On Wednesday, we were lucky to be able to sit in on a reading at the New Revue Stage of Mom’s the Word: Remixed, which combines highlights from the smash hits Mom’s the Word and Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged and opens our Granville Island Stage season on September 24.
Jill Daum, Barbara Pollard, Robin Nichol, Deborah Williams, and Alison Kelly at the Mom's the Word: Remixed reading
The Mom’s were here back in June workshopping the show with our literary manager, Rachel Ditor, and came back to the Arts Club this week for another workshop and reading. There was tons of laughter and a few tears as the Moms took us on a journey through Mom’s the Word and Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged–from bun in the oven to the terrible twos to the terrifying teens.
Rachel Ditor says, “There were three workshops over the course of the summer. At the first workshop we read both plays and discussed various structural ideas for the amalgamation of two full length plays into one.
During the second workshop we made and read two different drafts of ReMixed and discussed what was in and what was out. This workshop also included reading a version compiled by their director Wayne Harrison, currently in London.
During the third workshop we read the version we decided worked the best of the three we created previously and then from that learned what was working, what was unclear, where there needed to be new ideas and what could be cut further. We concluded this last workshop with a rehearsal draft of Mom’s the Word: ReMixed that is smart, funny, poignant, and ready to take into rehearsals with a new director.
It was hard work but the spirit of collaboration and invention was very inspiring. Plus, I learned a lot of dirty jokes…”
Deb Williams of the Moms says, “We had a great workshop. The show changed over the last 3 days as we worked towards melding these two distinct parts of our lives into a single journey. Our beloved Rachel patiently prods us to let go of our old ideas and guides us toward something new, which is hard when we have been playing with this material for as long as 16 years. We’re the proverbial cows on the same path home. And of course, as middle aged women, we’re nervous that we’ll never memorize a new line let alone a new script order! We are so lucky to get to play with this material again and are excited to get it all on its feet.”
So are we! For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mom’s 1 and 2, we thought we’d take a little trip back in time so you can see what all of the excitement is about.
Mom’s the Word
Mom’s the Word took its first baby steps at the Vancouver festival Women in View and the full production premiered here at the Arts Club in 1995, quickly capturing our audiences with its truth and shocking humour. Over fifteen years later and after more than 2,500 performances to over one million people, the play has crossed the international dateline and the equator, entertaining audiences throughout 4 continents (and soon to be 5!).
Barbara Pollard in Mom's the Word
Written by Linda A. Carson, Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard, and Deborah Williams, Mom’s the Word had a full gestation period going back to conception in the spring of 1993. Six Vancouver women who had once been exciting, glamorous, and professional actors were now exhausted, bedraggled amateur mothers with ten children under six between them. They decided to get together to write a show about motherhood. They met regularly on Saturday mornings with their children. They talked, they laughed, they whined, they complained, and they laughed some more. Suddenly their first performance was just three weeks away. Although they had nothing on paper, they felt enormously better about their children, their skills as mothers, and their lives in general. They had reinvented group therapy. Luckily, in the ancient tradition of oral history, they remembered each other’s stories and thus Mom’s the Word was born.
Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged
Like its predecessor, Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged had its world premiere here at the Arts Club’s Granville Island
Susinn McFarlen, Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, and Deborah Williams. Photo by David Cooper.
Stage in 2005. It opened to rave reviews, standing ovations, and a sold-out run. It was so successful, that we extended the original run, took it on two tours of the province, and brought it back for a return engagement the following year. In its first year alone, Mom’s the Word 2 was performed 125 times to over 40,000 people.
Before Mom’s the Word 2 had even played its first performance, it had generated buzz amongst producers in Australia and the UK. By the summer of 2006, Burberry Productions was in full production mode in Melbourne, Australia and in mid-August the OZ premiere opened to unprecedented advanced sales for a non-musical stage production. Mum’s the Word Teenagers (as it’s titled in Australia and the UK) ran for 3 months and played to over 55,000 people. Simultaneously, Robert Kelly Productions was developing the first European production in Glasgow and Dundee, which opened in the fall to a similarly ecstatic reception of critical raves and audience excitement.
Mom’s the Word 2 / Mum’s the Word Teenagers continues to be revived throughout the world, with productions ongoing or in development in Canada, Australia, the UK, and Ireland. Since its premiere in 2005, Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged has been performed to more than 250,000 people across three continents.
Check out a clip from Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged!
I saw the original show on Mother’s Day years ago with my Mom and sisters and loved it!! Tears and laughter. Saw Unhinged with my daughter(13!) and friends and their daughters and loved it even more!! Wish I could see the new one with my Mom but she passed away in April. I will see it with my sisters and daughter and niece, and I am sure it will evoke many wonderful memories of our Mom and Grandma thanks for letting us into your lives…Janis
Janis, Thanks so much for sharing those memories. We’ll make sure the Mom’s see it when they come back to start rehearsal. Surefire inspiration for the new play. All the best, Zoe