The Storyteller
Megan Wells brings Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik to life
Florence Nightingale. Diana Spencer (Princess of Wales). Eleanor Roosevelt. St. Clare of Assisi. Mary Magdelene. These are just some of the famous women from history that theater artist and storyteller Megan Wells has brought to life. Megan’s theatrical specialty is storytelling. She portrays and impersonates historical and religious characters from the past in intimate and theatrical settings. Creating monologues, Megan highlights the various events and the personal struggles that shaped the the person’s life. She often uses written biographies, historical documentation, and other resources to write storytelling pieces to paint a total theatrical vision of the person. Thus, she transforms into these historical individuals and gives the audience a window into history and their lives.
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Megan portrayed St. Clare of Assisi at the Village of Victory Lakes, in Lindenhurst, Illinois, (a senior living facility operated by Franciscan Ministries and sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago). Her performance was so well-received that she was asked to portray Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik, foundress of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago at the 125th Anniversary of St. Joseph Village of Chicago in October. She later reprised her role as Mother Mary Theresa in Lemont for the Sisters, invited religious, and residents at Franciscan Village.
Megan Wells (in her costume as Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik) stands in front of a portrait of the foundress, Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik.
Megan has been interested in the theater since she was a young girl living in Des Plaines, Illinois. Growing up with three brothers, she was very active outside, either biking with them or playing kick-the-can. “When I was seven, my mother thought my imaginative nature needed more than just boy antics so she enrolled me in a drama class at the local community theater. The program was called ‘Footlighter's’ and I'll never forget it. I fell deeply in love with theater and have been devoted to the performing arts my entire life,” Megan recalls.
Her first play was The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, the famous play about Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. Megan was cast as Helen Keller’s mother. Soon other plays and high school shows followed. She eventually received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from Illinois Wesleyan. Later she decided to focus her efforts on directing and attained a Master of Fine Arts from Illinois State University. “I have directed over 30 plays in my career. My initial theatre career in Chicago was as a director and I received the Joseph Jefferson Award (also known as the Jeff Awards) for Directing. I also started a drama club for sixth graders at my daughter’s school and wrote eight plays which I directed for this club. That was such satisfying work!”
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Megan Wells as Mary Magdalene.
Megan eventually moved into storytelling. After attending the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, she felt storytelling was a better fit for her theater aspirations. “I loved performing in the theater but discovering the audience/storyteller relationship was even more thrilling. I became a full-time professional touring storyteller in 1990.” She performed her storytelling characters at many venues including national festivals, regional theaters, orchestras, women's clubs, libraries, universities, and schools. “In 2002, I was commissioned to create my first historical portrayal. I now have over 24 famous women in my repertoire. I love the research and the challenge of finding each famous woman's unique calling and voice.” Not only has she performed as some of the famous women listed at the start of this article, Megan lists some of the following historical people and their respective performances:
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Mary Shelley: Love and Frankenstein
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Clara Barton: Learning from the Civil War
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Abigail Adams: From Colony to Constitution
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Elizabeth Hamilton: My husband Alexander
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Miep Gies: On finding and protecting the diary of Anne Frank
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Maria Anna Mozart: Our family and my famous brother, Wolfgang
When asked if she has a favorite, Megan says she enjoys whoever she is in the moment during the performance and doesn’t have a particular favorite character. “My favorite is whichever one I am portraying at the time I'm playing her. I also enjoy the direct relationship with the audience. In storytelling, I address the audience directly and their responses impact the stories that I am weaving anew with each telling. Storytelling is both learned and improvisational. You ‘know’ the story and the audience impacts ‘how’ you tell as you tell.” In addition to the historical women she has portrayed, Megan includes religious based performances in her repertoire. She also has portrayed various religious figures through the years including Mary of Nazareth, the Samaritan Woman at the Well, and Prisca of Rome.
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After Megan was commissioned to play Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik, she started doing research on her life. She received a copy of The Chronicle, Mother Mary Theresa’s personal journal that was re-published in 2020 by the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago. She read it extensively, taking notes as she read. “Once I started the research on the foundress' life, I fell into admiration and curiosity. Mother Mary Theresa was a deeply courageous, fiercely persistent, and gentle soul. When I research a person, I try to extricate the character from biographies, documentaries, and any source material that I can find. Then I attune myself to their struggles and courage.”
(Seated) Sr. Doloria Kosiek and Sr. M. Joella Bielinski. (Standing) Fr. Ken Baker, Sr. M. Francis Clare Radke, Sr. Emilie Marie Lesniak, Pat Camalliere, Megan Wells, Sr. M. Helene Galuszka, Sr. Jeanne Marie Toriskie, Fr. Robert Lucas,
and Fr. Thomas Bernas.
“There is a spirit that moves in me when I portray her. I can feel her depth and introversion and I feel useful. To help the world know her is a powerful addition to healing our hearts in these chaotic and traumatic times.” - Megan Wells, Storyteller
Megan is also very well-versed on the history of Chicago and the major events that happened during the years Mother Mary Theresa lived such as, the Chicago Fire, the Haymarket bombing, and the World’s Fair Exposition. “Putting Mother Theresa in historical context reveals her character as she faced so many challenges in a city that was recovering from fire, plus the economic struggle and hardship citizens faced at the time. It gave her the strength and drive to care for the elderly and disabled.”
After her research, Megan developed Mother Mary Theresa’s storytelling theme and her monologue and then created the performance, complete with a full religious garb costume which transformed her into Mother Mary Theresa. She touched on various parts of Mother Mary Theresa’s life. “There is a spirit that moves in me when I portray her. I can feel her depth and introversion and I feel useful. To help the world know her is a powerful addition to healing our hearts in these chaotic and traumatic times.” The Franciscan Sisters of Chicago went to Franciscan Village to watch Megan perform as Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik. “We loved Megan’s portrayal of our foundress because she captured the essence of Mother Mary Theresa's character and the beauty of her soul,” said Sister Jeanne Marie Toriskie, General Vicar of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago.
Megan has more storytelling performances coming up. You may check her website meganwells.com or visit her Facebook page at facebook.com/MeganWellsStoryteller for upcoming storytelling shows. She may return to play Mother Mary Theresa in the future. Megan thanked the Sisters for giving her this opportunity. “Thank you for trusting me with the task of embodying your beloved Mother Mary Theresa. May her path to Sainthood be swift and smooth.”