Touchstone Theatre’s “Festival UnBound” was a big success last year.

The 10-day community festival which premiered in October 2019, “couldn’t have gone better for our first time out of the gate,” says Touchstone’s artistic director Jp Jordan.

“People told us they really wanted us to continue the conversation. But how to do that amidst a pandemic, when crowded theaters are not allowed?”

Jordan realized that Touchstone, which frequently approaches performing from a different perspective and has a history of presenting outdoor theater, was equipped to produce a socially-distanced festival.

As a result, the second year of “Festival Unbound,” which kicked off Sept. 4 with a Latinx Block Party, is completely outdoors.

Touchstone received funding to build an outside stage in its parking lot. At 40 feet by 20 feet, it’s larger than Touchstone’s indoor stage.

“They say necessity is the mother of invention,” Jordan says. “This stage will be something we will utilize well beyond Covid.”

When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shutdown began in March, Jordan’s colleagues at Touchstone asked, “What are we going to do?”

Jordan listened to what people wanted and determined “what is capable of being done.

“Coming of the first ‘Festival Unbound,’ it was so clear how successful it was in energizing the community,” Jordan says.

“There is still so much left to say and this was a really good vehicle to offer a voice to the people.”

This year, Touchstone officials thought they might have to cancel the popular Young Playwrights Festival and gala fundraiser in May.

Instead, Touchstone produced the event online and it was “pretty successful,” according to Jordan.

“We realized now we have something we can deal with, especially because of Touchstone’s unique model of delivery and our having dealt with outdoor theater,” Jordan says.

Touchstone tested the waters with “Songs of Hope and Resistance” in July, which featured music performed at a socially-distanced outdoor party in the Touchstone parking lot, 321 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem.

The event demonstrated that Touchstone could set up outside safely and serves as a model for “Festival Unbound,” which will feature weekly outdoor events through Oct. 16 to open Touchstone’s 2020-2021 season.

Last year’s “Festival UnBound” was an examination of Bethlehem 20 years after the closing of Bethlehem Steel, a traumatic event for the community.

In the years since the closing of the Steel, Touchstone began to explore questions of identity in the Bethlehem community and “Festival UnBound” addressed concerns of diversity, sustainability, health, youth leadership and interconnectedness.

“What emerged from the Festival was a vision of our community as a healthy, just and loving place, one full of music and play in the service of compassion and joy,” says Touchstone Ensemble Member Bill George, who coordinated the 2019 festival.

“We knew we couldn’t let go of that vision but had to keep holding it up as a light to lead us forward,” George says.

Most events will be held in Touchstone’s parking lot, where there will be socially-distanced tables set up. As with last year’s event, Touchstone is partnering with community organizations.

The Latinx Block Party, which featured a performance by Héctor Rosado Latin Jazz Experience, was organized with the help of leaders in the Latino community.

“Medical Workers Speak Out” was held at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 in which Touchstone worked with doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals who have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was free.

At 6 p.m. Sept 18 and 19, Touchstone-Moravian College MFA student Sean Patrick Cassidy will lead people on an audio walking tour, reflecting on how the community interacts with and benefits from natural cycles of change. “Rumi/Nation” starts in the 400 block of the South Bethlehem Greenway. The event, which covers about three miles, is free but limited spots are available. Rain date is Sept. 20.

The “Sustainability Forum” returns at 6 p.m. Sept. 19, only this time on the steps of Bethlehem City Hall, 10 E. Church St., Bethlehem.

At last year’s forum, high-schoolers from across Bethlehem came together to share projects that could create a more sustainable community.

This year, students continue to reflect on the massive changes in the world, and bring their plans to the steps of City Hall to make their voices heard. The event is free. Rain date is Sept. 20.

“Aloud,” at a to be announced time Sept. 26, is an original project created by Touchstone-Moravian College MFA student Adam Ercolani that is an exploration of queer identity and self-discovery. The event is free.

“Homecoming.” 7 p.m. Oct. 2, is a continuation of last year’s celebration of the history, struggles and successes in the black community, recognizing talent, drive, and leadership. The event is free. Rain date is Oct. 3.

Touchstone, in collaboration with Mock Turtle Marionette Theater, presents “Tales of Hope and Resistance.” 8 p.m. Oct. 9. The performance includes retellings of traditional stories from diverse cultural backgrounds, featuring music and puppetry. Tickets are available for a two-person or four-person table. Rain dates are 7 p.m. Oct. 10 and 11.

Touchstone ensemble member Christopher Shorr brings back his 2018 musical, “Dictators 4 Dummies,” 7 p.m. Oct. 16. The political satire offers an election season retrospective with a “movie” with larger-than-life characters played by action figures voiced by the original “Dictators 4 Dummies” cast. There also will be a concert of satirical songs from the Touchstone archive. Tickets are available for a two-person or four-person table. Rain dates are 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and 18.

For most events, Touchstone will provide a livestream or digital recording to accommodate audience members who are not comfortable attending in-person.

“It’s a whole lot of stuff,” Jordan says. “The world still needs it.”

Jordan says Touchstone plans to present some form of its long-running “Christmas City Follies,” but he’s not sure “what it will look like.”

He asks, “Will it be warm enough to do it in the parking lot when the cold winds start to blow?”

Jordan says Touchstone is looking at “what the digital world has to offer.”

He says one idea is spoofing TV network Christmas specials.

“Everything is on the table,” says Jordan.

In February, Touchstone will present a livestream from New Mexico’s Theater Grottesco of its acclaimed “Pie,” a comedic exploration of the unknown, featuring a panel of clowns and a “reset of the universe.”

The streaming will be followed by a live broadcast of a talkback session with ensemble members from Grottesco, to discuss their creative process and take questions from the audience.

“We are going to try that as a model,” Jordan says.

In February and March, Touchstone will debut an “analog performance” by ensemble member Emma Ackerman. In “Letters from Far,” the production is mail-based, in which the audience learns the science fiction story of an expedition of scientists, journalists and artists who disappear. All that remains of them are the letters they have sent home.

In April, Cassidy and Ercolani will present original artistic works as part of their theses for the inaugural graduating class of the Touchstone-Moravian College MFA program.

Also coming in 2021 is the Young Playwrights Festival in May and an outside performance by Jakopa’s Punch Bowl in July.

“Large arts organizations are struggling,” Jordan says.

“We have been in the practice of being small enough in size that we can maneuver the boat. We all do our best to live the Touchstone ideal and hope it serves community.”

Performance and ticket information: http://www.touchstone.org; 610-867-1689

“Curtain Rises” is a column about the theater, stage shows, the actors in them and the directors and artists who make them happen. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com