We've had an exciting year trying out all kinds of ways of telling our mothers' stories. After the successful Mother's Day show with 20 women gracing the Granville Island Stage, we were asked to create a distinct show for Western Gold Theatre, a company that specializes in programming for seniors (
http://www.westerngoldtheatre.com/) Six of our more mature cast members developed a fuller telling of their mothers' stories for a 60 minute show that toured community centers around the Vancouver. Again the audiences (who ranged in age from 8 to 80) were moved and enchanted by our simple storytelling and went on to tell us their mothers' stories in return. We were so thankful for this opportunity to share, in a more intimate setting, our combined histories.
After the success of the 10 person show we created for the Vancouver Storytelling Festival (http://www.vancouverstorytelling.org/) in February 2009, we've been musing about what other ways we could tell our stories. For years people have been telling us they wished we had more performances of our shows so their friends and family could also enjoy them, and our actors have always been keen to tell their stories again. But the logistics of creating and financing an ongoing show with a cast of 20 has been too daunting. Still, the thought persists that there must be a way to get beyond these single performance shows we've been able to create for special audiences or occasions. We've also wondered what we might be able to create if we hired a director and designers and had rehearsals - oh the possibilities! We might even have a show that could run for weeks instead of days! And maybe we could encourage all kinds of people to write and tell their mothers' stories!
To that end, in the manner by which this whole project has continued to unfold, we just decided to make it happen. So we've applied for grants, have started to solicit sponsors, and will spend time in a rehearsal hall this spring 2010 with a director - Britt Small of Victoria's Atomic Vaudeville company (http://www.atomicvaudeville.com/) - creating a show that will feature 10 of our actors telling the stories you've come to appreciate from shows of the past, plus all the theatricality you'd expect from any big downtown show. Keep your eyes on this site for more details.
