Thursday night an ETSU storytelling graduate student will perform a three-part story commemorating the life of polygamist suffragette Emmeline Wells. Rishi Richardson researched Wells for five years, and now her work has culminated into a master’s thesis and a live performance.
The performance portrays three characters: a young Emmeline Wells, the daughter of Emmeline, and a journalist who knew her. The thesis performance was created by Richardson, who has traveled to Idaho to give this performance several times.
Richardson, originally from Idaho, came to ETSU to get her master’s in storytelling. She did her undergraduate degrees in theater, English and library science.
“I have been working on it for probably about five years,” said Richardson, “It probably would have happened faster but in the meantime I got married and had children, so it’s taken a little longer.”
Richardson spent a large amount of time at the library of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and the library at Brigham-Young University, where most of Wells’ journals are located.
“She was the leader of 10,000 women,” said Richardson, “and yet she’d write about everyday things like, ‘Oh, I’m so happy, I got to see my husband today!'”
“Rishi’s performance will share the joy of one’s life journey from first love to polygamy, suffrage, and finding her destiny,” according to Connie Gill, who is also a graduate of the ETSU storytelling program.
Wells was a famous suffragette in the West, and lived in a time when the Mormon church practiced polygamy. Wells was chief editor of the Women’s Exponent, a prominent women’s suffrage newspaper for the west in the late 1800’s.
“She rallied women in the West to help get the right for women to vote,” said Richardson.
“The reason I told it out West several times was because Wells was a Mormon, and there are a lot of Mormons out there. A lot of them were shocked at how she thought of her polygamist marriages. She went into marriage without looking for love,” said Richardson, “and a lot of her journal entries were about she wished for love.”
“I want people to take away from this performance that Emmeline Wells was a modern woman who lived in pre-modern times, and that she really had a sense of who she was and a sense of destiny. She did everything she could to live up to that no matter how much the people around her or circumstances tried to push her back down. She really felt that she was destined to become something great,” said Richardson. “I hope people can take away from that the same kernel of hope and purpose in life.”
This performance is free and will be held tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Room 228 of Sam Wilson Hall.

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