Antioch College’s Coretta Scott King Center, in conjunction with Antioch’s performance program, will present a staged reading of “The Meeting,” a one-act play by Jeff Stetson at the Foundry Theater on Tuesday, February 17, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and the performance is open to the public.

“The Meeting” tells the story of a fictitious meeting between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shortly before Malcolm X is murdered. The action takes place in a Harlem hotel room where Malcolm X and his bodyguard are waiting for the arrival of King. The play explores these two legendary figures in their attempt to find common ground, navigate their divergent philosophies and address the deeply entrenched racism of the U.S. at the time. “The Meeting” is being presented as part of Antioch College’s programming for Black History Month.

Gabrielle Civil, Ph.D., associate professor of performance, and Louise Smith ’77, associate professor of performance, are collaboratively directing this staged reading. They are both deeply interested in the themes of the play that resonate with current events today.

Kevin McGruder, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, will be playing Malcolm X. Nicolas Daily, resident life manager, will play Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Antioch first-year student Timothy Grant’18 will play Rashad, Malcolm X’s bodyguard.

Playwright Jeff Stetson is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning playwright and screenwriter for film and television. His stage plays include: “Keep the Faith,” a musical on the life and times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (commissioned through a $100,000 grant by the PEW Foundation and Theater Communications Group); “Fathers and Other Strangers;” “And the Men Shall Also Gather;” “To Play a Black Man” (nominated for four Image Awards); “Love You Better” (commissioned by the Kennedy Center); and “The Meeting,” which has been produced in all 50 states and more than a dozen countries, including South Africa, the Netherlands, Canada, the Virgin Islands, Nigeria, Scotland, United Kingdom, Brazil and Austria.

“The Meeting” received eight NAACP Image Awards, including best play and best writer, a Louis B. Mayer Award and an Ohio State Achievement Award. He adapted the play for PBS and American Playhouse where it received an Emmy Award for technical achievement.

“The Meeting” will be performed on Tuesday, February 17, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and the performance is open to the public. No reservations are necessary. For further information, contact Louise Smith at lsmith@antiochcollege.org or 937-319-6139, ext. 7628.