Please come see MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD in the Berkshires to benefit the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers and WAM Theatre. I will be doing a talkback after the Friday 3/28 performance and would love to see you there. Jayne Atkinson will direct, and Jane Kaczmarek and Michael Gill (currently appearing as the president on "House of Cards") will star. Very excited and happy to see Jane again--she performed my monologue at the Geffen Playhouse in LA. My friend Susan Rose Lafer is producer; Joan Stein also produced, and I still miss her every day. MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD continues to be a wild, wonderful ride. You can get tickets here.
Over the Moon
What an amazing first night!
As many times as I've seen In Mother Words, last night I felt I was seeing it for the first time. The play is so funny and touching, and the monologues weave into each other while managing to stand alone as their own contained worlds. The actors were brilliant, absolutely wonderful. Everyone stood up at the end, and I felt so grateful to be part of it. Congratulations to all the incredible playwrights! I am honored to be in your company.
beth and joan
So many high points. Here are two: Beth Henley, whom I've loved and adored since her Pulitzer Prize-winning Crimes of the Heart, one of my favorite plays and films, and the best three sisters since Three Sisters, (as you may know, I have a penchant for three-sisters stories,) told me she loved my monologue. Yikes! That made my night, if it hadn't been made already. (Photo of me, Beth, and Joan Stein.)
I love Beth's monologue, Report on Motherhood--such a true, deep, constantly surprising conversation between a girl and her great-grandmother. I'm proud to have worked with her and so many writers I admire.
jane k
Another high point: meeting Jane Kaczmarek right after the play. She is lovely and brilliant, and it was so funny because we hugged right away--an actor and writer do sort of bond without ever seeing each other, because she's living in my words, bringing them to life, and I'm handing her a piece of my heart, waiting to see what she'll do with it. Watching Jane perform My Almost Family I felt breathless and cried because she hit the deepest part of what I was going for--made it seem worth cherishing.
The photo above is of the cast, creators and producers, and director. From left: James Lecesne, Susan Rose Lafer (creator and producer,) Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Lisa Peterson (director,) Joan Stein (creator and producer, my dear friend since she produced Crazy in Love,) Jane Kaczmarek, and Amy Pietz.
[The play is now Motherhood Out Loud.]
Mothers on the Street Interviews
Have you ever seen such interviews? They're a phenomenon in Westwood, and I would feel remiss if I didn't share them with you. Everyone has a mother, and it's clear no one lacks for words on the subject. Here they are, Mothers on the Street.
Writers love to talk--and write--about mothers, too. Their own mothers, themselves as mothers, their daughters as mothers, their grandmothers as mothers. It's a rich tapestry for all of us. If you are in Los Angeles, I'd love for you to see In Mother Words at the Geffen Playhouse.
The show begins previews tonight and opens on February 23. The journey to the moment has been as exciting, funny, and poignant as the show itself. It all began with a group of up writing about our experiences with motherhood. I'm the show's stepmother, and my piece is "My Almost Family."
My work--on the same stage as Beth Henley's? I'm in awe.