Black Sheep Theatre Presents Witchwork This Friday and Saturday at ASU

Story by David Brewer

This Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, Black Sheep Theatre and Appalachian State University’s Women’s Studies department present Witchwork, a play written by ASU professor and Black Sheep co-founder Georgia Rhoades and directed by Mary Anne Maier. The play will be staged at the I.G. Greer Studio Theatre at ASU and will begin at 8:00 p.m. each night.

A blend of historical accounts and humor, Witchwork was written to tell the stories of women who were accused of witchcraft and killed between the 14th and 17th centuries. Based on court transcripts, histories and oral traditions, Witchwork allow the survivors to tell the stories of their times and about their opportunities to escape persecution and death.

“There were so many women that were killed as witches and I’d never studied about them,” said Rhoades of her inspiration to create the work. “Quite often witch hunts happen in counties when things are going wrong and they need to blame people.”

During her travels throughout the British Isles, Rhoades researched the stories of women accused of witchcraft in libraries and bookshops, and she listened to the stories of women on buses and trains and in the small villages, where oral traditions are strong.

Witchwork began as smaller pieces about famously documented women accused of witchcraft including Mother Shipton and Grace O’Malley. Shipton lived in a remote village in Yorkshire, England, during the 16th century and was accused of witchcraft by Cardinal Wolsey but was not killed. O’Malley, known as the Pirate Queen of the Connemara, visited with Queen Elizabeth I when both were nearly 60 years old.

According to Rhoades, Witchwork is her way of telling these women’s stories, as well as those of others who didn’t survive the dark period, including Irish figures the Gingerbread Woman and Petronilla of Meath, the first woman to be burned as a witch.

“The witch craze revealed so much about the fears and fantasies of people in power instead of what women’s lives were really like, which wasn’t documented,” said Rhoades.

After its completion, Witchwork debuted at ASU in 2002 and went on to be performed in Asheville and in Dairy, Northern Ireland.

Like other Blacksheep productions, Witchwork intersperses humor throughout its serious subject matter. Rhoades is quick to point out that Witchwork isn’t all doom and gloom.

“I want people to know that it’s got lots of funny stuff in it,” said Rhoades. “I hope people will have a good time and they’ll feel like the women have been honored. This play only refers to a few women and there were so many.”

As is the case with many Black Sheep productions, most actors will play multiple roles throughout the course of the show. In addition to Rhoades, actors taking the stage in Witchwork include Black Sheep co-founder Dennis Bohr, Sarah Carpenter, Kirsten Tiedemann, Anna Ward and Erin Zimmerman.

Following the production, Rhoades and the cast will participate in a discussion about topics related to the play.

Black Sheep Theatre was founded in 1992 by Rhoades, Bohr and Maier, and is dedicated to writing and performing original political work. Contact Bohr at bohrdj@appstate.edu for more information about Black Sheep Theatre.

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