Mar 7, 2020
Congrats to The Mamas for winning Melodifestivalen 2020! 🎉 #TheMamas #Melfest #Melodifestivalen2020 #melodifestivalen #escSE https://www.instagram.com/p/B9cmNjpJqoh/?igshid=zd0oqu4q331q
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Congrats to The Mamas for winning Melodifestivalen 2020! 🎉 #TheMamas #Melfest #Melodifestivalen2020 #melodifestivalen #escSE https://www.instagram.com/p/B9cmNjpJqoh/?igshid=zd0oqu4q331q
"MONDAY, MONDAY," THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS - DECEMBER 1, 2025 - YOU TUBE VIDEO: ED SULLIVAN SHOW
From December 11, 1966.
The Mamas: Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot.
The Papas: Denny Doherty and John Phillips.
Happy December 1st everyone!
Hey MAMArtist* Ashley Thaxton-Stevenson (she/her) !
What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live? I am originally from Southern California, now living in Brooklyn with my spouse Robert and our 2.5 year old Caius!
How do you describe your art practice?
I am a theater maker and educator, working across many different techniques and genres of theater. Some recent projects include Associate Directing Fiasco Theater’s Pericles at Classic Stage Company, performing in Spellbound Theater’s Shakespeare’s Stars (a multisensory Shakespeare experience for ages 0-3 and their caregivers) at the New Victory Theater, and playing both Kamala Harris and Mike Pence in Bertolt Brecht and 21st-Century Verfremdung, with the Verbatim Performance Lab at NYU. As an educator, I teach acting with NYU's Program in Educational Theatre, develop curriculum with Fiasco Theater, and teach upstander skills through drama to elementary school students with the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Across all these different projects, I am most compelled by how we can use theater to tell community stories for our joy, healing, and collective liberation.
Who is your artistic crush?
Right now, I am re-reading the plays of Susan Glaspell, after being in the room for a reading of her play The Verge earlier this spring with Fiasco Theater. SusieG was a genius and I would love to go back in time and have a drink with her and talk about plays.
What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?
Snacks and wipes at all times. I never go anywhere anymore without snacks and wipes, and this is true of so many parent artists I know. And you never know when in rehearsal, on the subway, at a community event, during a protest, or on the street where someone will need one or the other (or both!). It’s a super power to be able to care for folks' physical and material needs in that way.
You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT! YES! I am the Community Engagement Coordinator of Fiasco Theater and we have been hosting a workshop series this fall called Play|Ground in collaboration with PAAL and Broadway Babysitters. These workshops are centering caregiver artists, and rooted in play, community, and embodied practice. We are also providing free onsite, arts-based childcare! The next workshop is taking place on Saturday, June 1st and space is still available! Folks can learn more and sign up HERE. Registration is on a sliding scale starting at $5.
How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? This workshop series really is a dream come true in terms of integrating all the things that are important to me as an artist and a human! Since becoming a parent, I have had to be so much more intentional about how I spend my time. When you weigh the cost of childcare, busy schedules, the needs of my child and my family unit, and my desire to spend time with my child, it has been very hard to prioritize my own continued artistic learning and development. The goal with Play|Ground is that caregiver/artists won’t have to make some of these hard choices. Instead, they can instead show up to a workshop as their full selves and get enrichment for their spirits and artistry, all the while knowing that their child is being well taken care of in a safe and creative space.
What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?
Two books I am reading right now that are really impacting me are Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad and How the World is Passed by Clint Smith. I am also here to proselytize to you about the utter delight of romance novels (some recent recommendations include How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang, Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, and Funny Story by Emily Henry).
I am listening to Jon Batiste’s album WE ARE, the podcast Normal Gossip, and Norah Jones’ albums from the early 2000s.
Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?
The thoughtful care, tending, and grace that you show to a dear collaborator, a student, or your child is something that you yourself also deserve.
BEST LINKS to find you and your work!
www.art-s.co www.fiascotheater.com/playground https://www.bax.org/youthworks/
Photo credits: Top Row: Directing YouthWorks Bottom Row, L to R: TOKOPHOBIA talk back at the Center at West Park (facilitating with a baby in arms!); Headshot by Alex Leyva
*Each month The MAMAs features a Mother+Artist and their work in the world. Thank you Ashley!
Hey MAMArtist* Sumana Sen Mandala!
What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live? Sumana Sen Mandala, সুমনা , children ages: 18 and 22, physically on the lands of the onk akimel o'otham and xalychidom piipash known also as Scottsdale, AZ.
How do you describe your art practice?
Collaborative dance arts with a foundation in bharata-nrityam.
Who is your artistic crush?
My artistic crush: my students. Every time I ask them to make something, however small, their bright and open minds and hearts give birth to beauty that fills me with joyous wonder.
