ROLE PLAY

ROLE PLAY

Abigail and Vana

Alligatortown Chronicles

By R. P. Birt

What Everybody Knows

Abigail is the public health nurse in Alligatortown and runs the public health clinic. She is from Alligatortown, from a poor family, and went away to school. She is one of the few who have ever returned to work in the community.

Vana is the Senior Administrator in the Mayors office, which provides the funding for the clinic, and is indispensable for putting together the grants for Council’s approval. She is a single parent whose child was the “innocent” bystander hurt in the fracas in the school yard.

For the past few years the funding package for the clinic has proceeded smoothly and was approved pro forma at council. Now there seems to be a number of problems and the deadline for submission has passed, Council wants to know why. Council has forgotten they cut four jobs in the administration office, but J.T. Mayor suspects that may not be the only problem.

Abigail	Vana
You are intentionally withholding the funds from the clinic.	With the cutbacks and the increased workload I’m doing the best I can.
You are punishing me because you disapprove of what I did. I asked you to help. Friendship isn’t important to you.	You ask me for advice but you never take it. Besides, if you had taken my advice, my son wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the schoolyard. You are always causing problems.
Your son wouldn’t have got hurt if he wasn’t part of the group taunting Sinbad’s son.	How could you sleep with Sinbad? He is a Zorian!

Notes on Mutual Interest

If they don’t get past this and harmonize the funding situation, Abigail can quit and move to Hippotropolis. Her profession is in demand, but she would lose the ties to her home town. If Abigail quits, it would be hard for Vana to find a qualified person who wants to live in Alligatortown. Vana must be seen as an effective administrator, who can keep things moving smoothly through all the pressures of downsizing. Vana feels she can replace Abigail if necessary. Historically they have been friends. Abigail runs a good clinic.