As part of her community connector work with Great Plains Theatre Commons, Omaha playwright Ellen Struve leads story sharing workshops with women at MICAH House shelter in Council Bluffs. Residents tell her how scary it is losing everything and having to navigate unfamiliar social service systems to try and find safe refuge and a new start. <\/p>\n
When Anastasis Theatre Co. artistic director Haley Haas suggested Struve create a story about their experiences, the writer thought of \u201cHansel and Gretel.\u201d Like the siblings of that classic fairy tale brave dark, dangerous woods, unhoused and food insecure women in the metro report feeling lost in a harsh world where threats loom large.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Struve\u2019s resulting adaptation, \u201cWays to Win the Woods,\u201d is a new play with music that uses metaphors inspired by that folk tale to shed light on the challenges of homelessness in America. It will make its world premiere with free performances at Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center in Council Bluffs on Feb. 12-13 at 7 p.m. and at Yates Illuminates in Omaha on Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I would like to do something unusual,\u201d said Struve (\u201cRecommended Reading for Girls,\u201d \u201cThe Dairy Maid-Right,\u201d \u201cEPIC\u201d), who\u2019s formed deep bonds with the shelter and its residents. \u201cIt\u2019s a place and a population that I care deeply about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her take on \u201cHansel and Gretl\u201d focuses on foster sisters Hannah and Greta. While negotiating treacherous woods, they intersect with labor exploiter Witchey, unscrupulous speculator Wolf, slum landlord Owl, bad ex-boyfriend Bucky, struggling mother of two Mary Jane, and the ever-helpful Duck.<\/p>\n
Two MICAH House residents, along with a professional actor in the cast, have personal experience with homelessness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project is the latest Anastasis play around pressing issues \u2013 previous works dealt with incarceration (\u201cMore Than a Number,\u201d \u201cBy a Thread\u201d) \u2013 as part of its immersive, community-based mission \u201clifting unheard voices.\u201d Anastasis uses real-life, human stories from vulnerable communities as the basis of its plays.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis work is my calling,\u201d said Haas, director of \u201cWays to Win the Woods.\u201d The work has brought her and frequent collaborator Struve into shelters and prisons as well as refugee and immigrant communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m continually inspired by the folks I get to serve,\u201d Haas said.<\/p>\n
In the face of federal assaults on DEI, Anastasis is doubling down on diversity, equity and inclusion,\u00a0even launching new restorative justice programming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe every human deserves dignity and respect no matter their background,\u201d Haas said.<\/p>\n
The new production is a collaboration between Anastasia, Great Plains Theatre Commons, the Omaha Symphony, MICAH House and PACE (Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment).\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a pretty big team to try to wrangle, which is a beautiful problem to have,\u201d Haas said. \u201cHaving so many invested partnerships means that our scale can be bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Extra resources allow Anastasis to bring to life Struve\u2019s vision. Her daughter, classically trained pianist Reese Pike, composed the show\u2019s jazz and blues inspired music. Liz Stinman is music director. Musicians from the Omaha Symphony Forte Initiative will perform the score at the Feb. 12 and 13 shows in Council Bluffs. Maestra Serena Reuten will conduct.<\/p>\n
Kansas City Repertory Theatre properties artist Taylor Adams designed the whimsical set.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis set is playful, but it has some grunge to it,\u201d Adams said. \u201cIt is supposed to feel like the box forts we played with as children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coat racks suggest trees. Bird houses refer to the transience of the women\u2019s comings and goings. Jenny Pool designed the costumes.<\/p>\n
Struve said just as \u201cHansel and Gretel\u201d came out of the ravages of famine, plague, and oppression in Europe, her play reflects this uneasy time for women and families impacted by America\u2019s affordable housing crisis, rising food prices, SNAP reductions. food deserts, social service opponents and sometimes less than friendly attitudes.<\/p>\n
Extracting and interpreting women\u2019s stories takes trust. It\u2019s built from the start in story circles and sense journaling sessions Struve conducts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always start workshops by saying, \u2018Listening is the greatest act of care we can give to one another,\u2019 so that they know it is a space where they will be listened to,\u201d said Struve.<\/p>\n
MICAH resident Shannon Lowe gave a thumbs-up to the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt truly seen and heard by Ellen and Haley,\u201d she said. \u201cThey seemed to listen to all our stories with their whole hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
