SINCLAIRVILLE — Mark your calendar for Friday, at either 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. On that day, the Chautauqua County Health Network will present performances of a staged reading, featuring the play ‘‘Vesta,’’ by Bryan Harnetiaux.

A staged reading is a performance of a play in which the actors hold their scripts in their hands and read their lines. They may wear costumes or regular clothes which are only suggestions of costumes, and there may be scenery and formal stage lighting, but usually those elements are only suggested.

The performances will take place at the Park United Methodist Church, 49 Sinclair Drive, Sinclairville. The public is invited, and there is no admission charge. Performances last approximately 90 minutes.

Throughout our nation, April 16 is dedicated to ensuring that all adults capable of making informed decisions, have the information and the opportunity to communicate and document their health care wishes to their families and to their health care providers.

Having lost both my parents in recent years, I am well aware that many people who feel they are nearing the ends of their lives, become highly anxious and afraid that they might lose consciousness because of a sudden illness, and might be subjected to medical procedures which they don’t want, or might be denied medical procedures which they do want.

‘‘Vesta’’ is a play about an elderly woman who is suffering from serious ailments, and the tough choices which she and her family must face.

In truth, individuals have a great many rights to choose how they will be treated in various circumstances. However, nobody wants to think about such possibilities, which can lead to circumstances in which the patient is no longer able to make decisions for himself, and families are faced with disputes among themselves, legal red tape and significant additional expense and frustration.

The end of someone’s life is always an uncomfortable topic, and in recent months, some politicians, businesses and media figures have shamefully distorted and falsified potential situations to frighten the public into supporting practices which are often to the advantage of those politicians, businesses and media figures, at the expense of the very individuals who are being manipulated.

Bryan Harnetiaux is an attorney, living in Spokane, Wash. He has been a playwright-in-residence at the Spokane Civic Theatre since 1982.

His plays, both one-act and full-length, appear in anthologies and have been performed by both professional and community theaters, across the U.S.

In addition to writing original plays, he has adapted prose by writers such as Ernest Hemingway and Kurt Vonnegut to be used as theatrical performances.

‘‘Vesta’’ was workshopped at the Lark Theatre in New York City and has been produced by many companies around the nation. The play has always been described as warm and funny, as well as deeply moving. It has often been presented by hospices, churches, divinity schools, medical schools and other organizations as an educational tool and as a vehicle for creation public dialogue about end-of-life issues.

Critic Jim Kershner of the Spokane Spokesman-Review wrote ‘‘Vesta rings absolutely true. In fact, for some viewers, this intimate play about an elderly woman’s slow journey toward the inevitable may feel uncomfortably close to home. But, I’m telling you, it’s worth it.’’

The Sinclairville production of the play is directed by wellknown actor, director and impresario Robert John Terreberry, with the leading role performed by Marlene Mudge, a long-time favorite of audiences at the Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown.

Other actors in the cast are Irene Terreberry, Matt Smith, Emily Drew, Marge Fiore and Cathy Basile. At the end of each performance, the audience will be invited to join in a discussion with the actors and a facilitator, regarding the issues which have been examined in the play.

Because space is limited, the company suggests that people planning to attend one of the performances should phone 338- 0010 to make a reservation. Once again, there is no charge. Here are some commentaries, taken from the Web site of the Duke University Institute on Care at the End of Life:

 When people thumb through the playbill while waiting to see ‘‘Vesta,’’ they may think they have come to see a play examining one family’s struggle with end-of-life issues. They need to think again.

They will come to know Vesta, a fiercely independent 75-yearold matriarch confronting a debilitating stroke and then terminal cancer, her middle-age daughter Carol, who is her mother’s primary caregiver, and Carol’s husband and teenage daughter, each struggling with the family’s upheaval.

But, it’s who the audience doesn’t expect to see in this tender and often humorous portrait of an ordinary family that surprises most: themselves.

Emotions ranged from sadness to joy to anger to regret. Like so many pieces of art, the play is a call to action about what we as a society can do differently about these issues. We love this play, because it is a gentle and non-threatening way to introduce deeply personal and sometimes sensitive and frightening issues.

People left the performance deeply impacted. Many observed that viewing the play felt like a healing and support for their own experience. Others told of wanting to think and plan for their own or a parent’s end-of-life time. Several medical professional remarked that it sensitized them to the people they were taking care of.