Production Mom

Everyone who is born has a mother.  They are there for the good times and bad.  They pick us up when we fall and carry us a little while if need be.  We share with them in our success and triumphs.  Mom will always be with us and see us through till the end.

When away or working in new areas it is a bond we miss and tend to seek out.  We have a work mom or a school mom or whatever kind of mom comes along.  In high school many of us adopted our friends moms as our own.  They watched over us and protected us when we were around, and we were grateful for that love and protection.  I have three good friends, who have all lost their mothers over the last couple years, all of them before we turned 30.  This is a loss we still feel. 

We had a drama mom in High School.  It was of course our teacher and director Kathy.  We looked up to her and she took us under her wing and guided us.  Adam, Luke, and I were her disciples and we drank in all she had to teach.  We would go over and help with yard work when needed and she tutored me in MacBeth one summer simply because I wanted to learn how to understand Shakespeare better.  We are all now working in the creative field and still doing drama.  Adam helps take care of the business side of things with donors and much more I am sure I have no clue about in Florida and a big theater.  Luke works with school children and is a published author and playwright.  I teach theater here at Central and direct all of our productions.  We benefited from having multiple mothers, who all pulled from us.

Over the last several years we here at Central have pulled on this concept of a Production mother.  Now, Shane and I do our best, but we don’t bring the same skills sets to a production that a mother can bring.  We began importing that which we did not have… a local mom.  Diane was our first, and she really made an impact on our kids.  She would be there from start to finish.  She came first practice with cookies or brownies or whatever she had in mind to bake.  She passed out cards and ask the actors to list a prayer concern and their favorite cookie.  She collected all the cards and told them she would be praying for all of them throughout the production.  She would come to one practice a week and bring cookies (somebodies favorite) or juice or something she thought was little, but made a huge influence on the students.  She was available if an actor needed an ear to listen, or a shoulder to lean on, or just simply a hug.  My actors may be college kids, but they still miss their mommy.

Now, having a production mom every play doesn’t happen.  But, on the really hard or more intense productions, I find a mom in our corner makes for a smoother run with happier and healthier students.  I encourage anyone, who is taking on a grueling production or consider asking your mom or any mom for help.

Best Wishes and God Bless,

Chris