Mothermorphosis
A powerful one-woman theatrical experience revealing the absurdities of motherhood.
“One Woman tour de force” – Theatre People ★★★★
“Bizarre Delights” – The Age ★★★★
“Belly aching hilarity” – What Did She Think ★★★★★
The artist formerly known as Liz Skitch, now known to all as ‘mother of two’, has teamed up with trail-blazing theater maker Maude Davey, to create a ground-breaking one-woman show exploring the changes and surprises that one encounters on entering motherhood. Mothermorphosis premiered at La Mama in 2018, played to sold out houses and received critical acclaim:
“You couldn’t ask for a show that channels the spirit of La Mama with more irreverence and passion” – Cameron Woodhead, The Age
Inspired by Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Skitch unpacks the taboos and challenges of transforming from a woman, into a mother. Comedic, dynamic and honest, Mothermorphosis combines intimate confessional and absurdist physical theatre with an exquisite soundscape designed by Chris Wenn, which features the voices of mothers who share a wide variety of lived experiences.
Utilising Skitch’s extensive experience as a clown, satirist, comedic writer and actor, the pastiche of performance styles serves to explore the inexplicable.
And yes there IS a live chicken in the show, hypno-birthing and nudity. This is motherhood, laid bare.
Image by Nayt Houseman.
Production Team
Writer/ Performer: Liz Skitch
Director: Maude Davey
Set Designer: Lara Week
Lighting Designer: Richard Vabre
Sound Designer: Chris Wenn
Movement Advisor: Steph Keheo
Photographer: Nayt Houseman
Production History
Premier Season: La Mama at Trades Hall, 22 August – 2 September 2018, 10 shows.
Touring Info
Remount fee – $4,800
Weekly fee – $2,940
Per performance fee – $1,000
Moved reading – $500Special offer: Moved reading and workshop package for Showcase Vic delegates (offer expires 30th June 2019) – $400
Artform: theatre / interdisiplinary / hybrid
Target Audience
Specific: Mothers & parents 25–65
Wider Appeal: Comedy lovers, creative women, adventurous theatre goersTechnical Specifications
Technical rating: D
Theatre formats: Black box, flat floor, hall, thrust. Could be adapted to proscenium arch.
Bump-in time: 3 hours (audio), including testing, tuning and quiet time.
Bump-out time: 2 hoursIn-brief lighting requirements: The production is designed to work with 2 dimmer racks, but a console that can accommodate 24 Channels of conventional fixtures as well as several Channels of LED fixtures is required.
Below are the touring LX requirements for Mothermorphosis:
- warm wash, separatable into 3 sections across the stage (OP, CS and P) and Upstage and Downstage
- cool flown sidelight
- low cool sidelight
- LED backlight (preferably LEDpars)
- 10 assorted specials
Independent control of houselights at operator position is required. If this is unavailable, extra fixtures should be rigged to make this possible – 2 x 500w Floods should suffice, depending on the size of the venue.
The production will tour with a number of practical fixtures – some desk lamps that are used as footlights, a standard lamp, and a hanging pendant lamp.
A generic touring LX design will be made available to venues prior to arrival.
Presenter is to have pre-rigged and coloured all fixtures. Presenter is to supply colour.
In-Brief Audio Requirements: The minimum basic requirement for any presenter is a stereo PA system with the capacity to take input from a laptop headphone output.
MAKE AN ENQUIRYSpecial reading & workshop package
Book award winning comedian and theatre maker Liz Skitch to visit your community for a creative development weekend. In the morning, Liz will run a workshop with local creative mums on new ways of finding your voice as a writer and bringing your story to life, real or imagined. Then after lunch, Liz will conduct a moved reading of the show followed by a post show forum about maintaining your creativity and your sanity as a mum.
This presentation will be a ‘moved reading’ of MOTHERMORPHISIS instead of a full-scale production. Please rest assured that in the ‘moved reading’ the artist will present the full work with all costumes, props, choreography, full sound design and even the live chicken! The only difference is that it will be presented WITHOUT the full lighting design (just a very basic rig to wash the stage In light), it will be performed with house lights rather than with the audience in darkness (to provide a relaxed environment where babes in arms and small children feel welcome), a play area with astro turf and cushions will be set up for toddlers to run around in and the actor will sometimes have her script in hand (because this performing mum is sleep deprived and time poor!)
Cost: $700 (for Showcase Vic delegates a special rate of $400 – a 43% discount – is available until June 30, 2019)
Suitable Spaces: rehearsal room, theatre stage, hall or meeting room.
Capacity: Workshop up to 20 Participants. Moved Reading up to 80.
MAKE AN ENQUIRYOther Presentation Types
Workshop, Moved Reading, Post Show Forum
Book award winning comedian and theatre maker Liz Skitch to visit your community for a creative development weekend. In the morning, Liz will run a workshop with local creative mums on new ways of finding your voice as a writer and bringing your story to life, real or imagined. Then after lunch, Liz will conduct a moved reading of the show followed by a post show forum about maintaining your creativity and your sanity as a mum.
