KAYSVILLE, Utah — A local theatre is spreading hope, one performance at a time. This time, The Hopebox Theatre in Kaysville is stepping up to help one of their own.
Kendra Reese plays the bass guitar with her partner Ken in the band "Silence The Critic."
"I actually love playing the bass because I can dance and play the bass," she said.
A couple of months ago, she got to perform here at the Hopebox Theatre during their production of ‘Oliver.’
“That to me was a dream come true because I’ve always wanted to participate and that was my chance to do it,” said Reese.
"This place is special,” said founder, Jan Williams. “We come together and do something pretty miraculously.”
For every production at the Hopebox Theatre, a portion of ticket sales and all the funds raised by scanning a QR code or dropping cash in the box, go to someone in the community battling cancer.
"I can’t tell you how many times I hear, you have no idea what this means to our family,” said Williams.
She has fought cancer 4 times. She founded Hopebox Theatre when the idea struck her after a group sang for her at her doorstep when she had cancer for the third time.
"We're trying to help people in our community that are battling this disease, because everyone knows someone with cancer now,” said Williams. “So, the way we can do it is we try to not only bring them on closing night, not only give them a night out with their families, but also we try to incorporate them into our show."
The funds can be used for bills, a family vacation, or anything that can help them during these difficult times.
The recipients are part of their "Wall of Hope," and their name goes on a plaque in the lobby. "Every show has so much meaning in a different way,” explained Reese. “All these name up here are just awesome people, and I feel very lucky to be a part of it."
While Reese was rehearsing for Oliver, "The day after the first rehearsal is when I found out that I had breast cancer. Luckily it was caught early on, it was stage 2,” explained Reese.
Even through chemo, she was on stage, with that same bright smile.
"She is one of those people that makes everything about someone else. And it feels so good to tell her, no, its about you now. Let us be there for you,” said Craig Hovorka, her fellow cast member.
So, Reese’s cast mates from Oliver, nominated her to be the Wall of Hope recipient for the Jekyll and Hyde production. The show goes through this Saturday night, Oct. 26. Reese will be recognized with her family, and handed a check.
She is grateful for the help, and for the love from her Hopebox family.
"I’ve been the one that’s been sitting in the audience watching the plays and then I got to be in the production, and now I’m a recipient. So yeah, full circle,” said Reese.
You can learn more about Hopebox here.
