Motherload cast photo, Vancouver; photo by Itai Erdal

In Motherload, an intimate account of parenting in the modern age, four prominent Canadian theatre artists and mothers bare their personal stories about what it takes to be a member of the world’s largest club. Drawing on candid playground conversations and parent-friendly coffee shop confessions, the moms take on isolation, “competitive mommying,” and poop.

Sharing stories of the beautiful and sometimes brutal metamorphosis into parenthood, Motherload hopes to lighten the collective load!

Taking a contemporary angle on a timeless theme, Motherload uses personal home videos, iPhone photos, notes taken on tablets, and Dr. Google, but the heart of the piece lies in the strength of simple storytelling.
 
“I just had baby #1 and I was walking along Commercial Drive with him,” says producer Emelia Symington Fedy. “I felt the most alone I had felt in years; and it really surprised me. All around me were parks, playgrounds, kid-friendly cafes, and other new moms but there was some sort of barrier to joining the world’s biggest club and I just couldn’t seem to fit in. I thought of the collective Mom’s the Word and how they gathered together almost exactly 20 years ago to support each other in this new role of mothering and I realized immediately what I wanted to do. I marched up to Heather Redfern’s office at The Cultch and pitched her my idea— a Mom’s the Word for the next generation. A darker play with the complications of cell phones and “internet”— she bought the show on the spot.”
 
Created by and starring Emelia Symington Fedy, Juno Rinaldi, Jody-Kay Marklew, and Sonja Bennett, Motherload is directed and choreographed by Courtenay Dobbie.

The Cultch Presents Motherload

Dates: February 3 to 21; Feb 5 to 7, 10 to 14, 17 to 21, 8 pm; Feb 7, 8*, 14*, 15, 21, 2 pm
Preview February 3, 8 pm; opening February 4, 8 pm
*Parents: Enjoy Babes in Arms matinees on February 8 and 14 (suitable for children 2 and under)
Venue: Historic Theatre at The Cultch, 1895 Venables Street, Vancouver
Tickets: Starting at $19; available online or via phoning 604.251.1363
Enjoy a lively post-show Q&A session with the artists on February 5, 8, 10, 15, and 17
 

About The Cultch

Now in its 42nd season, The Cultch has been one of Vancouver’s most diverse and innovative arts and cultural institutions, offering dynamic programming in contemporary theatre, dance, and music by local, national, and international artists. Today, The Cultch continues to enrich the social and cultural life of Vancouver by bringing world-class cultural presentations to the public, supporting the growth of emerging artists and companies, and facilitating dialogue between groups in the Lower Mainland, particularly within East Vancouver.

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.