Touchstone Theatre canceled its 2020 production of “Fresh Voices.”

An article about this year’s production was published in the June 3 and 4 Focus section in Lehigh Valley Press print editions and on Lehigh Valley Press websites.

The article was published prior to the following statement received in a June 4 email newsletter from Touchstone Theatre: “In light of recent racist atrocities, our apprentices Adam and Sean, with the full support of the Touchstone Ensemble, are choosing to put this weekend’s performance of ‘Fresh Voices’ on hold.”

“This decision was made yesterday [June 3] afternoon,” said Touchstone Theatre Managing Director Lisa Jordan in the June 4 email.

As with Touchstone’s recent “Young Playwrights’ Festival,” this year’s “Fresh Voices” was to have gone virtual because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic mandates.

“Fresh Voices” annually gives Touchstone apprentices an opportunity to explore and create their own solo and ensemble-created theater.

This year’s “Fresh Voices” was to feature three original works: two solo pieces performed back-to-back via a livestream and a collaborative podcast released in four installments.

The first was to have been “Pothole” by Adam Ercolani.

That show was to segue into the second show, “Dr. Sogol’s Magnificent, Malfunctioning, Intergalactic, Cosmic Car Wash and Stamps” by Sean Patrick Cassidy.

The third show was “ISO/Nation Presents,” a four-part podcast.

The plays were to have streamed at 7 p.m. June 5.

The podcast was to have been available June 2, 5, 9 and 12.

The Touchstone email newsletter stated: “We honor and respect the work that they’ve [Ercolani and Cassidy] done throughout the year to bring this production into existence, but our voices are not the ones that need to be heard right now. We need to be listening, reading, learning and leaving space for other work and information to be in the public eye.

“At a later date, we’ll be coming back to present ‘Fresh Voices’ publicly, but for now, we strongly urge our audience: If you haven’t yet engaged with the current events around George Floyd, the ensuing protests, and the government’s response, it is important that we, all of us, do not shy away from this difficult material. We must confront the racism in our country, our communities, and ourselves if we are going to get through this together,” concluded the Touchstone email newsletter.