Some things are easy to talk about, some are not. In the second category death is pretty high on the list. That’s where “Vesta” comes in. The play was written by Washingtonian Bryan Harnetiaux for the Hospice Foundation of America as a vehicle to help people think and talk about the end of life, their own and that of their loved ones. It is also a powerful and deeply moving theatrical experience.
This inspired Priscilla Baker, Program Director of Hospice Volunteer Services, to organize a staged reading of the play in Middlebury in 2013. She asked Diana Bigelow to take the part of Vesta, the witty & vinegary widow who sets out, as the play opens, on the last years of her life. Diana’s husband, Jim Stapleton, offered to direct, and they quickly assembled a cast of seven.
The production was a success, many people were moved and grateful for the extended discussion period after the performance to air their questions and concerns. The evening went so well that the people involved decided to do it again this time in Bristol as part of the Bristol First-Sunday Salon Series.
In addition to Bigelow, cast members include Cathy Walsh as Vesta’s daughter, Melissa MacDonald as her grand-daughter, Mark Ciociola as her son-in-law, as well as Robin Hewitt,, Mack Roark, and Jennifer Wagner as social service agency personnel. It is worth noting that all of the first show’s actors were keen to reprise their roles - a play has to be special for most actors to want to do it again.
Priscilla Baker will lead the post-performance discussion. She hopes the exchange will inspire people to discuss the difficult topic amongst themselves. For this event the Salon Series is teaming up with co-sponsors Hospice Volunteer Services, Porter Hospital, Addison County Home Health and Hospice, Addison Respite Care Home, and Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
“Vesta” will be performed at 7pm, Sunday, May 3, in the Bristol Federated Church, 37 North St., Bristol. The play is open to the public and free, donations to the Salon Series are welcome. For more information: 453-5060
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