With Mother’s Day around the corner, now is the time to make plans to honor all of the special mothers in your life. Whether you want to celebrate with your mom, your sister or your best friend, tickets to the third annual Listen to Your Mother St. Louis show are, well, just the ticket you are looking for.
In the past three years, Listen to Your Mother has become something of a Mother’s Day tradition in the St. Louis area. The show – which started in Madison, Wisconsin in 2010 and is now being performed in 39 cities across the country – features live readings by local writers about all things motherhood. Scoring a seat in the audience to listen to these writers’ stories has become a popular way to celebrate motherhood in general, and the Mother’s Day holiday in particular.
“We received more submissions than ever this year,” says co-producer Ellie Grossman, “and this is the first year our cast features two men. We have a unique opportunity to put our talented community in the spotlight and give a voice to stories that need to be told,” she continues. “Our casts heave featured bestselling authors and professional actors, but everyday people with real stories make up the heart of Listen to Your Mother.”
The 3rd annual Listen to Your Mother St. Louis will take place on Saturday, May 9 (that’s the day before Mother’s Day) at St. Luke’s Institute for Health Education in Chesterfield. The 90-minute show will be performed at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase for $15 at www.listentoyourmothershow/stlouis.
A percentage of this year’s proceeds will be donated to Family Resource Center, a local nonprofit that provides family-centered therapeutic, educational and support services to give abused and neglected children a second chance in life.
The 2015 show features readings from thirteen diverse, local writers who will make you laugh and cry, and also feel inspired. Stories include:
• A single mom of five who triumphs over homelessness and hardships
• A recovering executive who becomes a stay-at-home dad and learns that motherhood goes beyond gender.
• A modern day mom who bites her tongue when her teenage daughter expresses her individuality through body piercings and tattoos.
• A daughter with cerebral palsy who praises the mother who raised her to believe her disability would never stand in the way of her ability to accomplish great things.
• An overzealous dance mom who forces her daughter to push through the pain, only to realize she pushed her to the breaking point.
Food, vendors, door prizes and an even opportunity to shop for designer clothes are also part of this year’s Listen to Your Mother event. And even if you can’t make the show, Listen to Your Mother can still make the perfect Mother’s Day gift: a compilation of select Listen to Your Mother stories from shows across the country can be found in the newly released book Listen to Your Mother: What She Said Then, What We’re Saying Now, now available in bookstores nationwide.
Alyssa Chirco is a freelance writer, mother and margarita lover, not necessarily in that order. In addition to writing for STL Parent, she is Contributing Editor at Parenting Squad, and covers parenting, health and lifestyle topics for publications across the country. She recently moved from the suburbs of St. Louis to a small town in rural Jefferson County, where she is learning to survive with no Target or Starbucks in sight. Follow her on Twitter @AlyssaChirco
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