Hmmmm.... What Does a Producer Think About on Show Day?

Ever wonder what goes on in a producer's head on show day? You think they're thinking about their Spanx cutting off circulation and their bunion pain kicking in? The hamburger they'll get to annihilate after all is wrapped up? Yes, partly - but there's a whole lot of other going down in their noggin, too.

Here's 32 thoughts I was able to remember thinking last week Sunday while celebrating our Listen To Your Mother Show Milwaukee lAlverno College.

Also, this Must-Say: our cast and our audience were SPECTACULAR!

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I can’t feel my legs. Maybe I’m suddenly hypoglycemic. I’ve heard it happens from unusual circumstances. Hope I remembered to stash that protein bar into my panty hose!

Maybe it’s just the lights. Maybe it’ll pass. No dots before my eyes, we must be good.

Did I eat? Ooh, no, dear G-d I hope I ate. I told the cast to eat. Did I eat??

Adjusting adjusting. Yes, I feel something coming back to life. I can feel my legs again. My Spanx must’ve been too tight around my femoral artery.

The curtain’s going up. Oh sweet baby jeebus IT IS TIME. 1-2-3 breathe 1-2-3 breathe. You never had a baby before you had one and you did it. We never did a show before we did this one and we did it.

Please Dear G-d Dear G-d, let there be people in the seats. I have to look up, I’m not going to stare, just move my head a little bit up and over, 1-2-3 slow, slow, and now…

I can’t look I can’t look. Did people come? They came last year. Of course people will come. TRUST, Alexandra. T-R-U-S-T, trust. Looking looking…

YES. People are here! People are here! Yay, people came! OK OK, stop smiling.

Now, going to look at the cast. How do they look? Careful, I don’t want them to see me looking, it might make them worry. Just going to roll my neck, then glance over, sneaking a peek, sneaking a peek. Yes. They look good. Thank you, Lord.

OK. It’s on. Time to call in the Big Guy, Dear Lord, quick prayer here, sorry how I squeeze you in at the last minute all the time, but Please, if you have a second, help us to have assured our people, our cast, that they will be fabulous. That their stories are wonderful. That they will do great. That their voices are authentic and audiences cannot be fooled by anything other than that ergo THE AUDIENCE WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM THE WAY WE DID AT AUDITIONS!

OK OK OK FOCUS. Curtain is rising, and… we are LIVE.

Easy now, slippery chair, slowly, walk to the podium. This is NOT our first time, you’ll be up there with your buddies, your pals, your team, your co producers Jenny and Rochelle.
TED Talk Power Stance Activate!

Oooh, lights are bright lights are bright. Why do I always forget that the lights are bright.

Did I re apply my deodorant. I didn’t! I know it says good for 8 hours but that’s guarantees for an ordinary day.

I should have followed *Good for 2 hours on show day* deodorant directions.

I think LTYM needs to make show day deodorant. Going to check with Zazzle.

Oh! Clapping. It’s applause. Deep breath, smile, stand tall. We ARE WONDER WOMAN. Go!

I hear our voices. The Co-producers are together and we are opening our show!

My feet hurt. Why am I up here talking and thinking that my feet hurt. GET your head in the game.

OK, here we go. Time for the first reader! Here we go, here we go, we are LIVE and we are rolling!

Oh, she's amazing... Stop! Snap out of it! Pay attention. Stop falling in love with the stories all over again or you’ll miss the next intro cue for our reader!

What? Now we’re on our next to last speaker? What time robbing tunnel did we fall into? It feels like just minutes that our show began, I was so into everyone’s story how did the time go?

 Make it last, oh please time wizard somewhere, make this magic of gathering in love and laughter, LAST.

Going to look up and sneak a peek at the audience. I see smiles, I see happy content smiles. We are killing it!

Looking over at the cast, slyly now, slyly — they look as happy as just fed babies! This is so good.
I hear applause. Good, loud standing O volume applause!!

It was our show! We did it. We all read. We all were as bright as any star. Everyone sounded like we’ve been doing this on the road for months. I love this cast, I love our cast.

 I LOVE OUR CAST.

Did we just close our show? Yes, we did. We are BOOM DOT COM. The co producers of Listen To Your Mother Milwaukee stood up together at the podium and closed the show.

It’s a wrap! Elation, joy, pride, gratitude! Unicorns skipping over rainbows! Listen To Your Mother Milwaukee 2015 is a wrap! I love every minute of this!

Gotta get to the lobby, hear what people are saying — they wanted more! Listen To Your Mother Milwaukee NAILED it! We wanted to bring the stories together so they sounded like one, and WE DID IT.

Everyone is feeling so good! Look at these grins from the cast, their families, the audience!
Today, having our stories heard and bringing our community together to listen to each other, I can’t imagine feeling any luckier than we all do right now.

I can’t wait to do this again! I am loving today as much as I am going to be loving tonight, when I’m finally pulling this buttocks numbing Spanx off.

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Thank you, Milwaukee audience! What welcoming and loving applause you sent our way, making our cast feel loved and appreciated.

Thank you, to our LTYM 2015 cast, for your bravery, your honesty, your trusting of us with your stories. You made us proud.

Thank you, Ann Imig, for what you have built: love, laughter, tears, joy, community, and possibility!
And Milwaukee, we can’t wait for Listen To Your Mother 2016!

With deep appreciation to Cast, family, friends, national and local sponsors, and our amazing audience. And Listen To Your Mother. Without each of you, we wouldn’t have a show.

Our fabulous cast: Elaine Maly, Anna Stone, Michelle Dobbs, Liza Cohen, Moira Sennett, Katy Meyer, Nicole Smith, Mary Steiner-Ng, Raina J. Johnson, Jack Douthitt

Jen, Rochelle, and Alexandra
Listen To Your Mother/Milwaukee

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