Motherhood: What's Your Story?

It may seem a little early to start thinking about Mother’s Day, but if you have a story about motherhood that you would like to share, the time to start writing is now.

The 2nd annual Listen to Your Mother-St. Louis returns this Mother’s Day weekend, and submissions are now being accepted if you’re interested in being part of the show. The series of live readings by local writers – all focused on stories relating to moms – will be held on Saturday, May 10 at St. Luke’s Institute of Health Education in Chesterfield.

Ann Imig’s Listen to Your Mother has been “giving Mother’s Day a microphone” in cities across the country since 2010. This year, St. Louis will be one of 32 cities hosting the show.

Although Listen to Your Mother is a national movement, each show is produced, directed and performed by the local community, for the local community. This year’s St. Louis performance will not only delight audiences with hilarious and heartwarming readings, a portion of the proceeds will also benefit local non-profit Girls in the Know, a group dedicated to educating and empowering mothers and daughters.

According to co-producer/director Ellie Grossman, last year’s performance of Listen to Your Mother-St. Louis – the first to be held here – was a huge success. 

“LTYM debuted in St. Louis last year and was a huge hit, with two nearly sold out shows and hundreds of dollars raised for an important local cause.” For Grossman, the best part of LTYM is that it “really puts our community in the spotlight and brings everyone together.”

The best way to learn more about Listen to Your Mother-St. Louis and decide if you’re interested in auditioning is to visit the LTYM-St. Louis website. You don’t have to be a mother or a professional writer (or even a woman) to participate; you just have to have a compelling story about motherhood that you want to share on stage.

Written submissions are being accepted through February 21, and should be sent to ltymstlouis@gmail.com. Be sure to include your name and the title of the story in the subject line. If your piece is selected, you will be invited to audition live in March.

Still wondering what exactly the producers are looking for? “Humorous, poignant, and soulful words about being a mom/having a mom, not being a mom/not having a mom – every variation on the theme, so long as Motherhood is the star!” writes Grossman on the LTYM-St. Louis blog.

Prefer a visual? The Listen to Your Mother YouTube channel has hundreds of live readings from years past that you can watch. You can even see STL Parent’s own Hannah Mayer, who was chosen to participate in last year’s St. Louis show:

“We want LTYM-St. Louis to be a new tradition on Mother’s Day weekend and invite everyone to be a part of the celebration,” says Grossman. For some that may mean simply buying a ticket to the show, but if you have a story you want to share, don't miss this opportunity to make your voice heard. Write it down and send it in now. You never know, come Mother's Day weekend, all eyes just might be on you.

_{Photo courtesy Listen to Your Mother on Facebook, Funky Monkey Photography}