Baha'i performers to gather in Victor

By ALLISON COOPER/Messenger Post Staff

VICTOR — Actors Laura Failows, Susannah Beckett and Sky Yeager are seasoned performers, but they had never before adapted a book for presentation on the stage.

Until now.

The actors have worked hard to adapt the children's fable "The Dragons of Rizvania" for the stage, and harder still to take it to 15 states from Maine to Florida, according to tour manager Margot Laberge- Hall.

"It's very hectic," said Laberge-Hall of the actor's itinerary. They are members of the Kingfisher Theatre Compa-ny based in Pennsylvania and started by Baha'i William George. The group will perform the play in Buffalo on Sunday, Oct. 13, and will attend a pre-production reception in Victor on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. They are currently en route to the event in Victor.

The story is written by Michigan Baha'i Carol Handy and highlights the challenge of emotions, feelings and the longings of the heart, according to Sue Emmel of Pittsford, who is a member of the Baha'i community.

Emmel explains the faith originated in Persia in the 1850s and grew from the teachings of an exiled prisoner named Baha'u'llah.

The central teaching of the faith calls for believers to seek answers to matters of spirituality without the assistance of the clergy.

Baha'u'llah envisioned an assemblage of people on the planet who would shift the model of modern-day organized religion with an apolitical and independent search to define their faith and development of the soul.

Those jailing the prophet, according to Emmel, were so taken by his message that they became part of the faithful.

Emmel said the faith's message is one of peace and said in the current social and political climate, that message is timely and necessary.

For George, the arts are a natural way to weave faith with enlightenment through entertainment.

"The Baha'i community appears to me on the verge of embracing the arts as a powerful teaching tool," George wrote to the U.S. National Baha'i Assembly. "The World Congress has stirred up interest and a fuller understanding of how drama, music, and all of the arts can move people's hearts."

Art Elliott, who will host the reception along with his wife, Barb, said they are excited to be a part the event.

"We're looking forward to meeting the artists," said Elliott. "We've seen the plays before and they're fantastic."

For more information and directions to the event, call Kristin Elliott at (585) 924-4039.