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This past weekend, our team heard over 50 stories about motherhood. Some made us cry, some made us laugh. Some made us nod our heads in solidarity because a moment in a story resonated with us. Some made us miss our mom or want to call our moms, daughters and sons.
We are so honored that so many talented people from San Antonio and the surrounding areas trusted us with their words. We reached more demographics than ever before. We had a record number of Latinas, men, and teens come in and read for us. Everyone has a story of motherhood and the stories we heard this year reflected the beautiful diversity of our community and it made us feel good because we know we’re moving forward with getting the word out about Listen to Your Mother.
Our 2020 show will be San Antonio’s fourth show and it’s truly amazing to see live storytelling grow in the Alamo City. We’re really proud of what we’re doing with the Listen to Your Mother Show and we’re excited to see increased interest and participation in other live storytelling events, such as Texas Public Radio’s Worth Repeating, Run Amok, Queer Voices, and others that are popping up.
It’s comforting to see there is still a place for sharing our experiences and stories in a face-to-face medium. It’s great that we have so much technology available to us. Technology allows us to communicate with people far away or that we wouldn’t otherwise get to interact with. That said, there’s something to be said for being in the same room with a storyteller and absorbing the reactions of the other people in the audience. It’s almost magical.
But now comes that hard part. Picking just a handful of stories out of the many who came in to meet us and share with us. If you’ve never written down a personal story and then read it out loud in front of three strangers, I’m here to tell you it’s daunting. It requires guts and heart and through this process, I am constantly in awe of the people I’ve met. Not all the stories we hear in auditions make it on stage at The Tobin Center. But, they all matter and they all touch me in some way.
Making the decision is hard. Notifying the “not this year” people is hard, too. But, it’s part of what makes the Listen to Your Mother show so special and unique.
Stay tuned for our cast announcement in a couple of weeks.
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