As much as Lowe and her fellow residents take away from the experience, Struve feels she may come away with more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve gained so much perspective on what other people go through and how you can\u2019t make a rush to judgment for anyone in any situation because their lives and experiences are so varied,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s made me recognize what real strength is. Real strength is caring for other people even when you may not have enough to take care of yourself. Real strength is moving forward with optimism and belief in a better situation tomorrow. And real strength is being giving of yourself in your community, which I\u2019ve experienced every time I have gone there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is also protective of the women\u2019s personal journeys.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing the fairy tale frame created a way to engage everyone creatively without exploiting anyone\u2019s individual story during a vulnerable time,\u201d Struve said. \u201cWhat excites me most is creating something people can participate in that inspires them to tell their own story, their own way and on their terms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Struve said in developing the piece with the women as sources, she kept top of mind \u201cwhat they wanted people to know about the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the resounding messages the women wanted to put in the play is that homelessness can happen to anyone, through medical bills, a bad relationship, a lost job,\u201d she said. \u201cIt can result from any number of things that many people go through. It isn\u2019t a bad decision. It\u2019s bad luck in a lot of cases.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
MICAH program manager Jennifer Determan said she suspects, \u201cThere\u2019s a large majority of the general population that\u2019s one crisis away from a catastrophe. A lot of women come to us through domestic violence. They come to us through numerous different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anastasis board member and actress Doriette Jordan, who plays Witchey, served a liaison role with MICAH during the play\u2019s developmental process. She now understands how narrow the margin is between stability and instability.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou never know when life will hit you like a ton of bricks,\u201d she said. \u201cYour world could fall apart literally within the next minute. This play is an eye-opener and makes you take a step back and reflect on not only your own life but lives of others who may not have resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shannon Lowe never thought it would happen to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI first became homeless after a heart attack with a related brain injury while living in Spokane, Washington,\u201d she said. \u201cI was lucky to find shelter at MICAH House a year after returning to Iowa. I didn\u2019t know what it would be like to fall below the poverty line. I thought being homeless would be a little like camping.\u00a0The rules change for people who don\u2019t have a home. In some places it is against the law to sleep in spaces you haven\u2019t secured with money. I didn\u2019t realize how driven by money the world had become. A wealth gap is often not a gulf that can be traversed alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
SaVonni Yestanti ended up homeless after a string of reversals that began when she fell into debt handling her grandmother\u2019s affairs, then quit a job for a new opportunity that fell through during the pandemic. Major surgery, contracting COVID, and protracted disputes with rental property companies found her living in her car.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to know what\u2019s happening out here and they need to understand that you don\u2019t have to be drug or alcohol addicted or mentally ill in order to be homeless,\u201d said Yestanti. \u201cA lot of times other factors have everything to do with an individual becoming homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Determan confirmed that at any given time, some MICAH residents are experiencing homelessness for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve never accessed any type of social programs,\u201d Determan said. \u201cThey don\u2019t know anything about these systems and agencies. Usually the only clothes they have are what they can fit into a trash bag. They\u2019re coming into a place where they don\u2019t know anyone. They\u2019re sharing rooms with people. All while trying to figure out their next step. It\u2019s all very terrifying for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Determan said there\u2019s always high demand for MICAH services, thus always a wait list.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are seeing due to the housing affordability issue is a higher demand for people needing emergency rental or utilities assistance,\u201d Determan said.<\/p>\n
She added until more affordable housing becomes available, an uptick in evictions can be expected, which can have a cascade effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce a person has an eviction, their ability to have housing stability greatly decreases and the housing they\u2019re able to access is going to be less desirable. As people continue to get more evictions it gets worse and worse for them,\u201d Determan said.<\/p>\n
