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A wonderful play on reaching your "communities of interest"!  Use dolls for characters, or make puppets to add an arts and crafts element. The entire play is below, or download the Word file above.

Left to right:  Sneakers Sally, Fraidy Fran in red, Priscilla Perseverance wearing skates, and Mr. Bear in front.  Photo by Steve Pulley, USA.

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"EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY OF INTEREST, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK"

CAST OF CHARACTERS

(Esther's dolls; one with brown yarn hair and sneakers (Sneakers Sally);  one with black feathery hair, shorts and black ice skates (Priscilla Perseverance) one white rabbit long ears and red and white dress (Fraidy Fran) one bear with glasses (Mr. Bear)!

Priscilla Perseverance...................Stalwart Bahá'í  20 years

Fraidy Fran.................................Relatively new Bahá'í; quite fearful exterior

Sneakers Sally............................Bahá'í 5 years

Mr. Bear.....................................A man of knowledge

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Harmonica music ...

ENTER SNEAKERS SALLY

Sneakers Sally comes on to the scene swing her arms happily, and singing

Baba la gumbula, baba la gumbula

Sneakers Sally stops and looks, looks around, and looks again

Priscilla Perseverance (humped over sobbing in a corner):   OOOOOH,   OOOOOH   OOOOOH

Sneakers Sally "    Be still my heart!  Is that you-- the bravest of the brave-- the happiest of the happy ...., Priscilla Perseverance??,  What's wrong??? 

Priscilla Perseverance  WAIL, SNUFFLE, SOB, snort, booo hooooo

Fraidy Fran enters the scene slowly, timidly looking up, looking down, looking sidewise:  Sneakers Sally, not everyone is fearless like you!  (Goes up to Priscilla Perseverance and says (hand on her heart-if manageable)

Priscilla Peserverance, Stop my heart and wonder why!  Have you suffered a great loss?  How can I help you? What is wrong?

Priscilla Perseverance:  Sniff, snuffle, booo  wail (ascending upwards).  You know how the beloved House of Justice has asked us to concentrate our teaching efforts on our Communities of Interest?

Sneakers Sally:  Yes, that's right.  So what's the problem?

Priscilla Perseverance:  I DON'T HAVE A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST!!!

Sneakers Sally and Fraidy Fran turn and look at each other.

Priscilla Perseverance:  I'm through, finished, kaput, totaled; wail ascends.  OOOOOOOHHHH

Sneakers Sally:   oh for goodness sakes Priscilla Perseverance!

Fraidy Fran:  What's a Commune of Interest?

Sneakers Sally:  Move away Fraidy, I'll take care of this (SWAGGERS OVER TO PP)

Priscilla Perseverance:  You are the Queen of Outreach!  Waddymean, you don't have a community of interest?

Fraidy Fran:  (sigh) What's  a commune of Interest?

Sneakers Sally  Flip those ears over that mouth of yours Fraidy Fran, let ME explain. 

Well.... before I explain it to you,..... let me tell you ‘bout my life and why I don't cry.  It all started when radio was young and dear ....

Fraidy Fran:  Shush Sneakers Sally, this isn't about you.  Let's look around and see if anyone can help Priscilla Perseverance.

Priscilla Perservance:  Boo hoo, I meet and meet and meet people, and tell them about Baha'u'llah and still no one wants to come to a study circle or a devotional.  And that's what a community of interest is - not-yet-Bahá'ís who come to core activities on a regular basis.  And I DON'T HAVE A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST!  BOO HOO HOO!

Sneakers Sally:  Well that's good you meet people.  With those good looking legs, I bet a lot of people come up to you.

Fraidy Fran: Don't you think we should stick to the subject and try to help Priscilla.  She's really upset.

Sneakers Sally:  You got a point long ears!

Fraidy Fran;  Besides, What's A COMMUNE OF INTEREST? (3^rd time; make it louder)

Priscilla Perseverance:   I can't find one; wail, wail, wail.  Isn't there anybody who can help me find my community of interest?

Fraidy Fran:  The bear over there; doesn't he look smart?

