Free April 4 performance based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe

Sponsored by the Pike County Public Library PIKE COUNTY — Music, dance, artwork and dramatic readings based on the works of American author Edgar Allan Poe will be highlighted during a performance at the Dingman-Delaware Middle School (DDMS) on Saturday evening, Apr. 4, beginning at 7 p.m. The Poe Project Presentation, sponsored by the Pike County Public Library (PCPL), is free and open to the public. Under the direction of Jeffrey Stocker, founder and director of the American Readers Theatre (ART), DDMS students will participate in dramatic readings of Poe’s works, and ART member Greg Giblin will perform “The Raven.” Music of the Poe period will be provided by musical director Sandy Stalter and will feature the music of Stephen Foster. Delaware Valley teachers Brian Krause and Cindy Stine will conduct their students in Foster’s songs, including “Beautiful Dreamer” and “O Susanna.” The Delaware Dancers under the director of Johanna LjungQvist-Brinson will perform a waltz and a polka. The evening will culminate with an original ballet performance created by John Magnus, Artistic Director of the Joffrey Ballet Midwest Dance Summer Intensive, based on the haunting Poe poem “Annabel Lee.” Artwork created by the students of Delaware Valley Middle School art teacher Lisa Sakoutis will be on display. The Poe Project is the first in a series called The Writer’s Project proposed by the Pike County Public Library, in conjunction with the American Readers Theatre, to expand students’ appreciation of literature and the arts. Funding for the collaborative series was provided by PCPL through the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC) administered by the library. EITC is a Pennsylvania state program that provides tax credits to businesses that contribute funding to an educational improvement organization such as PCPL. The funds must be used for innovative educational programs in a public school. Funding for The Writer’s Project was provided to PCPL by Dime Bank, PennStar Bank and Wayne Bank. For more information about the Apr. 4 performance at DDMS visit www.pcpl.org call 570-296-8211.