Determan added that MICAH resident stays vary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to meet people where they\u2019re at,\u201d Determan said. \u201cAs long as they\u2019re working on the things they need to work on \u2013 whether obtaining employment, their mental health, substance use, they can stay here because we do understand that obtaining housing can be really difficult. If a family doesn\u2019t have a subsidy or voucher to help with rent, finding a place to afford just from their job income can be really difficult. It can be really difficult to stay in that housing once they get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yestanti values the play for giving audiences a dramatic glimpse into the world of homelessness and the issues bound up in that experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m concerned that renters have very few rights when it comes to dealing with landlords who act questionably-unjustly. There\u2019s a lot of unnecessary things that happen to keep people unhoused, and the project that some of us are acting in goes into some of these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Yestanti learned about the project, she said she made sure to audition because \u201chaving this lived experience of dealing with homelessness I wanted to be part of the narrative.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In sharing their stories on stage, Yestanti and Lowe will be doing what Haas sees happen with each project.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy big joy always is seeing theater light new people up and starting their journey as advocates for their community,\u201d said Haas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Yestanti\u2019s case, the project actually reconnects her with theater, something she did earlier in her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a blessing, as I get to tell the story and relay the facts in a way that will help people understand,\u201d she said. \u201cI can put real feeling into something that requires the range of human emotion. This experience has been opening other doors for me. It\u2019s putting me where I always should have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Shannon Lowe said even though there were tryouts at MICAH House, she was not expecting a part, \u201cBut I hoped to be able to be a part of the conversation about homelessness and help generate hope that might make \u2018the woods\u2019 seem less dark for others like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that she\u2019s in it she\u2019s happy to add her voice to the mix.<\/p>\n
Anastasia veteran Xavier Carr is a professional actor who has lived experience with the topics the company illuminates.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople with the lived experiences can \u2018coach and mentor\u2019 actors on exactly what the piece is trying to portray and what it\u2019s really like in that situation,\u201d Carr said. \u201cIf the professional actor makes a choice, the new actor with lived experience can tell them if that choice is accurate or not and how to make that choice more authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having people in her play who know homelessness first-hand, Struve said, makes her \u201cfeel the weight\u201d of being true to the reality of that experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a constant reminder of why you want to get it right or who you want to honor in that creation,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso you\u2019re so grateful that they have trusted you and that they are willing to engage in the material.\u201d<\/p>\n
The women in \u201cWays to Win the Woods\u201d traverse the dark and its various predators and threats armed with sharp humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoosing humor came very much from the amazing spirits I have encountered at MICAH House,\u201d said Struve. \u201cIt can be a real dark humor but they have such an amazing sense of humor. Everyone there is just an amazing survivor and humor is indeed a coping mechanism. It can enable us to be more open to examining things we may otherwise not want to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her play, Struve also tried being true to the community the women embody.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just a large expanse of life that happens there,\u201d she said. \u201cCertainly the power of friendship and loyalty is on full display.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lowe said that sense of community is tangible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are elements of women\u2019s stories that are hard to share,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cThe hurts too personal and the wounds too deep. At MICAH House, women learn to lean on and support one another. Hope blossoms. I have received tireless support from shelter staff and caseworkers. I always feel like I have someone to turn to when life hands me \u2018lemons.\u2019 My wish is that together we can find new ways to \u2018make lemonade\u2019 together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yestanti is glad to lean into fellow travelers.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s always great to connect with people who understand what you\u2019ve gone through because they\u2019ve gone through it themselves,\u201d Yestanti said.<\/p>\n
As the play representing their truth came together, the MICAH women were consulted. It started with Struve facilitating reading the original tale together and discussing its meaning and relevance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about our own various temptations that the witch might use and participants shared what they wanted people who hadn\u2019t had this experience to know, from the everyday challenges of riding the bus to the big takeaway that this can happen to anyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As Struve shared drafts of her adaptation, Haas said, the emerging new play became \u201cvery integrated with the ideas of the women.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019d bring in versions and they\u2019d give feedback,\u201d Haas said. \u201cWe switched out some of the songs. We added some more realistic and maybe more serious moments to the script. This is why we do readings because the feedback is essential. It\u2019s very productive. We really centered the women at every step. Ellen would present a part of the story and say, \u2018What does this look like in the world today,\u2019 and then they would spin ideas. Ellen has no ego as a playwright. She really wants to be of service.