Hello! Welcome! We’re so glad you’re here!
Below are audition tips to help make the LTYM process as easy as possible. On this page, we’ll hold your hand through LTYM audition basics, a few LTYM storytelling examples, and writing prompts to get your writing rolling. Please take the time to read all of this to the very end.
Speaking of the very end … at the end of this page is a behind-the-scenes note about the actual audition process -- like when you come into the library to read for us. (See, bet you didn’t know we meet in libraries, did you? We told you this page is filled to the brim with good info -- please read it all!)
“The audition sign up is at the very end of this page. There’s a lot of important audition information before the red sign up button. Please read it all!”
LTYM Audition Basics
LTYM stories are about 5 minutes long, read out loud, by you.
Please practice reading your piece out loud before auditions and time yourself.
Shorten (or lengthen) your piece as needed.
There are 4 kinds of LTYM stories told. These are detailed below.
Most LTYM alumni are not professional writers or readers.
They’re women with stories to tell -- which is all of us.
LTYM pieces are read -- not acted or memorized or performed with props -- just you and your story. But yay! No memorizing!
When you practice your piece, read it out loud at a comfortable pace, as if you were reading it for us.
It can’t be said enough -- around 5 minutes long!
LTYM Story Types
There are 4 kinds of LTYM stories.
Personal Narrative
Personal Narratives sound like the kind of story you call your best girlfriend to tell. They’re often chronologically told. They’re a moment in time that you can’t wait to dish on. Some LTYM-ers have told us that to get these stories down on paper, they pretend they’re on the phone -- or bellied up to the bar -- telling their story to their bestie. They record this telling, transcribe it, and boom. They have a first draft written.
Memoir
Memoirs are a mix of a story from the teller’s past intertwined with what this story means to them today, or maybe how that moment in time changed them or their thinking or views. A memoir actually often ends up sounding pretty similar to a personal narrative.
Humor
Humor pieces are entertaining and fun and so important to the show. Motherhood CAN be ridiculous sometimes, can’t it? We believe that laughter gets us through and we love for our shows to reflect that.
Theme
Each year, we aim to create a quilt of different kinds of motherhood stories -- what’s it like to be a loss mom? To lose your own mom? To be a stepmom? An adoptive mom? A foster mom? A mom of a child who has autism or anxiety or who has a disability? What’s it like to go through infertility treatments? Or to be a mom of multiples? Our goal is to stitch together all kinds of stories to create a quilt that tells all of our collective story of motherhood. Theme stories can be written in any of the above styles (personal narrative, memoir, or humor).
LTYM Writing Details
The most important thing about LTYM stories is that, no matter the type of story, they take us right INto the moment.
I.E. don’t tell us that you had a bad day. Tell us that you stepped on a lego getting out of bed; didn’t put the lid on your blender tightly enough while making your smoothie; that your blueberry smoothie ended up in your hair, dripping down your fave white Duran Duran t-shirt, and splattered onto your kitchen cabinets. And counter. And floor … all while your kiddo missed the bus.
Take a look below at some alumni examples of the different kinds of stories + how they’re absolutely dripping in details.
Writing Prompts
Here are 65 writing prompts to get your writing juices flowing.
Watching videos of LTYM Twin Cities alumni is like an athlete watching tape. You can see more here and we very much encourage you to do this!
The Audition Process
Sign up for only one time slot
Please arrive 5-15 minutes early.
Please email us your piece before your audition to ltymtwincities@gmail.com.
Please fill out an audition form before your audition at: Link will be right here when auditions are open.
You’ll read your piece out loud to us.
You’ll stand for your reading.
We’ll time you.
And possibly take some notes to help us remember what we heard.
After you read, we’ll answer any questions you have.
It takes us about 2 weeks to cast the show and we’ll let everyone know within two weeks by email either way.
Remember we said there’s an important note at the very end? This is it:
We really try very, very hard to keep a straight face -- ie: react neutrally -- during auditions to make sure that everyone has a similar experience and to not give any mixed messages or false hope to anyone.
We see approximately 80 women at auditions every year, and even though we — truly — feel the absolute luckiest to hear every single story that we do, we can only cast 12 of them even though we, obviously, love more than 12! This is our 9th year of running auditions, and in our experience, it’s best for auditioners if we don’t react to their pieces.
We’ve been told that this can be unnerving. So please know that we don’t take your audition lightly — at all — we’re truly bettered by each and every story we get to hear. And we never-ever lose site of that, even if our reaction to your story at your audition is neutral.
And with that … go get it! We (truly) can’t wait to hear your story at auditions. It’s your story, tell it. We’re listening.
