Romance Theater to host witchy one-woman show this weekend
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REXBURG — A renowned storyteller is set to bring her latest story to the stage at the Romance Theater in Rexburg.
Lori Prescott Hansen will be performing her one-woman show “I Be a Witch” this Friday and Saturday at the Romance. Hansen says the story she’ll be telling holds personal significance for her.
“I’ve been on this project for quite a while,” Hansen told EastIdahoNews.com. “It’s been a labor of love. I’ve always been interested in the witch character and crones and white women. Then my son texted me one day and said ‘Did you know you’re related to a witch?’”
Upon researching that claim, Hansen found that she’s descended from a witch named Ann Foster. Hansen, a Rexburg resident, was riveted by Foster’s story and decided it would make good source material for a play. To help cover the costs of writing and researching Foster’s story, Hansen applied for and received a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts.
Hansen also visited the Salem, Massachusetts area to explore Foster’s home turf and take in its related history. Seeing the area in which Foster lived and places that played an important role in her life really helped to inform the story and emotional content of “I Be a Witch.”
She also said “I Be a Witch” will resonate with people who have ever felt ignored, lonely or outcast.
“It’s the story of (Foster’s) life, told through her own words,” said Hansen. “It’s a compelling story and I hope it brings to the attention of the audience what can happen when you’re ‘the other.’ How when you’re different or you’re old, how you could be tagged as ‘the other.’ And that was so easy to do back then.”
It’s a message that’s still relevant today.
“Once you’re labeled (‘the other’), it’s very hard to change peoples’ minds or convince them otherwise,” Hansen said. “I feel like it’s a timely message.”
Another theme the show covers is resilience and rebuilding your life after everything you’ve has been ruined.
“What happens when everything you believed in and hoped for and loved is taken away from you,” said Hansen. “Is there a way to find your way back to happiness when everything you’ve counted on has betrayed you?”
Hansen said that while “I Be a Witch” is serious and dramatic, she hasn’t forgotten to include some laughs.
“I tried to bring some humor into it because you can’t hold an audience for an hour with just solid drama,” she said. “You have to have a little bit of comic relief here and there.”
“I think this is a story that people will be able to relate to,” she added. “The costume is amazing. It’s extremely historically accurate. And I think (“I Be a Witch”) is worth an audience’s time.”
You can catch Lori Prescott Hansen’s performance of “I Be a Witch” Friday, October 22 or Saturday, October 23 at 7:30 pm at the Romance Theater in Rexburg. Click here for tickets.