Sneakers Sally::  Yeah, look over there; that bear with the glasses.  Don't he look good and learned?

Fraidy Fran; Yes!  Because he has those little glasses on!  Yup, He looks like a Man of Knowledge (harmonica blast)

Fraidy Fran, Sneakers Sally:    (in unison) Mr. Bear, yoo hoo Mr. Bear, Mr. Bear; our friend here, Priscilla Perseverance, is in great distress.

Fraidy Fran:  She says she doesn't have a Commune of Interest

Sneakers Sally:  It's Community, Community of interest.

Mr. Bear:  comes over (make sure his glasses are on)  Hello, ladies.  What seems to be the problem here?

Fraidy Fran:  Excuse us, Mr. Bear.  But are you a deepened and learned Bahá'í?

Mr. Bear:  Well, not be immodest, but... yes.  I am a deepened and learned Bahá'í!

Sneakers Sally:  Excellent!  A man of knowledge!  Just what we needed!

Mr. Bear:  Upon what topic may I be of service?

Priscilla Perseverance:  WAAAA!  I don't have a community of interest!!

Fraidy Fran,  And I don't even know what one IS!!

Mr. Bear:  Allow me to explain.  As you know, we have the Institute process; which is like an engine of growth, to get the Bahá'í community around the world on the same page and advance the process of entry by troops. 

Sneakers Sally:  Right!  Right!  Of course!  I knew that!

Mr. Bear:  At the same time, we have people who are not yet Bahá'ís but have shown some interest in the Faith.

Sneakers Sally:  Right!  Definitely!  I knew that, too!

Priscilla Perseverance:  lifts her head  - How can you tellllll they're interested?

Mr.Bear:  Well hello lovely young lady.   I like your ice skates; used to have a pair just like them.

Priscilla Perseverance  thanks (SNIFF) very much; I can speed all over Pasadena with them and meet lots of people.

Mr. Bear.  So you already have an outward looking orientation.  But it's not enough to just meet a bunch of people.  You need to be systematic and focused.

Sneakers Sally:  Yeah, systematic.  Definitely.  I knew that.  Focused.  Right.

Priscilla:  So... who should I focus on?

Mr. Bear:  The beloved House of Justice tells us to focus on friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers.  People with whom you already have relationships.

Priscilla:  You mean I don't have to skate all over Pasadena trying to meet new people every day?  I can concentrate on the people I see in my daily life already?

Mr. Bear:   Exactly! 

Sneakers Sally:  Hold on a second, Bear!  I've been telling my friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers about the Faith for years.  Maybe I can get ‘em to a fireside, once in a blue moon, but it never goes much further than that.

Mr. Bear:  Right.  That's why the beloved House of Justice has given us the core activities:  Devotional gatherings, children's classes, and study circles.  They are the mechanism by which you can bring your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers closer to the Faith.

Priscilla:  And what about the people on our prayer lists?

Mr. Bear:  Absolutely include the people on your prayer lists!  You are all on the right track.. you  just need to put it all together.  Your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and the people on your prayer lists are the people whom we hope will start going to study circles, devotionals, children's classes, and junior youth groups.  And, they keep on going on a regular basis.

Fraidy Fran:  But how do we get them in the door in the first place?

Mr. Bear:  By matching the core activity to the person.

Fraidy Fran:  You mean, start a children's class for the single moms in my apartment building?

Sneakers Sally:  Or having a devotional where I pray for peace along with my friends who are upset about the war?

Priscilla Perseverance:  Or starting a study circle for just about anybody?

Mr. Bear   That's exactly right!  Be discerning, perseverant, and systematic, and before you know it, the pattern will spread!

Priscilla Perseverance I am ever so relieved.  Before we know it, we'll be growing because of all these not-yet-Bahá'ís coming to our study circles, neighborhood children's classes, devotionals.

Fraidy Fran, Priscilla Perseverance and Sneakers Sally: (in unison) THANKS for stopping by Mr. Bear.  We can take it from here.

All 3 say:  (in unison) Now  we know what  a community of Interest is - and how to get one!!