Suddenly Home and Mommy Again

Hi there.
So, just to recap, I went to The Winnipeg Fringe to do my new show Suddenly Mommy! And when I say new, I mean, new. As in "hello folks, you are hearing this for the first time..." And I went without my husband and kids! So, it was intense in many ways.

Firstly, when you do The Winnipeg Fringe (just in case you are thinking of taking your show there) it is arguably the best fringe in the world. The reviewers and audiences want to see the show you have been crafting for years. So, I had to really work for it. But I worked. And I worked hard. I opened a good show. But I closed a great show! And it is only going to get better with every run, with every performance, because that's what happens when you create a show. It grows! It gets better! It makes more sense! Just like a baby!

And to address the other point: I went to Winnipeg without my 2 year old, or my 4 year old, or my 10 year old step-daughter or my 41 year old husband. (I'm sure he hates it when I mention his age. Personally, I just turned 30. Again.) But I was away from the children for almost 2 weeks! Putting up a new show in a new city! I didn't even bring a stage manager! Or a director! Or a girl friend! I stayed with three 25 year old girls who were lovely. I went to yoga every other day. I spent my free time working on my show, writing, or working over Skype with my director. (I now know what Skype is! You can video chat on your computer! Who knew!) Or I talked to other mothers who take there one woman shows out into the world!

Third point! There are some fabulous women out there on the fringe circuit who do their solo shows and sell out and are amazing and talented and have kids too! Specifically Rachelle Elie, Colette Kendal and Precious Chong. Then there are other cool women, sans enfants, who gave me oodles of support and feedback around my show! Specifically Susan Jeremy and Sherri Sutton. My show got so much better so fast with help from these stand up comics! Let me put it into perspective: Susan Jeremy has been invited to Just For Laughs not once but twice! And Sherri Sutton opened for Roseanne! And they came to my show, and I went to theirs, and I learned and I grew, and I was in paradise! In a beer tent! In Winnipeg! So happy!

Forth point! My audience included more amazing women. Buffalo Gals came to see me! And so did NSI! And men! Farpoint Films! (These are important names in the world of film and television, so I won't go on). But I had such incredible feedback, not to mention lunch, from great people who saw what I was bringing to the world! A fresh new look at motherhood!

Erica Ehm from Yummy Mummy Club also emailed me to offer sponsorship! Do you see where I am going here! Winnipeg was my creative incubator! I stepped on stage with my bean sprout and I left with a beanstalk to a castle in the sky! (I think I need to go to bed soon...)

But finally, and I will end it here, I could not have had the experience I had if it weren't for my husband. He raised the kids without me for two weeks. He did not complain. (He did go to his mother's for the last, which was a great idea. Gramma and Poppa got to spend lots of time getting to know their grandsons). And suddenly mommy was suddenly free to get some much needed work done on her show. Suddenly, being a mommy is not what it used to be. And that's good. xoxo AMS