Two incontrovertible truths are evident at the Iola Community Theatre Warehouse this month.
1. Motherhood is a tough business.
2. The pool of talented actors in Iola is far deeper than we ever could have imagined.
Three newcomers to the ICT scene — Ashley Widener, Teagan Kern and Tracy Keagle — take turns connecting with the audience through a series of monologue-based skits on the ins and outs of maternal life with “Motherhood Out Loud.”
The production, which opened last week, runs at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the ICT Warehouse. Tickets sell for $15 for adults and $8 for students. (It should be noted the play features several instances of strong language and subject matter is geared for mature audiences.)
That caveat aside, “Motherhood” takes the audience along a wondrously touching — and frequently hilarious — journey through life as a mom.
“MOTHERHOOD Out Loud” is based on a book with 14 authors. The play is segmented into chapters, the first on new mothers giving birth; the second on the first day of school; the third on “sex talk,” the fourth on seeing their children as adults, and the fifth and final on motherhood now that their children have grown.
From the opening fugue on giving birth to Widener’s touching final exposition on what it’s like as a young mother, the two-hour production runs at a brisk pace.
Each of the three main stars — none of their characters have names — is consistently captivating, warranting an occasional chuckle, or a heart-warming “awwww” from the crowd.
For example, Widener perfectly depicts a mother yearning for sleep in one scene while lying on the floor next to her infant’s crib; in another, she speaks about her daughter’s first period.
Kern, meanwhile, reflects on the angst of having a young son more interested in wearing girls’ dresses for an upcoming school event; in another she laments on her inability to connect as a would-be stepmother to her new beau’s children.
And Keagle hilariously notes how problematic it is to be at a playground with other mothers she cannot stand, yet feels forlornly left out when her child isn’t invited to a play date with their children. In another cringe-inducing oratory, she recounts trying to connect with her son’s first date as she drives the young couple home.
THE PRODUCTION isn’t limited to those three.
Bryan Johnson, one of only two ICT veterans in the show, portrays a father in many of the scenes, and a son in one of the more touching segments of an older mother who decides to go back to school.
