We are so proud of the talented cast of Listen To Your Mother Boulder 2019, and now is your chance to get to know them better before the show on April 27th! Don’t forget that tickets are now on sale; get yours ahead of time, as we sold out last year! You can purchase them online here. Presenting the fabulous cast of the 2019 Listen to Your Mother Boulder show!
Taylor Appling
Taylor grew up in the Boulder area, and now calls Lafayette home where she lives with her husband, two daughters (ages 6 and 4), and their growing family of quails. Her greatest joy is being mother to her girls and spending time with them practicing being as present as they are. She loves being outside and enjoys camping, hiking and running. When timing aligns, Taylor also supports women in labor as a certified Birth Doula. Taylor has been a teacher for 12 years and works part time as a literacy interventionist in Boulder. Recently she has found herself getting up in the early morning hours before her family to drink coffee, write, and work on new and inspiring projects.
Melony Black
Melony is the mother of three incredible boys, wife of a talented musician, daughter of very loving parents. She lives in the shadow of America’s Mountain and teaches the wittiest, most entertaining teenagers on the planet. In addition to writing, Melony loves reading, photography, listening to Hamilton with her son, traveling, and drinking coffee on her patio with her husband and dog.
Monica Breed
Monica Breed lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, their two daughters, who are 11 and 13, and the family dog, Milo. About ten years ago, a good friend told her she’d lost her sense of humor, and she’s been trying to find it ever since. She loves stories, especially from her daughters, and she loves her husband’s impressions of dogs and dog owners from his frequent visits to the dog park. Growing up, her family swapped stories, usually at the dinner table. Now she loves gathering with family and friends, especially when they cook and do the dishes. On a daily basis, she has a captive audience of sixth grade students who are forced to listen to her. She loves lifting weights with women, rattling off ideas for projects that her husband will need to ‘get on soon’, overdressing when it’s cold so that she can later rip off layers because she’s so damn hot, sampling free cheese at the supermarket, and jumping in rivers.
Amanda Cherry
Amanda Cherry is so grateful to return to Listen to Your Mother for a second season. She lives in Boulder with her partner, Matt, and her four-year-old, Gavin. She teaches language arts at Southern Hills Middle School. Given that she spends most of her time around her 11-year-old students and her four-year-old child, her main hobbies include being ignored and repeating herself. Her best days include coffee, connection, sunshine, and wine.
Priscilla Dann-Courtney
Priscilla Dann-Courtney is a writer and clinical psychologist living in Boulder, Colorado where she and her husband have raised their three children. Her columns have appeared in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Miami Herald, Om Magazine, Fit Yoga, Boulder Camera ,Elephant Journal, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Her book, Room to Grow, Stories of Life and Family (Norlights Press, 2009) was her way to navigate the light, dark, and wonder of life. Yoga, meditation, running, baking, writing, her work, family, and friendships light her world. Her website is: priscilladanncourtney.com
Rohini Grace
Rohini Grace is a 42-year-old-first time mother who lives with her daughter and husband in Boulder, CO. Adopted in India at birth, Rohini grew up spanning the continents of India, Australia, and the United States. She’s the owner of Goddess Travels, a company that specializes in women’s and couple’s tours to India. When Rohini is not busy organizing and leading trips to India she’s working on her first book, an autofiction journey of an adopted Indian woman who ventures back to India after twenty years abroad to discover a country and culture that is both foreign and familiar. Between chasing her tiny tornado of a daughter, 3-year old Grace, Rohini enjoys hiking, biking, yoga, the occasional triathlon, and adventures with her family. Motherhood has been the most beautiful and challenging journey of her life, and she’s grateful for her own rebirth through being a parent. Her website is: goddesstravels.com
Shana Kelly
Shana Kelly started her career in the Literary Department of the William Morris Agency in New York and London, where she was the signing agent for many successful authors, including New York Times bestseller Curtis Sittenfeld, author of PREP and AMERICAN WIFE. All that glamour ended abruptly after she had her first child—she quit her job, and moved to Denver with her husband and daughter Ella. For the last ten years, Shana has been on the faculty at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, and has worked as a freelance editor, most recently with Ellie Kemper on her book of essays, My Squirrel Days. Shana is writing a documentary about the Peace Corps which will premier in 2019.
