Category Archives: Hiccups

If you stumbled upon this blog prior to January 11th, or if you’ve heard me talking about the upcoming auction in Parent Education, you might be scratching your head…what happened to the film studio theme?

Long story short: our original venue double-booked and we were left holding the short straw. Since the first theme was so closely tied to the venue, a complete auction overall was required.

I’ll admit it…at first I was crushed. I’d already logged many, many hours putting together an event that no longer had a home. I was so invested in the concept of a film studio theme. And then my husband asked me a very important question: “What is the essence of your story?”

State and Main, written and directed by David Mamet, is one of our all-time favorite movies to quote. It’s about a Hollywood cast and crew who descend upon a small town in Vermont preparing to shoot a film titled “The Old Mill.” Soon after they arrive, they learn that the Old Mill itself, so seemingly crucial to their movie, burned down years ago. Already over budget, they have no chance to relocate or to build a mill on the set.

Walt (the director) speaking to Joe (the writer):

We’re here to make a movie. Can’t use the Old Mill. Well, that happens. What you got to do, you find the essence – what was it, that brought us here? It wasn’t a building, Joe, it was an idea. It was an essence – what is the essence of your story?”

The essence of our story is the families of SPNS. It’s about the two-year-old Sprouts who are learning to play with, rather than just next to, their friends. It’s about the three-year-old Explorers testing the boundaries of their expanding worlds. It’s about Teacher Nancy explaining how precipitation works to the preschoolers. It’s about parents learning from and leaning on each other. It’s about a cooperative nursery school that needs our support.

It’s not about a building.