Motherhood Out Loud - Consumption

Only once before in my time working on productions has a show so affected me.  I knew I wanted to do a show with a large female cast as early as January 2013. I started looking at various shows and reading through some of them trying to find the perfect vehicle for our company. I received an email from Dramatists about Motherhood Out Loud and I instantly loved the title of it. I loved the subject matter and the content even before I started to read it. After ordering the script I read it. Then I read it again.  And a third time. I took my production proposal to our board and pitched the show. I wasn't super nervous as I knew I would be met with little resistance on the show. Sure enough, it was agreed that we would produce it for our fall show. Then came the conversation about a director. At the time I had made a decision to remove myself from the day-to-day tasks of producing shows to better spend my time with my family. Thus the boards discussion on who we would ask to direct this show. A few really great names came up and it was decided to begin making phone calls to those people and negotiate. A week later I sent an email to my partners. I had read the show 2 more times in that week and I couldn't let it go. I wanted to direct the show. My partners agreed and my "hiatus" proved to be short lived. A couple of weeks ago I held auditions and I cast my show. I had a large group of really varied, and really talented women come to my auditions. It turned out to be difficult to cast the show. To give the voices in my head in each of the parts an actual voice, a personality, and a physical body. The hardest part was not giving myself a role in the show. There were so many sections that I felt I could really connect with. I would identify with what the character was saying. It touched deep in my soul. I wanted so badly to take a section of the show and give it MY stamp. But I resisted. I used my actresses.  Our first read through happened shortly after auditions and it made the hair on my neck stand on end. Just reading through the script. Hearing the individual voices of this show that has been on my mind and in my soul for weeks. Toady is our second rehearsal. I have spent quite a bit of time toying with staging ideas and I will be presenting some options to my cast tonight. I know now that I want the theme of this show to be connections. I want to emphasize how we are all connected in some way or another. The play shows how we are connected in many ways as mothers, and parents in general. But I want to highlight other areas where we are all the same as human beings. I hope my vision works. I hope that I can get people to come out and watch it.