This presentation will be a ‘moved reading’ of MOTHERMORPHISIS instead of a full-scale production. Please rest assured that in the ‘moved reading’ the artist will present the full work with all costumes, props, choreography, full sound design and even the live chicken! The only difference is that it will be presented WITHOUT the full lighting design (just a very basic rig to wash the stage In light), it will be performed with house lights rather than with the audience in darkness (to provide a relaxed environment where babes in arms and small children feel welcome), a play area with astro turf and cushions will be set up for toddlers to run around in and the actor will sometimes have her script in hand (because this performing mum is sleep deprived and time poor!)
Cost: $700 (for Showcase Vic delegates a special rate of $400 – a 43% discount – is available until June 30, 2019)
Suitable Spaces: rehearsal room, theatre stage, hall or meeting room.
Capacity: Workshop up to 20 Participants. Moved Reading up to 80.
MAKE AN ENQUIRYCommunity Engagement
Workshop, Moved Reading, Post Show Forum
Book award winning comedian and theatre maker Liz Skitch to visit your community for a creative development weekend. In the morning, Liz will run a workshop with local creative mums on new ways of finding your voice as a writer and bringing your story to life, real or imagined. Then after lunch, Liz will conduct a moved reading of the show followed by a post show forum about maintaining your creativity and your sanity as a mum.
This presentation will be a ‘moved reading’ of MOTHERMORPHISIS instead of a full-scale production. Please rest assured that in the ‘moved reading’ the artist will present the full work with all costumes, props, choreography, full sound design and even the live chicken! The only difference is that it will be presented WITHOUT the full lighting design (just a very basic rig to wash the stage In light), it will be performed with house lights rather than with the audience in darkness (to provide a relaxed environment where babes in arms and small children feel welcome), a play area with astro turf and cushions will be set up for toddlers to run around in and the actor will sometimes have her script in hand (because this performing mum is sleep deprived and time poor!)
Cost: $700 (for Showcase Vic delegates a special rate of $400 – a 43% discount – is available until June 30, 2019)
Suitable Spaces: rehearsal room, theatre stage, hall or meeting room.
Capacity: Workshop up to 20 Participants. Moved Reading up to 80.
Interviews & CollaborationTell your local stories and engage young mothers directly by including a session of one-on-one 30 min interviews with Liz Skitch to share personal experiences of Motherhood. Please note the interview will focusing on the early days from pregnancy to birth, breast feeding to changes in identity, finding balance to losing control, love, joy, loss and laughter.
Liz will record the interviews and snippets of these collected stories may feed into the sound design of MOTHERMORPHOSIS which features a soundtrack of the voices of a wide cross section of mothers and grandmothers.
Please note, Liz will seek permission from participants before including their voice and words in the piece.
Cost: $150 (up to 2 hours) $200 full day. Interviews are available as an add-on to the Workshop, Moved Reading and Post Show Forum package.
Suitable Spaces: Small, quiet, warm room.
Capacity: one participant per 30 mins to 1 hr (bookings need to be organised by community in advance).
Physical Comedy WorkshopLiz Skitch will run a 90 min high energy drama workshop introducing participants to clowning, Physical Comedy and the art of satire.
Cost: $200. This workshop is available as an add-on to the Workshop, Moved Reading and Post Show Forum package.
Suitable Spaces: rehearsal room, theatre stage, hall or meeting room.
Capacity: Up to 30 participants.
Writing For Comedy MasterclassLiz will run a 90 min masterclass for local writers where we put the pen to the page and unleash our inner stand up or comic storyteller.
Cost: $120. This masterclass is available as an add-on to the Workshop, Moved Reading and Post Show Forum package.
Suitable Spaces: meeting room, rehearsal room or even a local cafe with a big table!
Capacity: Up to 12 participants.
MAKE AN ENQUIRYMarketing Support/Collateral
- high quality flyer and poster images
- high quality publicity images
- high quality production images
- high quality rehearsal shots
- 1 min trailer
- 3 min trailer
- Facebook marketing campaign (including fun and interactive ‘chook auditions’ clips and images)
- Press releases – major papers, local papers, mum blogs
- Artist/Mum Q&A – useful content (written)
Images
Click on any of the thumbnails below to view.
Reviews
★★★★ “You couldn’t ask for a show that channels the spirit of La Mama with more irreverence and passion.” – The Age
[Read full review transcript]What Did She Think, review by Samsara Dunstan, Thursday 23 August 2018. [Read full review transcript]
Stage Whispers, review by Flora Georgiou, 2018. [Read full review transcript]
Theatre People, review by David Gardette, 28 August 2018. [Read full review transcript]
Hugging Comedians, 29 August 2018. [Read full review transcript]