Happy Mother's Day to All the Stage Moms Out There!

I wanted to write a post about Stage Moms. Not the scary Mama Rose type stage mom. Not the Jackie Cooper stage mom. Or the Lindsey Lohan stage mom. Or the Honey Boo Boo (is that a real name?) stage mom.  

I'm talking about us regular moms whose kids have shown an interest in the arts. We have been shocked at discovering budding talents in our children, sat through endless classes, paid for private lessons, coached, cajoled, soothed nerves, endured early school concerts, recitals, and shows, and learned to appreciate those same performances as skills were honed and talents grew. 

Who among us has not felt that twinge or that urge to stand up and shout, "That's my Barney" like one of those proud deluded parents at the end of The Music Man when we witnessed our child's first public performance?  How many of us have sat through school concerts, fighting the desire to leave as soon as we were done with our child's portion of the evening?  Who hasn't tried to memorize a dance sequence (turn, turn, out, in, back step, pivot step, walk, walk, walk) so we can help at practice time? Who has resisted the urge to shout, "Sing out Louise" while sitting in the hallway outside of an audition?  

We have calmed stage fright, dried disappointed tears, iced sore appendages, soothed dry throats with tea, even cleaned up pre-performance vomit.  We have shared disappointments when yet another ensemble part has been offered, and encouraged our child to 'take the part anyway, your time will come'.  We have offered nothing but praise and encouragement, and artfully mastered the questions, "So what was your favorite part?" and "Who was the best?" 

We have scoured thrift stores and consignment shops for costumes, we have stitched and sewn pieces, we have supplied and paid for props, been asked to Papier Mâché everything, painted, used computers, paper, glue, fabric, and glitter, all at the very last minute so that the show can go on. 

On top of the money shelled out for private lessons, there have been pie sales, magazine sales, wrapping paper sales, car washes, t-shirts, sweat shirts, gifts for directors, stage crew, and musical directors. We have hosted cast parties or donated money to cast parties, or at the very least, bought food and soda because they can't just show up empty handed.  There have been beach parties, picnics, field trips to New York, and as they get older, worrisome private train rides to the city for rush tickets and just hanging-out. 

And did I mention the driving?  Endless and endless driving. Endless and endless mileage added to the car, endless and endless gas tanks and wallets emptied.  Lessons, auditions, rehearsal drop off, rehearsal pick up at un-godly hours, post-show get-togethers at diners, and 'would you mind picking up so-and-so', or 'do you mind driving so-and-so home?'  All at times where, if your life was normal, you'd be sleeping, because in between all the lessons and rehearsals, parties, and get-togethers, you are also trying to keep a regular 8-hour-a-day job so you can make the money to pay for the lessons and rehearsals, parties, and get-togethers.  

Whew!  

Why do we do it?  Not for "scrapbooks full of me in the background" as Mama Rose would put it.  

Pride and Bragging Rights  - Admit it, all parents do this, whether achievements are academic, athletic, or arts related.

Entertainment value  - with a car full of theater kids, you have the right to ask for a song on the destination.  It's a fair tradeoff.

Procrastination - Face it, if you have a choice between a night of laundry, dusting, vacuuming, changing the cat litter, and cleaning drawers or going to a show, which would you choose?

Appreciation - I have informed my children, that should any of them ever win an award of some kind (Tony, Tony, Tony), if "Thanks Mom" is not part of the acceptance speech, I will come back to haunt them. Is that too much to ask?

Love. This is the Number 1 real reason. We do it because our greatest joy as a parent is to see our children thrive and succeed and be happy.  And if that happens for them on the stage, then so be it. Seeing your child light up is worth any sacrifice.  

Thank you to all the kids out there who are entertaining us all, and a special thank you to the moms and dads out there who help make it possible.  Personally, I'd also like to thank my mom for passing on a love of the arts to me, so that I, in turn, have been able to pass that on to my children.  

So Happy Mother's Day to all the Stage Moms out there!