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Struve recalled a significant change that came from the back and forth.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne (musical) number in particular hit the wrong tone,\u201d said Struve. \u201cDespite having already orchestrated it, we scrapped it and started over with input received and incorporated changes. It\u2019s always easier to go darker than lighter, so I changed some script details. Participants had the opportunity to voice the need for change, know they were being listened to, and see their recommendations implemented, which is what we hope happens with the societal issues in the play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of those darker moments, Lowe said, \u201cclosely echoed my own experience of feeling very stuck and hopeless.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nothing was spared, said Yestanti.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about the very real fact that if the cycle of homelessness is not broken, it ends in death most of the time. Trying to survive homelessness is very real and it is no walk in the park,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The play also reveals the light that helps women like Lowe and Yestanti find their way out of the woods to move forward in their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am grateful for the classes offered at MICAH House and for help accessing counseling to help me navigate through that time,\u201d Yestanti said.<\/p>\n
The play\u2019s optimistic ending is vital, Yestanti said, to show that homelessness doesn\u2019t need to be the end as long as there\u2019s support.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is my hope that we are able to enlighten people on some of the topics that put people in this situation and keep people here,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is my hope audiences are able to come away from this project ready to help out in any way they can, without judging or placing stereotypes upon them. These are issues we all can, and should, help out with because everybody has a turn at the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Struve described as a \u201ctricky high wire act\u201d balancing the traditional form of fairy tale and musical with gritty social themes and hope. Composer Reese Pike found balancing the light and dark in her music challenging, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can be really difficult to capture the incredible difficulties of these situations but also the hope that people and dreams for a better future they still have,\u201d she said. \u201cThose are things I took away from the workshops and was thinking about as I was writing the music.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the mother-daughter team\u2019s first collaboration on a full stage production. It also marks the first time Struve wrote lyrics.<\/p>\n \u201cI usually have a song or something in work I do but these are the first original songs I\u2019ve done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A talk back will follow each performance. Actor Xavier Carr said that exchanging ideas about the life and death issue the play raises is important.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will give people in the community a chance to ask questions and in some cases, get a better understanding of the issues that are not only portrayed on the stage, but happening in real life, in real time, within our local community,\u201d Carr said.<\/p>\n Just don\u2019t look to Struve or her play for solutions.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t pretend to offer any answers,\u201d she said. \u201cI do believe that we can find them as a community.\u00a0 I hold tremendous hope for the women I\u2019ve met through this process.\u201d<\/p>\n Yestanti\u2019s journey from struggling alone to finding help is a reason for hope.<\/p>\n \u201cSince being at Micah House,\u201d she said, \u201cI\u2019ve started a new job as a case manager. Good things are happening and I know more good things are coming my way.\u201d<\/p>\n The same is true for Lowe.<\/p>\n \u201cI genuinely like who I am becoming.\u201d<\/p>\n The women are excited to see the fruits of the hard work they, their fellow residents, Struve, Pike, Haas and Co. have put into making their stories live on stage for others to see and feel.<\/p>\n Tickets are free but reservations are required. Go here<\/a> or here<\/a> for reservations.<\/p>\n Learn more about the project<\/a> and Micah House<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source thereader.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As part of her community connector work with Great Plains Theatre Commons, Omaha playwright Ellen Struve leads story sharing workshops with women at MICAH House shelter in Council Bluffs. Residents tell her how scary it is losing everything and having to navigate unfamiliar social service systems to try and find safe refuge and a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2265003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2265001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/New-play-with-music-from-Anastasis-Theatre-Co-drawn-from-homelessness.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2265001"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2265004,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265001\/revisions\/2265004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2265003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2265001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2265001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2265001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thereader.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reese-Pike-Headshot-1024x680.jpg\")