Can I mention another? The vocalist with whom I work for my productions...It's quite amazing to be working with someone who can see deeply and then use their musical instincts to give my dance vocal support. At the same time, they also say that they sense my response to their music and so the symbiotic process continues.
What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?
Being mothers, we see and experience the joy of learning again and again and again. And being mothers, we grow our capacity for grace through our love for our children and realization of our own challenges. So, superpower: Gracious learning!
You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT! Changing Bodies Shifting Landscapes is a dance work about changes that happen in the female body throughout life. It's part of a larger production and grew out of my conversations with my young female students in studio classes. They are on the precipice of or just started puberty, and we talk about our experiences of the first menstrual period, with even mothers sharing. Using our bharata-nrityam, we created small dances from typical lessons on puberty, from experiences of exclusion in cultural settings and from stories about boys in school finding ways to support girls who are going through their periods. Then we invited movers from diverse backgrounds, genders and disciplines to join us and discovered our stories, customs of shame and celebration, and resulting social inequities are not unique to any one culture. Through this work we know more than ever that changing the hushed narratives to open conversations is what we need to create a safe and thriving environment for everyone.
How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? Healthy relationships and respect for girls and women have always been at the top of my mind. When I became a mother of two boys, I felt that responsibility grow heavier on my shoulders. To be able to advocate normalizing the open conversations such as in Changing Bodies, Shifting Landscapes is directly and integrally related to my motherhood, raising two boys at home, and supporting the young girls in my classes.
What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?
I am currently listening to students across our country and the world. This gives me feelings of hope in the energies that spring eternal in youth and feelings of frustration in the maddening cycle of memories lost and re-made when it comes to justice.
I am reading the words of Michelle Obama in "The Light We Carry" and rereading "Braiding Sweetgrass" through the young adult version with all the cool call-out boxes and graphics, and lots of poetry, including Faiz Ahmad Faiz's "Hum Dekhenge" and Tagore's "Fireflies".
Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?Our increasing years are our greatest asset...they give us secret knowing, open confidence, and deep patience.
BEST LINKS to find you and your work!
https://www.dansense.org/
IG: @dansensenrtyabodha
Photo credits: Top Row: Naini Mandala Bottom Row, L to R: Ri Lindegren, Kritin Mandala
Hey MAMArtist* KELLY CERVANTES!
What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live?
Jackson, 11 + Adelaide, would be 8yo but passed away in 2019 days before her fourth birthday + Anessa, 4. We live in Maplewood, NJ.
How do you describe your art practice?
I am an writer and public speaker. I write shorter blog pieces and have published a book. I also speak at events and for various companies across the country.
Who is your artistic crush?
Author, Christie Tate (Group and BFF). She is a brilliant writer who tells it exactly as it is - I've never read such honest and real writing before finding her books. She also happens to be an incredibly generous person who helped me along the way without ever having met me. Bonus - she is also a mom!
What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?
Well, you can always rely on a mother to sh*t done, and that applies to her work as an artist as well. But perhaps even more powerful is our empathy. Never underestimate a mother+artist's ability to love and understand another human's trial and then turn that into relatable art for all to experience and learn from.
You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT! I just published my first book, Normal Broken: The Grief Companion For When It's Time To Heal But You're Not Sure You Want To, and it is a USA Today bestseller! Following the death of my daughter Adelaide from a neurodegenerative disease just days before her fourth birthday, I felt irrevocably shattered by the loss. I was broken. Through connecting with others and myself through writing I learned that not only is grief not linear, but we all grieve differently. It took me years to want to heal, which was the impetus for writing Normal Broken, because every other grief book I picked up assumed I wanted to heal and I didn't. I thought grief meant letting go of my daughter, or moving on without her. What I would eventually learn is that healing actually meant remembering and moving forward with her. That I would never be the person I was again before she died and that's OK. I would always be broken, but that I could learn to be Normal Broken.
How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? Having lost my daughter (and a pregnancy at 21 weeks), this book is integrally tied to being a mother. However, it was important to me to write a book that was accessible to people grieving all kinds of loss: be it a physical person, parent, spouse, friend - or grieving a dream, job, or person who is very much alive but no longer in our lives. Grief is grief is grief. Comparing our trials and losses serves no one. So yes, I lost my child and this book wouldn't exist without my daughter - without me being a mother - but that doesn't make my loss greater or less than anyone else's.
What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?
I am currently reading Meghan Riordan Jarvis' End of The Hour, which is a stunningly beautiful memoir, and I am listening to Grief is Love by Marisa Renee Lee, which is exposing me to the ways culture and race can impact the way we grieve. So... lots of grief books, but mostly memoirs because I love learning as much as I can about the human experience.
Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?