Petra Perkins
This is Petra’s second performance in the Boulder LTYM cast. Her home is Highlands Ranch where she writes memoir, poetry, fiction and essay while juggling wifedom and grandmotherhood. Highest among several literary awards is her 2015 Faulkner-Wisdom Gold Medal for Poetry and 2016 nomination for the Pushcart Prize in creative non-fiction. Her work is featured in a variety of publications including the New York Times, Huffington Post, Denver Post, The Rumpus, Sports Car Digest, ArtAscent, and Brain, Child Magazine. Others can be found at www.petrapetra.com. With three books, a screenplay, and an ‘epic poem’ in progress, she agrees that being a writer is like having homework the rest of your life!
Kelly Roche Sproul
Kelly Roche Sproul is a native to Boulder, Colorado and an established yoga instructor specialized in prenatal and postnatal yoga, mindfulness and biomechanics. Kelly is mama to Layla James, Stevi June, as well as founder of MaMa Love here in town. Kelly came to teach through her personal experience of what science has recently observed with meditation and mindfulness – that we can literally change the neurological configurations of the brain, repattern the nervous system, heal our body and more. In addition to mom’ing and yoga, she loves immersing in nature, travel, animals and arts of all sorts. Kelly has worked in finance, founded yoga centers and bakeries, and is thrilled to try on a new role of writing and sharing in this years LTYM lineup!
Marcelo Sosa
Marcelo lives in a mountain cabin in the shadow of the Continental Divide. There, con su amor and fellow writer, Shelly, he attempts to catch up on a lifetime’s worth of creative effort. While he’s written since the age of ten, publishing and performing here and there along the way, it’s taken until middle-age to finally find the footing to bring his words down the mountain and join a broader conversation. He’s currently working on a website, seeking an agent for a novel, and writing more than ever. Marcelo is a father of two sons, a son of two parents, and an admirer of caregivers across the biological spectrum.
Valerie A. Szarek
Valerie A. Szarek is an award winning poet, artist, performer and Shamanic Practitioner/Healer. She’s a 2-time CAL awards finalist, an EVVY award winner, and a National Poetry Federation 1st place award winner, and was just named the Denver Open Media / Blissfest Poet of the Year 2018-2019. She plays Native American Flute, is the artist and owner of Breezy Mountain Leather, and teaches writing workshops. Her website is: valerieszarek.com
Alissa M. Trumbull
Alissa M. Trumbull transplanted to Colorado a little over three years ago, moving with two cats and one husband from the Chicago area so she could have views of the mountains every morning. Her passions include playing the piano as well as baking pies, cookies, cakes, and a variety of other confections. She also quilts, reads books, has a penchant for yoga, and spends lots of time outdoors in the summer. With degrees in social work and a background in marketing, Alissa loves her day job where she serves as the Director of Development & Marketing for A Precious Child in Broomfield.
Your LTYM Boulder co-producers:
Stephanie Sprenger
Stephanie Sprenger is a writer, producer, music therapist, Rodan + Fields consultant, and mother of two daughters. She blogs about the imperfect reality of motherhood, health, and women’s issues, at Mommy, for Real, and her work has been published in Brain, Child Magazine, The Washington Post’s On Parenting, Cosmopolitan.com, Redbook.com, the Huffington Post, Mamalode, and Scary Mommy, among other places. Stephanie loves going to yoga as often as possible, singing with her middle school voice students, reading with her daughters, snuggling with her seven-year-old, and practicing martial arts with her twelve-year-old.
Ellen Nordberg
Ellen Nordberg’s stories have appeared in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post, The Huffington Post, Yahoo, Parade, Scary Mommy, Rodale, and 5280 magazine, in addition to many other publications and anthologies. She’s a co-producer of the Boulder Listen To Your Mother show, and has been a featured storyteller in the “Truth Be Told” Story Slam. “Stories on Stage” has twice performed her stories, and she holds a Colorado Author’s League Award “Best Essay” award.
Megan Vos
Megan Vos is thrilled to join the production team of Listen to Your Mother after a wonderful experience as a cast member in the 2018 show. A New Hampshire native, Megan has lived in Boulder for fifteen years, where she has been a teacher, a stay-at-home mom, and currently works part-time at Friends School’s preschool. She enjoys online writing classes through Lighthouse Writers Workshop, analyzing Harry Potter with her 7 year-old, Starbucks dates with her 4 year-old, and spending time outside with her family. Megan shares her writing at familygrowsup.com, and her work has been published in Motherscope magazine.
You don’t want to miss hearing these stories in person! See you on April 27th at 7:00 pm at Unity of Boulder! Get your tickets online here.
Best,
Stephanie, Ellen, & Megan
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