Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12. Erin Margolin and Laura Seymour would love it if you took your mother, and all your other friends and relatives, to see “Listen to Your Mother,” the night before. The pair are co-producing and co-directing the one night only show 7 p.m. Saturday night, May 11, at Unity Temple on the Plaza.
“Listen to Your Mother” is a celebration of Mother’s Day with readings by local writers. Ten percent of the ticket proceeds will go to help women being served by the Rose Brooks Center. Tickets are available by visiting the website www.listentoyourmothershow.com/kansascity/.
Margolin explained that “Listen to Your Mother” is a national movement that started in 2010 in Madison, Wisc., with one woman, Ann Imig, and a microphone Just three years later 24 different cities will produce their own unique shows featuring live readings by local women about motherhood.
Margolin, who describes herself as an active blogger and social media participant, “really, really, really wanted to bring it here” to Kansas City from the minute she heard about it.
“It’s not a play,” she said. “It’s something really unique and I thought it would be cool to bring it to Kansas City and produce it. I never really thought in a million years that we would get chosen and we did. I’m really excited.”
Neither she nor Seymour has actually seen a live performance of “Listen to Your Mother.” All the past performances can be viewed online at the listentoyourmother.com main website.
Margolin is thrilled to present this unique show here.
“It’s going viral across the country and it won’t be long before everybody knows what it is. I think if you miss it, you’ll be kicking yourself for not seeing it,” she said.
Margolin said the shows are all different but follow guidelines prepared for by the parent company. Since they got the rights in November 2012 for this year only, Margolin, who has never produced or directed a show before, said things have been hectic. First on the agenda was accepting written submissions from would-be readers.
“We wanted to read the pieces first. Then from there we selected people to audition in front of the two of us, live, so we could make sure they have a good stage presence because they will be presenting this live,” Margolin said.
The final list of readers includes both Margolin and Seymour as well as Rita Arens, Sarah Guthrie, Sarah Manley, Michelle Burdick, Julie Dunlap, Ashley Austrew, Dani Stone, Molly Shalz, Leslie Kohlmeyer, Lisa Allen, Greta Funk and Jenn Mann. The show is expected to last about an hour and 15 minutes.
All the readers in Kansas City are mothers, but that’s not the case in all cities.
“You don’t have to be a mom. You don’t have to be a woman. You just have to be writing about motherhood,” she said, adding that some shows even have a few male participants.
Besides choosing the readers, Margolin and Seymour had to handle all of the logistics, including finding a venue, choosing a photographer and videographer, publicizing the show and selling tickets. A little more than two weeks before the show, Margolin said advanced ticket sales had surpassed 100.
Unity Temple’s sanctuary holds about 700 people, which Margolin admits is a little ambitious for this first “Listen to Your Mother” local production. The venture, she said, “isn’t about making money” as evidenced by the fact they have pledged a portion of the proceeds to charity.
“It’s OK if we have some empty seats,” Margolin said.
“This is about giving Mother’s Day a microphone and being able to give locals the chance to talk about why motherhood is important to them and shine a light on whatever their story is. It’s not for financial gain, it’s just a personal thing. I just really love this whole concept and idea and being able to bring this here,” Margolin said.
The mother of three daughters, Margolin said she used to describe herself as “just a stay-at-home mom.”
“Then so many people got on my case and said it’s not just a mom. You don’t say that. You are a mom and that’s a very important thing,” she said.
This production, she explained, is about showing how important motherhood is.
“It’s not a job that I get paid to do, but it’s very hard work and it’s probably one of the toughest jobs there is. Anyone can be a mom but not everyone can be a good mom. I do lots of things. I’m a teacher. The kids come home with their homework and they need help. I’m their counselor … you have to wear many hats as a mom,” she said.
Margolin is also working on “The Gay Dad Project,” a documentary that is an effort to explore the unique family dynamic that results when one parent in a family comes out.
“I’m a dreamer. There are so many things I want to do. I want to make the documentary. I want to do this show. I’m always looking to get involved in fun, new exciting things. I’m not done yet. There’s more for me to do down the line,” she said.