I read something recently that spoke to how women often think that if they are able to accomplish something then it must have been easy. GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT FOR ALL YOU DO! Surviving as an artist is not easy, motherhood certainly isn't easy - combine the two of them and we should all be celebrating every achievement, no matter the perceived size, along the way. Take a dance break, pop the bubbly, announce it on social media, whatever you need to do to acknowledge and celebrate you! Because whatever it is you've done, it definitely wasn't easy.
BEST LINKS to find you and your work!
www.kellycervantes.com IG and Facebook: @kellygc411 Normal Broken is available everywhere books are sold!
Photo credits: Top Row: Author photo by Justin Patterson Bottom Row: Kelly & Adelaide, photo by Jennifer Loomis; Book cover, Benbella Publishing
*Each month The MAMAs features a Mother+Artist and their work in the world. Thank you Kelly!
Hey MAMArtist* JENNY MERCEIN (she/her)
What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live?
My daughter is 7 and we live in New Orleans!
How do you describe your art practice?
I am an actor, a writer, a director, a producer, a storyteller, and a teacher. I am interested in creating socially relevant theater that speaks to contemporary issues. My plays are not didactic, but hopefully they inspire meaningful post-show conversations (and also make you laugh along the way!). I always tell my students: I don't believe theater can change the world but I do think it can spark conversation that can lead to positive social change. An example of this is ROLEPLAY, a feature length documentary I am producing. It follows a diverse group of college students as they use theater to confront sexual violence on campus -- grappling with questions about sex, consent, identity, and power on their path to adulthood. We are in the final stages of fundraising for this film. I truly believe it will be a catalyst for game-changing conversations on high school and college campuses across the country.
Who is your artistic crush?
As a solo performer, I fell in love with the form via the solo plays of Wendy Weiner, an amazing writer and performer who I met when I first moved to NYC in the mid-90's. Wendy has a new show called The Mystery House which recently played in Edinburgh. I hope it has a long life! I also must add Heidi Schreck. I've been a huge fan of her work since I was in grad school in Seattle 2000-2003. I loved her first as an actor, then as a writer. The fact that many people have compared my show TWO ELIZAS to "What the Constitution Means to Me" is the highest compliment to me!
What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?
Probably not an original answer, but we can multitask!
You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT! My solo show TWO ELIZAS explores motherhood, women's rights, and intergenerational resilience. I will be bringing TWO ELIZAS to the Whitefire Solofest in Los Angeles on January 12th, 2024!! I am so excited to share this piece with West Coast audiences.
How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? TWO ELIZAS is 100% influenced by my experience of motherhood. The entire show was born out of the experience of becoming a mom. The play explores the true story of my ancestor Eliza Mercein Barry and her landmark 1847 U.S. Supreme Court case Barry v. Mercein which established a woman's right to retain custody of her child. Eliza's story is juxtaposed with my own complicated journey to motherhood, which included fertility struggles and mental health challenges. The play affords me the opportunity to share the anxiety I faced as a 40 year old woman feeling enormous pressure (societal, familial, and internal) to marry and procreate, as well as to talk candidly about my IVF journey and my experience with miscarriage. I am grateful to be able to openly discuss topics that are sadly still shrouded in silence and shame. The story of my ancestor is also an incredibly inspiring story of resilience, and of the US Supreme Court upholding a woman's bodily autonomy... which unfortunately highlights the ways in which the courts no longer seem interested in supporting the rights of mothers.
What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?
I absolutely adored Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, which explores motherhood and theater. And I just listened to a deeply disturbing episode of the podcast The Daily about CTE in young football players. I collaborated with KJ Sanchez on a docudrama called X's and O's that centered on the role of football in our society, so the piece impacted me profoundly.
Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?
It is never too late. Give yourself grace. Every moment you spend raising your child(ren) is giving you life experience that will ultimately serve your art. By the same token, don't feel guilty when you leave your child to do your work. If you are lucky enough to have childcare, a supportive family member, or other resources that enable you to step away to practice your craft, DO IT! You are being an exceptional role model for your kid(s), showing them that pursuing your passion is worth devoting time and energy. And time away/ time spent on your craft rejuvenates you as a parent. But again, it's never too late. If you need to pause, pause. If you need to step away to focus on family, step away. You will always be an artist.
BEST LINKS to find you and your work!
TWO ELIZAS in Los Angeles at the Whitefire Solofest on January 12, 2024 Information about ROLEPLAY, the feature documentary about love, sex, power, and consent on college campuses www.JennyMercein.com
*Each month The MAMAs features a Mother+Artist and their work in the world. Thank you Jenny!
Hey MAMArtist* Margaret Campbelle-Holman (she/her)
What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live?
My daughter is grown and has her own family. I live in Nashville, TN.
How do you describe your art practice?
