On Listen To Your Mother & Sharing Our Stories

 

Last year I rediscovered a friend while trying to maintain my sanity. I was pregnant and on bed rest, which is just a fancy way of saying I was on Twitter a lot. That’s where I reconnected with hometown friend Ann Imig. A buzz surrounded her, and this buzz was much bigger than her hilarious blog. People were talking about Listen to Your Mother, Ann’s amazing tribute to mothers everywhere and the personal stories that were once limited to sharing online with links and retweets.

Words on a screen have power, Ann knew. But words spoken from the heart, into a microphone, and eagerly soaked up by an audience of peers? What if she gave Motherhood a Microphone? And what if that show started a movement that only grows with each passing day?

Ann’s first LTYM show in Madison, Wisconsin was a success, so the next year, it expanded to 5 cities. Now, the 2013 season of Listen To Your Mother is in 24 cities: city by city, local directors and producers cultivate their vision of motherhood with local writers and their own local flavor.

Once I discovered Listen To Your Mother, I knew I had to be a part of it, so I auditioned and was cast in . People throw around phrases like life-changing experience all the time, but LTYM truly was life-changing. It introduced me to a whole new world of strong women writers and inspired me to reach out into the writing world. In fact, it gave me the courage to write my first piece for Girl Body Pride.  When Ann put out a call for new cities, I knew I had to bring Listen To Your Mother to my own community in Wilmington, Delaware.

This time, I wanted to give other women a voice on stage.

At Girl Body Pride, we talk a lot about bodies. We talk a lot about parenting. We talk a lot about reclaiming ourselves and breaking away from the expectations of others. We are storytellers who use the power of our words to make people think. We use the power of our words to help make people braver. I came to Girl Body Pride because I wanted to speak up for myself. I wanted to tell the stories that I’d been afraid to tell.

Being a woman is hard. Dealing with our bodies is hard. Finding the strength to have pride in yourself is even harder.

Like Girl Body Pride, Listen To Your Mother speaks its mind. It doesn’t tip-toe around issues. It doesn’t hide tears or hold in laughter. It is real and raw and deeply personal. Every single person on stage has a story and those stories resonate with us— sometimes in ways we never expected. Even more, Listen To Your Mother creates community. It gives directors and producers a place to learn. It gives audiences a place to listen, and it gives cast members a group of friends when they didn’t know they needed friends.

Every moment where we can support each other in finding our voices and speaking our minds is an opportunity to propel us into a greater sense of pride and power. Be a part of the movement. Find a show in your city.

Listen to the stories.

Feel the stories.

Then go out and write your own.

 

 

Over-sharing Zavtik Mama, Editor, Writer, Yiddish Lover, Reform Jew, Avid Public Breastfeeder, and now,  the Not-So-Silent B in LGBT, — Shoshana Rachel puts the Shosh in Meshuga one word  at a time.  Read her ever-evolving voice on her blog, Shoshuga or follow her on . For more information on Listen To Your Mother check out the national website. Want to feel inspired from home? Watch .