Ever notice how family gatherings always seems to end up in the kitchen?

Touchstone Theatre ensemble member Mary Wright did and has been studying the phenomenon for years.

The culmination of her research can be seen in “Kitchen Chronicles,” through Feb. 20, live onstage in the south side Bethlehem theater.

“Kitchen Chronicles” is the third and final chapter in a multi-year story-gathering and performance project led by Wright.

The concept originated 20 years ago when Wright was asked to portray an object at a national storytelling workshop. She chose a kitchen object.

“It got me thinking how kitchen objects are passed down through generations,” Wright says. “I thought, ‘If only they could talk.’

“As a storyteller, I’ve always been interested in the ways the little things in life aren’t little at all.”

In 2017, Wright starting working on the project through interviews that gathered stories of families favorite recipes, wisdom shared while washing dishes, discussions that happened around kitchen tables and why this room in the house is so important to so many.

The first iteration of “Kitchen Chronicles” began in spring 2019 as performances in people’s homes.

“We had a meal and I made dessert and told stories,” Wright says. “The audience told their stories and we all shared time together.”

In fall 2019, a second iteration of the show was presented in the studio kitchen at PBS39 as part of Touchstone’s “Festival UnBound.” That show featured Wright’s stories, as well as music, puppetry and fresh-baked food around a table.

In its third iteration, “Kitchen Chronicles” is “fully theatricalized,” Wright says. She is joined by her real-life daughter and Equity actor Katie Willmorth.

The two “play” mother and daughter onstage, too, as they explore family recipes, the meaning of legacy and why people always end up in the kitchen.

“This is my deepest dive into the role the kitchen plays in family relationships,” says Wright. “Around the table, people have conversations they don’t have anywhere else.”

Wright says that, although the latest “Chronicles” is presented in a more traditional stage format, she is still inviting people into her “theater home” and there will be a table on stage.

“We will all be gathered in this kitchen,” she says. “We will explore generational changes and how some things stay the same. It’s wonderful to have two generations of women on stage and work professionally with my own daughter.”

Wright says she hopes it will be a chance for people to reflect on their own family and see the importance of staying connected.

“There’s a lot of humor and a lot of honesty,” says Wright.

“When I began this process, I wanted to explore the role a kitchen plays in multiple generations of a family’s life.

“I didn’t realize I’d be lucky enough to create it with an extremely talented writer and actor who just happens to actually be family. Life is imitating art, which is imitating life.”

Because of COVID-19 protocol, theater-goers will not be seated in the first row. Audience members must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours prior to the performance. Face masks are required. The show is performed without an intermission. Performers and Touchstone ensemble members are fully vaccinated.

“Kitchen Chronicles,” 8 p.m. Feb. 10-12, 17-19; 2 p.m. Feb. 13, 20, Touchstone Theatre, 321 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem. Tickets: 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