Building, lifting and sharing the inherent music and storytelling artistry in our children and youth. I was trained as a music teacher. My career has taught me that I am more than that. I am a music education artist.
Who is your artistic crush?
My Mother, Marjorie Holmes Campbelle.
What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?
We have determination to serve others through our craft/artistry; a vision of how artistry builds community across borders; and we can inspire others such that through artistry and craftsmanship, doors open for children/youth.
You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT!
I founded a nonprofit (Choral Arts Link) to serve elementary school student singers across our city’s schools because I saw students in my school ‘rise’ above what they believed was possible. I also experienced and discovered how their classroom growth fueled choral performances that lifted other students, their families and the school’s surrounding community.
MET Singers’ first performance was in 1998 and served public school singers. Our programming now includes private, charter and home school singers, grades 4 - 12, representing the growing cultural canvas of Nashville.
January 14, 2024 will be the 26th annual performance of our MET Singers with the Nashville Symphony. MET Singers serves as the Celebration Youth Chorus for the symphony’s Let Freedom Sing concert, a tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The singers will have pre-concert retreats in Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, engaging with national conductors and guest artists for the experience of a lifetime. Even this year, this event will be the first performance inside this historic building for a large percentage of the singers and their families.
How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? As a mother, I looked for music and arts opportunities for my daughter. The arts experiences I had as a child in Nashville began in my home and continued throughout high school, in a segregated school system. My experiences were vast and deep because of my parents, especially my Mother, who was a musician, pianist, organist and music educator.
I was asked to return to Nashville to be the first officially hired music teacher in the public elementary schools of Nashville. Prior to this invitation, music education/experiences were only provided by classroom teachers. My daughter had participated in a wide variety of musical encounters during our time in Sarasota, FL and Memphis, TN, but these were not available in the city schools of Nashville, my hometown.
MET Singers/Choral Arts Link is an outgrowth of all of these things, especially with regard to what I was able to provide for my daughter in other cities. Creating opportunities for my Nashville students was an outgrowth of seeing my daughter thrive and recognizing that students in the two schools where I taught, at that time located in the two poorest communities in Nashville, deserved the same options as any other children within elementary music education system.
What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?
The bible. Also, articles on relational thinking, music as community builder, and the relationship between music and the brain.
Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?
Fill/Expose your child to the arts early. Interact with your child through the arts, not just by watching them but by singing with them, playing duets with them. Build an arts community with your child, not just with music, but also painting (finger painting was an early joy for me), sewing (my mother taught me to sew), building (I often went camping with my father), cooking (in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother, becoming a contributor to our family meal), playing an instrument (I played duets with my mother, fell in love with the cello)...etc. These experiences of mine occurred over many years.
This is the undercurrent of all my teaching: to seek and provide the same quality in both the classroom and choral setting.
BEST LINKS to find you and your work!
Follow MET Singers/Choral Arts Link on Facebook! Make a tax-deductible donation via Choral Arts Link's Giving Matters page Let Freedom Sing concert details
Read about MET Singers/Choral Arts Link in The Nashville Scene
*Each month The MAMAs features a Mother+Artist and their work in the world. Thank you Margaret!
Hey MAMArtist* AMANDA MONTEI (she/her)
What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live?
My kids are 8 and 5, and we live in California.
How do you describe your art practice?
I'm an author and critic. My recent book, Touched Out, combines memoir with theory and criticism. But I'm trained in narrative, so I'm perpetually interested in story and how language shapes our perceptions of the world.
Who is your artistic crush? Mary Kelly
What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?
Caring for children teaches us to hold the possibility of another world in view, while also telling the truth about the world we live in now. It's an incredibly creative, intellectual, and political skill.
You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT!
My most recent book Touched Out is the book club pick at Chamber of Mothers this November. Come join us for a conversation on November 29.
How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project?
Touched Out is about motherhood after MeToo, but it also explores more timeless cultural beliefs about who and what women's bodies are for, beliefs that are of course inseparable from how we collectively think about motherhood.
What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?
Margo Steines' Brutalities, a powerful exploration of violence, bodies, and care. And Jessica Elefante's Raising Hell, Living Well, about freeing ourselves from a life of influence.
I'm also currently listening to the podcast Scamanda, about a con woman and mother who convinced her community she had cancer to scam them out of money. It's a wild story about blogging, crowd-funded healthcare, and public personas.
Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?
Be relentless. Don't try to mold yourself into the image of the male artist. Create no matter what. You're already a good enough mother. Be a good artist.
BEST LINKS to find you and your work!
Instagram @amontei
My newsletter, Mad Woman, where I write about books, pop culture, motherhood, and feminism: https://amandamontei.substack.com/
Touched Out can be found anywhere books are sold
My website for more of my writing and teaching work
*Each month The MAMAs features a Mother+Artist and their work in the world. Thank you Amanda!