The Invitation

A Play in Four Movements

In a world where killing is sport,

war is entertainment,

and betrayal is common,

how do we make peace?

The INVITATION, a play in four movements created by Dr. Barbara O’Guinn Condron of the School of Metaphysics, answers this question.  In an effort to illustrate that “peace is achieved by those who fulfill their part of a greater plan”, this play allows you to sit with outstanding people who understood profoundly how “world peace begins within ourselves”.

Albert Schweitzer, Linus Pauling, Martin Luther King Jr., Betty Williams, Mother Theresa, Alva Myrdal, the Dalai Lama, and Shirin Ebadi, recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize over a 60-year span of time, discuss the Universal Peace Covenant through the words of their acceptance speeches, engaging the audience to realize that “peace is first a state of mind”.

The 90-minute artistic performance begins with an 18-minute movie, Lives Worth Examining, produced by original cast members, all SOM teachers and students.  The documentary-styled film provides insight into each laureate, their hopes and fears, challenges and triumphs, setting the stage for what is to come.  It is as if these people come alive before our eyes.  In THE INVITATION, different genders, races, ages, religions, political affiliations, and passions stand together as citizens of the Earth, providing the living example of peace-filled understanding for the world at large.  The play concludes with a call to action as the laureates take the Universal Peace Covenant into the audience, offering each one an invitation to live a life worth examining.

A Viable Response to Today's Challenges

The INVITATION is offered to St. Louis in its pivotal moments of transformation

Read about THE INVITATION at Cardinal Ritter High School in St. Louis in November 2014 and how you can perform the play in your community.

By May, the arrangements for THE INVITATION to be brought to “Joe’s kids” were finalized.  November 18th, we expected to perform the play to a high school age audience for the first time.  None of us anticipated the single incident on the afternoon of August 9th.
Betty Williams’ words echo in my mind when I think about Ferguson: “A deep sense of frustration was already evident before the tragic events of that sunny afternoon August 10, 1976.”
Here we stood, a continent away, almost 38 years later to the day. In Northern Ireland, it had been “the deaths of four young people in a lone terrible act of violence.”
In Ferguson, Missouri, it was the fatal shooting of a single 18- year-old African-American by a 28-year-old Caucasian police officer who was responding to a 911 call.
None of us knew that what happened in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb of little more than 20,000, would become the focal point for the world’s conscience. Yet it did. Organized and independent media decided to use the events of that day – an occurrence that we must admit happens each day somewhere in the U.S. – to create a “every global debate on race, justice, and compassion.
History was repeating itself, as those of us who receive and give THE INVITATION are in a position to keenly see. Both events “caused frustration to explode, creating a possibility for a real peace movement.” Yet, as has seemed historically the case, human nature “finds it difficult to make different choices even midst the higher calling toward a better judgement.
Each of our laureates met the challenge in their own nature …. read more….

The History of THE INVITATION

Explore the Play's Origins, Cast Members, and Performances

The Story Behind the Invitation

View Past and Present Performances

 The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates meet in the Peace Dome every year to discuss peace, then present their message somewhere in the world. 

~  Parliament of the World’s Religions Salt Lake City, Utah  2015  ~
Cardinal Ritter Prep School St. Louis, Missouri 2014  ~  Chicagoland Premieres  2013  ~  Louisville, Kentucky 2012
   ~   Dallas, Texas 2011
   ~   Melbourne, Australia 2009
     ~    Chicago, Illinois 2008
  ~  Indianapolis, Indiana 2007  ~
and annual performances in the Peace Dome beginning 2002

Meet the Laureates, and the People Who Bring the Play to Life

Experience

The Invitation

First Hand

Our dream is to bring these Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to life, all around the world, through The Invitation. We expect that in the time to come, thespians of all ages will discover the transformative power brought through portraying these individuals. With an emphasis on teenage and young adults, we feel this play that began in the world’s Peace Dome on the campus of the College of Metaphysics will find a natural home in the theaters of colleges and high schools around the world.

The Invitation on Audible®

Experience The Invitation in a whole new way, through a 90-minute Audible® production.

Click Here to Download the Educational Rights Application

 

The Educational Rights Package give your school or group permission to perform the play. The packages includes a dozen scripts, two copies of The Invitation DVD, and 12 copies of PeaceMaking: 9 Steps for Changing yourself, your Relationships, and Your World, a book about the creation of The Invitation. For a consulting fee, arrangements can be made for a cast member to work with your production.