Interview By Lou with Julie Lake and Annie MacLeod
of Forget Me Not

Welcome to Bookmarks and Stages to talk about your fascinating show, Forget Me Not, which you’re performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

If you’ve ever watched Orange Is The New Black, then Julie Lake would be a familiar name. Since then she’s been more a creator of work on-screen and in music.
Annie MacLeod is and award-winning music and songwriter. 
Together, they talk about their show Forget Me Not, motherhood, being in their 40’s and re-inventing themselves and more…
Here’s the synopsis of Forget Me Not. You can find the Edinburgh Fringe link to their show at the end of the interview.

Synopsis

Now, let’s check out he interesting answers they gave about their show and more…

1. Julie Lake: Who or what inspired you to act and how have you seen your career progress from being in the successful, Orange is the New Black?

I caught the acting bug at five—I wanted to be wild and expressive, but also connect with people in a way I couldn’t offstage. I was shy, secretive, and terrified of revealing too much. Writing used to scare me—I thought it might expose me as crazy or stupid. But since Orange is the New Black, I’ve shifted into creating my own work: pilots, screenplays, music—and now a live play. Turns out, sharing my inner world isn’t fatal. Just… occasionally awkward.

2. Annie MacLeod: You’re an award-winning music and songwriter. What or whom inspired you to take this career path?

I’ve loved music and theater since high school – Julie and I performed together as teenagers, and I always dreamed of being on Broadway or performing as a musician. But I took a different path, became a nurse practitioner, and poured myself into caregiving and motherhood. For years, I made music in the cracks of my life, stealing moments when I could. But once my kids were out of the baby phase, I had this wake-up call—like, what happened to my dreams? I knew I needed to reclaim them. Our play tells the story of that transformation.

 

3. Julie Lake: The play explores motherhood and the complex privilege and joy surrounding this. How would you describe the complications and what is it about this that makes it important to highlight?

When I became a mom, I slipped into a role that didn’t feel like me. I’d been a lifelong artist—filming a pilot at eight months pregnant that got into SXSW. But after my son was born (and then Covid hit), I disappeared into nonstop caregiving. I cried if I left him for an hour. I was secretly writing music, but had lost the courage to share it. I thought it was all over. Annie helped me find myself again. She saw me when I couldn’t. My song “Oldest Friend” says it best: “Be my witness when the fog becomes too thick, when I can’t see beyond these lines. Tell me something, that you see in these dry bones, when my worn heart has lost its shine.”

 

4. Annie MacLeod: How did you come up with lyrics and music to convey the complexities of motherhood, so the story really penetrates into you audiences? There’s a song in the show called The Sacrifice that poured out of me during a time I was reckoning with how my own mother’s pain shaped my experience of motherhood. My dad left when I was a baby, and my mom—who struggled with depression—sacrificed everything to raise me. But in the process, she gave up her own desires, her light. I grew up thinking I had to shine bright enough for the both of us. That sadness, that ghost of unfulfilled womanhood, made its way into how I mothered. Writing Sacrifice was the only way I could process it—through poetry and music. The song helped me turn something generational and heavy into something healing.
   “I am your lifeline, but I’m not drowning too. You say, I come from you. Oh, I come from you.”
   That’s what I want to offer my kids—and maybe the audience too.

5. Julie Lake: What is your acting process to convey the theme of grief of futures so the audience can feel something of what you feel and get the point across about this?

Honestly, I just hope I can get through the show without crying too much. I want the audience to really hear the story and feel their own feelings—not mine. So while I’m performing, I’m often trying to hold back. The truth is, there’s no way to fully explain in words or tears the depth or duration of what Annie and I went through. All we can do is tell the truth of what happened and trust the audience to connect it to their own experiences. And the songs do a lot of the emotional work for us, too –  they’re really the emotional landscape of this show.

6 .  Julie and Annie Re-invention is a big and fully loaded theme running through the musical. How complicated do you think it is to re-invent yourself in your 40’s, what are the positives and the challenges?

Both of us made big shifts in midlife—Annie left her career as a nurse practitioner to pursue music full-time, and Julie leaned into song-writing and performing her own music for the first time at 40. Doing this as mothers was especially hard. Our culture treats anything outside caretaking or earning money as selfish—but it’s not. Reclaiming your wholeness, your voice, your creativity, is one of the best gifts you can give your kids. It’s modelling. We want our children to see what it looks like to live in alignment, not abandon yourself. That’s not selfish—it’s brave, and it’s deeply loving.

 

7. Julie and Annie: What do you hope the audience will gain from watching your show?

We hope audiences—especially mothers—leave our show feeling seen, inspired, and reminded of their creative spark. Forget-Me-Not is a love letter to the parts of ourselves that get buried in caregiving, shame, and self-doubt. We want women to feel less alone in their struggles and more empowered to reclaim their voices and dreams.

We’re also launching workshops and women’s circles specifically for Artist Mothers—to keep this conversation going beyond the stage. It’s about building a community where creativity and motherhood can coexist.

Are you an Artist Mother too? Start here to join the tribe: https://annie-wtb3mkl5.scoreapp.com/

 

8. Julie and Annie: What inspired you to take your musical to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and what are you excited most about?

Julie: I’d always wanted to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but I thought that ship had sailed, that I was too old. But when we started to conceive of this show, it just came to me again, that we could apply at least? And then when we got in I flipped out, I’d have to leave my babies to do it, face so many fears, play my music for people for the first time, but I knew in my gut it was the right next step for us. And I know we would have never made this show without the looming deadline of the fringe. It was too hard, too much work, too emotionally taxing, I mean we did 30 drafts, composed 6 songs, staged the play in NYC with our magnificent director, Peter Cook (Never Sleep Alone). I’m so proud of this show that we’ve created, and whatever else happens at the Fringe is just gravy at this point.

Forget-Me-Not runs August 1–9 at Greenside @ George Street 11:40AM.

Tickets to the show: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/forget-me-not

9. Where can people follow you on social

Artist Mother Quiz/ Join the tribe!: https://annie-wtb3mkl5.scoreapp.com/

Wildflowers Website: https://wildflowersshow.com/

Julie Lake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julie__lake?igsh=ZTVocWF1NHpzZDVm&utm_source=qr

Annie Macleod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anniemacleod?igsh=MWp2ZmpwN29zOTZrMw%3D%3D

Wildflowers Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thewildflowershow/?igsh=bWo0MXlzZXJmazB5&utm_source=qr#

Julie Lake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@julie__lake?_t=ZT-8yNvJCdWAiD&_r=1