GLOB LESSONS: a feature film

Two thirty-something strangers are paired together to perform low-budget children's theatre out of a minivan across the Upper Midwest.

GLOB LESSONS is a feature-length film about Alan, an insecure, perfectionist, mostly-closeted man from Minnesota, and Jesse, an unpredictable, mysterious wild woman from West Virginia. They’re complete opposites -- and they’ve found themselves partnered together on a low-budget children’s theatre tour for indifferent audiences across the frozen Upper Midwest. Unsettled by each other, and each quietly suffering from emotional wounds of their own, they’re a study in avoidance -- until the reality of their forced proximity compels them to open up to one another. As their friendship deepens, they begin to go rogue with their shows, rewriting them and redesigning them in order to better represent their own voices and win over their audiences, and as they do so, they find the courage to begin creating a new life for themselves. It’s also a comedy!

We're passionate about this story and we're passionate about the region of the country it takes place in (our beloved Midwestern homeland!). The opportunity to create very often revolves around access, and access is primarily tied to both financial resources and where one is located. GLOB LESSONS is a story about two people with limited access, performing for children who possibly have never even seen live theatre at all. Despite limitations, our characters are able to find strength and beauty within their confines, and we believe GLOB LESSONS will move and inspire anyone who has ever felt like the world doesn't need their voice. 

That's a story that is deeply personal to us. While we've each left the Midwest for New York City and had individual careers in the arts (Nicole primarily as an actor and Colin as an actor/educator), we've remained connected by a keen love for our home state, and we've realized that there's value in the uniqueness of our experience, growing up in a region of the country that's often misunderstood or misrepresented.

GLOB LESSONS is a joyous celebration of friendship and creativity, and the bravery one needs to reveal their authentic self. The audience gets to know our two lead characters as they get to know each other, an experience that breeds empathy and real connection to the two souls whose journey our film encompasses. We think the world will be a little better with our film in it -- what better reason to make a movie? 

We've already started! We started writing GLOB LESSONS back in 2013, inspired by Colin's time doing traveling children's theatre. We've worked and re-worked the script many times, winning awards in the process (our first draft got us to the semi-finals of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the Nicholl screenwriting awards), until we knew we had something very special on our hands. 

Nicole studied independent film production at the School of Visual Arts in New York, to learn more about what it takes (especially on the legal end) to make a film a reality. We've spent years gathering information from our filmmaking friends and mentors, and our script has passed through the hands of many whose response has been a unanimous "You must make this movie!".  Thanks to their encouragement, we're finally ready.

 We received an initial investment which allowed us to travel back and forth between New York and North Dakota three times this summer. We've met with mentors and friends throughout the Fargo/Moorhead arts community, whose insight and support has been invaluable. They've offered up advice, connections to designers and crew, and helped us reach out to children interested in participating in our film. We've partnered with the Lake Agassiz Regional Libraries and the Fargo Public Schools to coordinate locations for the film, and we've driven over 1000 miles across North Dakota and Minnesota, finding the most incredible roadside motel locations (we need ten of them!).

We also brought our cinematographer out to The Enchanted Highway near Regent, North Dakota, to do camera tests in low-light to see how we'll be able to shoot the spectacular sequence that takes place there. Check out some footage from our camera test below, set to original music written for GLOB LESSONS by our brilliant composer, Matthew Ricketts.

?We just held auditions for parts for young actors in the Fargo/Moorhead area, and we will be holding a Young Filmmakers workshop during our production, to inspire the next generation of storytellers.

Making a movie is an expensive proposition, but we've worked very hard to cut our initial $75,000 budget (still incredibly small for a feature film) down to $43,000. Our hope is that the film will reflect the low-budget DIY magic that Jesse and Alan are able to create with their own shows. That being said, our resources during production will be stretched very thin, especially if we do not have all $43,000 by the time production starts. We deeply believe, however, that the process of making the art is the DNA of the art itself, and we know that the scrappy energy we’ve put into willing this film into existence will bleed over into the essential essence of the film itself.