A Labour of Love: Andrea Superstein on Art and Motherhood
After first visiting Kingston on a grade five field trip, vocalist and 2025 JUNO nominee Andrea Superstein is returning, this time as a performer. She’s eager to be a part of a thriving theatre scene infused with energy and magic that happens over just ten days. As a part of the TK Fringe Festival, Superstein will perform Oh Mother F#@%*!, a show that explores the vulnerable highs and lows of motherhood.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Are the stories in your show drawn from your experiences entirely, or are they a mash-up of tales drawn from other mothers as well?
Lots of stories from other mothers. And the fun thing is that I’m not retelling the stories; the audience actually gets to see and hear the moms because there’s a video element to the show. And so, when I was talking to the moms, in my kind of creative exploration, I filmed, or if I was doing video chat, I recorded a lot of them just so that I would have it to look back on. And then some of them ended up making it into the show because they were just so funny or telling.
Where do you find or draw most of your inspiration from?
It started with my own experiences as a mom. Some questions that I had in the early days of being a mom. I was wondering, “How come I feel so terrible? And when everyone’s saying it’s going to be such a great experience, why do I feel so awful? And am I the only one who feels this way? Or are other people faking it?” I was a bit curious, so I started asking some friends some softball questions, and then the more I learned, the deeper I wanted to get.
Your show blends music, storytelling, and visuals. Can you walk us through your creative process? How does an idea go from just a spark to a whole show?
It started as an album, and then as I was recording it and getting ready to tour, I felt that I was very proud of the music, but it’s not just my story. There’s so much behind the stories, behind how the music was created, and I wanted to show that. So I thought maybe we could bring in some visual elements into the stage show…
You work so hard, especially on an album, and sometimes the cycle can be quite short. I spent five years making the record, but then, we toured it for eighteen months, and then it’s done. And then it’s time to move on. I felt like it would be nice to give this a little bit more longevity. I went to theatre school, and I thought maybe this has some legs, not just for the music audience, but also the theatre audience who kind of understands the concept of narrative more than the music world does.
Is there a particular moment or scene in your Oh Mother F#@%*! that cracks you up or catches you off guard every time you perform it?
Yeah, there are two moments in the show. One that I consistently laugh at, and it’s laughing at myself. There’s a video conversation between my friend and [I] during COVID over Zoom, and I couldn’t figure out how to switch from my calendar on my computer to seeing her at the same time. It cracks me up because it’s so typically me, a bit flustered all the time. It’s a very honest moment, and I think it’s a true portrayal of who I am.
There’s another video moment where one of the moms is talking about how hard it is. She is a single mom… And she cries. And I do find that every time I watch it, I also cry. It’s just so powerful. And I think it’s because I can relate to what she’s saying, but also, I’ve done the show many times already, and I’m still not desensitized to what she’s saying, because her emotion is so raw and real.
What do you hope people leave the show thinking or feeling, especially those who aren’t parents themselves?
I hope that people who aren’t parents won’t shy away from the show, because it’s not geared towards parents. I think it’s geared towards creating an understanding, especially for people who aren’t parents, of what it’s actually like to be a parent and not just the “Oh, being a parent is the most amazing experience of my life and my greatest accomplishment.” Maybe that’s true, but also, we keep it real in the show. No held back experiences to show how ridiculous and gross and scary and hard it can be to be a parent…
And for those who are parents, I definitely think that they’ll be able to relate to something in the show, whether they’re new parents or grandparents, or parents who have adult children. It’s quite universal in that way. It’s a very, very playful show. Even though we like to touch upon some deep things and some difficult topics, it’s always looked at with a levity and a sense of humour, because I feel like that’s the best way to go when you’re presenting theatre. You can make a point without it having to be super heavy.
What’s something that Oh Mother F#@%*! let you say or express that you couldn’t in your music alone?
All the stories. I do talk a lot when in a regular concert, but this really allows me to get deep and share the way that the music was built and all of the details behind the music. Sometimes when you’re performing a piece, you’re offering the final product without the audience knowing or understanding all the things that went into it when you were creating it.
It also gives me the time to create a storyline and an arc and get into the details of some of the issues that parents face, as opposed to a one-liner or a little anecdote or just cracking a joke about something. They get to hear it through my storytelling. They get to hear it through the music. They might see it through some of the visuals that accompany some of the songs, or they might also feel it from the videos or other technical and visual elements that the show provides.
If your child saw your show 20 years from now, what would you hope that they would take away from it?
Well, she’s seen the show many times already. She’s only ten. And she actually sometimes performs in the show with me, which is my absolute favorite part, but she’s not able to come with me this time. I’m pretty honest with her. And that’s what’s been cool about the show is for her to understand before she’s an adult and before she’s a parent that, yes, I’m your mom. And yes, I love you. And yes, I will do anything for you. But also, I’m still a person. And I have my own things. And being your mom is beautiful, but it’s also hard.
So I think even if she saw the show in 20 years, having that understanding that your mom is a dimensional person, even though when you’re young, you only see her as your caregiver and your supporter. And I hope she’s still proud of what we did and that she gets to be a part of it.
2025 JUNO nominee Andrea Superstein is one of the most versatile voices in Canadian music today, being hailed as “redefining jazz”. Her stage show is a multimedia tour de force highlighting her talents as vocalist, storyteller, and actor.
‘Oh Mother F#@%*!’ runs from August 7-15, 2025 at the Davies Lounge as part of the TK Fringe Festival in The Kick & Push Festival. More information about the festival and tickets can be found here.
