Milbre Burch bridges the mythic and the personal, the anecdotal and the poetic in Mom's the Word: A Journey in Meter and Centimeters. On a sparsely set stage decorated with totems, Burch tells about the births of her daughters with wit and passion. Drawing on her theatrical background, she becomes an Irish immigrant who sees the Statue of Liberty as her new mother, and later "La Llorona," the wailing woman of Latin American legend. Burch's strengths as a poet are heard in "The Voiceless Maiden," "Rapunzel Revisited" and "A Page from the Manual of What You Want the Lover to Say."

A sequel to In the Family Way, her earlier work about family life, the show has traveled to the National Storytelling Festival; the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Orem, Utah; the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival; adult storytelling series at the Beverly Hills Library, the Monterey Public Library, and Tales by the Sea in Malibu; All Saints Church in Pasadena; Cafe Patachou in Indianapolis, and National-Louis University in Evanston, Illinois.

Having seen the show at the 1999 National Storytelling Festival, actor, author and storyteller Bill Mooney wrote: "Mom's the Word is a terrific story and you tell it wonderfully well. Even among the many of us who were standees around the edges, there were tears of recognition. The humor was pithy and to the point, and the story galloped along." Susan Klein, an internationally known performer, speaker and storytelling coach, asked Burch: "Were you aware what your poem,' What You Want the Lover to Say' did to that poor, unsuspecting audience? They were bowled over by the clarity and honesty and courage of the piece and of the whole show."

Burch calls the piece "an exploration of the many mysteries of birth and child rearing, and an initiation into some of the best-kept secrets of being a woman." After sponsoring the show at National-Louis University, Nan Murnighan wrote to her: "You tackle that most sacred of topics, Motherhood, by not only singing its glories but also, and equally importantly, by fearlessly acknowledging and exploring the dark and down sides of motherhood. And you do so with humor and pathos in a way that is accessible to all."


The material in each act of Mom's the Word consists of the following pieces, written by Milbre Burch:

ACT ONE: Barrenness to Birthgiving
Scene One: "The Prologue"
Scene Two: "Our Heroine Marries and Matures"
Scene Three: "Conception and Quickening"
Scene Four: "Labor and Delivery"
Scene Five: "It Takes a Village I"
Scene Six: "Lost Child I"
Scene Seven: "It Takes a Village II"

ACT TWO: The Birth of Sisterhood
Scene One: "Welcoming the Second Child"
Scene Two: "Labor and Delivery Reprise"
Scene Three: "Adjusting to Siblinghood"
Scene Four: "Travels with Rosebud"
Scene Five: "When the Psyche Needs a Facelift"
Scene Six: "Lost Child II"
Scene Seven: "The Fairy Tales Revisited"

Running time is 90 minutes. There is one 10-minute intermission.

Milbre Burch's recording of Mom's the Word: A Journey in Meter and Centimeters, features the selections above, and was a Storytelling World Honors Winner in 2000.