photos by Andrew Steinman
Let's Grow Kids is a statewide campaign about the need for more high-quality, affordable child care in Vermont to better support our children, families, communities and economy.
More than 70% of Vermont children under age 6 have all of their parents in the labor force, meaning they're likely to need care. Yet, half of those infants and toddlers don't have access to any regulated care, and nearly 80% don't have access to high-quality programs.
Our goal is to gain public support for increased, sustainable investment that gives each child the chance to reach their full potential.
directed by Daniel Stephens
The pilot episode is the etymology of the word Robot. In this episode I had the chance to play a Czech playwright, Karel Capek. A 9th century missionary named Methodius. Otto Binder, a writer known for I, Robot and a mad scientist creating one of the first robots.
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Behind every word is a story…
Etymology is the study of the history of words. When we hear a word we don’t immediately realize that it has a story. Every word in the English language come from somewhere, often from another language and another place. These stories sometimes seem the work of fiction. It’s interesting to consider that the stories behind the words themselves, the journey they take to become part of the English language, are more fascinating than the prose they create on the page.
26 Words seeks to unlock the remarkable stories behind 26 common, and at times, not-so-common English words. It will do so in 8-12 minute narratives, each woven together by delightful and often comical historical recreations of how the word traveled from culture to culture and shore to shore to finally find its way into our American mouths. The pieces will be a mixture of live-action and hand-made animation weaving together a magical tapestry of lexiconographic delight. The series will begin with an episode featuring the letter A, and each subsequent episode will thus feature the remaining 25 letters to comprise a total of 26 episodes per season.
Take, for example, the word chess. This word seems simple enough and yet its simplicity belies a fascinating, globe-trotting history. The game itself was likely born in India in the 6th century AD. However, the word actually comes from Persia and is a word that still exists today, shah. The word, in Persia, meant king. And, as will be interesting in just a few sentences hence, a dead king was called a shah mat. From Persia, the word leapt to Arabic as shah and then across the Med to the Roman Empire and common Latin as, oddly enough, scaccus. The Gauls (or French) then took a liking to it as eschec and finally in the 13th century it found its way into British English and ultimately American English as chess. Why? Because the game of chess is about defending the king, and shah means king. Oh, and shah mat? That became checkmate.
While the series is geared towards a middle school demographic, like all good young-adult entertainment, these stories will be produced to delight audiences of all ages including and beyond the pre-teen set.
Each episode will feature a single word and together, one word beginning with each letter of the alphabet will make up the full season of the series.
It is important that viewers experience moments of discovery and delight; that they have experiences that allow them to feel smart and attentive.
The series will be hosted by a comedic actor and the sketch comedy within each episode will be brought to life by a troupe of comedy actors that will remain the same from episode to episode.
Ultimately, the goal of the series is not only to provide an entertaining history of a given word’s grand entrance into our lexicon, but to engage our audience with the wonder of language in an effort to peek curiosity and deepen an understanding and appreciation for our culture which is, after all, defined by the confluence of language and history.
Tocca
Florence named after one of the founders' daughters, Florence is chic fragrance that recalls the sophistication and style of Paris.
From La Marais to the Montmarte, Florence is the girl with effortless style and understated flair that draws notice everywhere she goes.
Meet Maggie. Meet Stephen. Two love lorn twenty-somethings who find each other on a popular Internet dating site. Does it matter that Stephen works for the site that brought the two of them together? Or that he knowingly manipulates the site to create a perfect match? As you can guess, it gets complicated. PerfectMatch is a quirky 21st century romantic comedy that realizes that as our technology evolves, the ease with which we find our soulmate does not.
directed by Anelisa Garfunkel
Tuberville tells the story of a small New England potato farm. What’s unique about the farm? It donates its entire crop of potatoes to food banks. The series serves a dual purpose - to both entertain and to increase awareness of the non-profit organization, Tuberville. What’s unique about Tuberville? It, like the farm in the web series, also donates food (primarily tubers) to food banks.
directed by Andrew Kanatani.
A modern love story.
Alice trying to decide whether to stay with her loving, long term boyfriend or accomplishing her dream of becoming a successful artist. On the road to discovery, the bitterness she feels, starts to tear up the relationship..
Let's Grow Kids is a statewide campaign about the need for more high-quality, affordable child care in Vermont to better support our children, families, communities and economy.
More than 70% of Vermont children under age 6 have all of their parents in the labor force, meaning they're likely to need care. Yet, half of those infants and toddlers don't have access to any regulated care, and nearly 80% don't have access to high-quality programs.
Our goal is to gain public support for increased, sustainable investment that gives each child the chance to reach their full potential.
directed by Anelisa Garfunkel
A little ME time.
directed by Andrew Jenks
A group of Staten Island radicals lead by ex-philosophy student Marie and her boozy filmmaker boyfriend Nick attempt to kidnap the CEO of the Leo Corporation but instead get the ‘wrong guy’, Daniel, a nutty accountant who receives visions from the future. With Daniel trapped at the group’s commune, several of the radicals attempt to revolutionize the bedroom, an endeavor further complicated by a surprise visit from Marie’s ding dong ex-lover ‘Junior’.
The film follows the lives of several young people, the challenges they face and the choices they make on a fine summers eve.
directed by Stan Grunder
A young woman, Sarah Camden, goes to find herself after getting pregnant by her abusive boyfriend. On this journey, she ends up in Maine and meets a kind hearted young man who she befriends and realize they are closer than either of them could have imagined.
