I’ve spent the last 25 years helping people and organizations craft and tell their stories. Storytelling involves digging into a situation, uncovering a narrative that will be relevant to others and bringing it to life.
When my mother was still alive, we used to joke that I should find a way to give eulogies for a living because every time I do, someone comes up to me and asks if I’ll write theirs. At my great aunt’s funeral, the officiant said to me, “I sure hope whatever you do for a living involves speaking.”
But let’s face it, standing up in front of a crowd to tell someone else’s story is quite different than telling your own. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to challenge myself by auditioning for Listen To Your Mother, a national live storytelling event that “gives motherhood a microphone”. Think The Moth, but every story is about the art of being or having a mom.
Part of me still can’t believe I did it, but I’m in the pictures (see above!), so it happened. Here’s what I learned from this incredible experience.
- My story matters. I wrote my piece for this year’s show last year, but auditioned with another because I didn’t feel I was ready to share it just yet. I didn’t make the cast in 2017. I’ll admit when I went to the show with my friends, I couldn’t help but wonder why mine wasn’t selected. And I questioned whether any story I wrote would ever be good enough. Even after I was selected for the 2018 performance, I kept questioning whether I’d made it only because my story had shock value. I now know that self-doubt was not only ridiculous, but felt by just about every member of the cast.
- Editing works. We each had five minutes to tell our stories. While five minutes sounds like a long time in our shorter-is-sweeter social media world, it’s tough to condense a meaningful experience into a few pages of text. The show directors helped me shave a couple of minutes off my story between the first and second rehearsals. After the second rehearsal, I was surprised to learn that nearly every cast member had to do the same. The essence of their stories was exactly the same and people actually thought I had not edited mine at all.
- Nail the first line. At our second rehearsal, the directors advised us to not worry about memorizing our stories. But they did suggest that if we could memorize our opening line that would help us not only ease our nerves, but also immediately connect with the audience. I see this all the time when our clients do broadcast interviews. Once they answer the first question, the jitters are gone. Fortunately for me, my opening line was short! And I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life.
- Each performance is unique. We did two shows — one in the afternoon and another in the evening. My husband said to me, “You have to get up there and deliver it with the same level of emotion twice?” One of the directors told me that cast members actually enjoy the second show more because they know they can get through the reading. But what I also learned is there are many variables that make each performance unique and special, from the lighting and the weather (it poured at night!) to the energy of and engagement with the audience. I wonder if that’s true for professional actors?
- It really is about the journey. It sounds cliché, but I enjoyed the audition and the rehearsals as much as I did the show itself. The directors are incredibly talented and their mentorship and support were invaluable. My fellow cast members came from all walks of life and we are now connected forever through this experience. There was a moment in the final performance of the evening show where the audience was simultaneously gasping and waiting to see where my fellow cast member’s story was headed. She looked at us and we shared a moment that I’ll never forget. We were in on her joke and she almost couldn’t stop giggling with us to finish her piece.
This weekend, as I spend Mother’s Day with my family, I will recall the amazing stories told that day and the magical experience of being on stage.
Do you have a story you want to tell? What are you waiting for?