The amount of work that goes into a production like Listen to Your Mother Rochester is hard to appreciate unless you spend a little time backstage. The sound, the height of the stool, the managing of emotions and tension and makeup. It’s all very charged. Some women were preparing to share some of their most painful experiences, while others were getting ready to elicit thunderous laughter. Others were eating Vegan brownies while nursing their 8 month old and preparing to hide in the shadows pushing their camera’s low light capabilities to absurdity.
A tradition from last year was to have a pre-show circle with some hand squeezing and champagne.
As the audience poured in there was an unexpected trip of the fire alarm. Back stage we were stunned but a lot of the audience complied and filed out of the building. Fortunately it was quickly turned off and the show went on.
The evening started with Jami leading the audience to tears as she shared about losing her mom to cancer shortly after she conceived her first child. But the production team didn’t leave us sitting in tears, and she was followed by Linda who spent the next five minutes as a stand up comedian. This year readings covered a wide range of topics including unplanned pregnancy, adoption, domestic violence, child abuse, and many other topics related to motherhood.
After the show the cast members received some serious love.
A huge shout out to this beautiful group of women – thank you so much for sharing your stories with us. We’re better people because of your bravery.
