Comedian turned ‘Mom Unhinged’ returns to hometown stage

This is what happens when you talk to Stephanie Sprenger.

First, there’s no preamble. She’s all-in before the introductions are even finished.

Then, you start catching the references. A single sentence can allude to both poet Mary Oliver and Netflix show “Ozark” – and somehow it totally works.

Lastly, you’re cracking up the entire time, ready to tell her your entire life story and wishing you could get married again to make her a bridesmaid, where you definitely think you could talk her into wearing the Bjork swan dress and acting like it was just a normal dress.

Sprenger isn’t in your face – she’s emotionally intimate, immediately. It’s a skill that serves her well as she tours with the “Moms Unhinged” stand-up comedy show, which will be at the Washington Pavilion on Wednesday.

“I’m a writer first and a comic second,” said Sprenger, a mother of two who graduated from Lincoln High School in 1996 and now lives in Colorado. Her parents still live in town, and she comes back often to visit. “I love Sioux Falls, and I love watching it grow,” Sprenger said. “Every time I go back, it feels like home.”

Sprenger is a music therapist but has always loved writing.

“I had my first baby, and it gave me such an identity crisis that I started writing, and I couldn’t stop,” Sprenger said. It was the era of the “Mommy Blogs,” and she found an outlet and success as a writer using that platform. Then, she began writing for other publications, primarily about parenting.

“That was my passion – wanting to say things about parenting and motherhood that we aren’t allowed to say. It was the driving force in my writing, and it’s become the driving force in my comedy,” Sprenger said. “I wanted something that wasn’t blowing smoke.”

If you’re a mom, or have a mom or have a friend who is a mom, you know it’s not all wine and roses. And even if it is, it’s probably a box of wine you keep in the garage refrigerator and, well, there are no roses.

It’s car seats covered in vomit, a school drop-off line that brings out the worst in you and everyone else, a field trip permission slip nobody can find and staying awake to make sure your teenager drives himself home safely.

Sprenger said she came into comedy because it’s difficult to find good humor writers. She met a woman who said she taught stand-up comedy and who wanted to promote women comics.

That was Andrea Vahl, founder of “Moms Unhinged.”

“Andrea was gracious enough to take the risk of putting me on one of her shows in the first year of my stand-up career,” Sprenger said.

The “Moms Unhinged” show is unique in that it’s for women, about women and written and performed by women. “The audience is women and moms who are like, ‘let me laugh because these jokes are meant for me,’” Sprenger said. “And, as a comic, you get to be on stage with these women, and that is changing narratives. There is what happens when women really amplify each other’s strengths and creativity.”

That’s exactly what Vahl was hoping for.

“I started “Moms Unhinged” to showcase amazing mom comedians,” she said. “Too often, comedy shows are male-dominated, and it’s difficult for mom comedians to get on shows. And when we have the right audience of women and moms who appreciate our humor, the shows are magical.”

The shows have been selling out more and more, Vahl said. “Laughter is so healing, and we love being able to shine a light on some of the difficulties of being a mom and a woman,” Vahl said. “It’s also my mission to showcase a diverse set of voices and pay the comedians for their art.”

Sprenger dismisses the idea that people don’t want to hear stories or comedy from the “mom” perspective. But she said starting out as a comic was terrifying.

“I don’t like to do anything I’m not good at,” she said. “I don’t want to be rejected. But I love it so much. There’s nothing like it.”

She said more than half of the comics in “Moms Unhinged” are divorced.

“There’s nothing so inspiring to me as a bunch of women over 40 who are like, ‘I’m going to do whatever I want for the rest of my life,’” Sprenger said. “This is my one wild and precious life, and I’m going to use it talking about pubic hair on stage, and you’re going to laugh.”

She said comedy saved her when she went through her own divorce. “It was the thing that kept me focused and kept me creative and preserved my sense of humor.”

Sprenger hopes people leave the show feeling not only like it was worth their time – but also that it spoke directly to them – with a show designed to make people laugh and make them feel seen.

“I also want them to be like, look what happens when women take the stage. This is inspiring. There’s a venue and a medium where women get to be the creators and the performers and the audience,” she said.

And, really, it’s not all mom jokes. It’s about connecting and the absurdities of life, Sprenger said.

Vahl hopes that people feel less alone after a show. “Sometimes, we think we are the only ones who are experiencing these challenges,” she said. “I hope that if someone is going through a difficult time, they find a little joy and have their spirits lifted.”

The show is expanding nationally with a rotating lineup of comedians. “No two shows are the same, so we get to come back to cities regularly with new comedy,” Vahl said.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re a mom or a sister or a cousin of a mom – Vahl said women should give themselves more grace.

“We wear a lot of hats,” she said. “Also, I didn’t realize that kids want dinner every day.”

“Moms Unhinged” is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Washington Pavilion. Tickets are on sale here.