr holds a BA in Theatre arts from Drew University and an MFA in Directing from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Touchstone is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. The official registration and financial information of Touchstone may be obtained from the PA Dept. of State by calling toll-free within PA 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.