Tomorrow morning, director Anelisa Garfunkel arrives, along with UPM Meg Valentine and production designer Virginia Hastings. Then the real work begins. But until then, at least for a few more moments, the pianos will rock to original Mark Booker tunes and the printer will continue to turn out gleaming white forms for us all to fill out in the coming days.

Rock that piano, Mark.

First and foremost we must thank Ralph Perkins, founder of Tuberville.org and executive producer of the web-series. It was well over a year ago that Ralph contacted the small Maine film production company, goodfocus, to ask them to create a short documentary about the work he and his organization were doing to help fight hunger in communities across New England (and ultimately across the country, but that’s another story). The goodfocus team suggested another, perhaps slightly nutty tack, a web-series that would meld the core values of Tuberville.org into a fictional world populated by slightly off-kilter characters and help spread the message of Tuberville through an entertaining 8 minute per episode online tv series. Ralph could have sent us packing, but he had faith in this crazy idea and he encouraged the goodfocus team to do their creative best to make this happen. And it did. Thank you, Ralph. You are an inspiration.

We must also thank the series’ director (and co-producer and co-writer) Anelisa Garfunkel, whose tireless energy, creative mind and gift with guiding actors through the world of Tuberville cannot be over-stated. Not only has she directed all the episodes of the season to come, she has also booked travel for our actors, found lodging for us all in rural Vermont (not an easy task), whipped up menus to feed our rather sizable band of cast and crew and shown incredible skill at tag-team ping-pong. Her wit, humor, care and love can be seen in every episode of Tuberville and are a testament to her unshakeable spirit and filmmaking prowess.

We must also thank the entire cast and crew of Tuberville – whom you can get to know in the Tuberville Times section of the website. They are the most dedicated, creative, joyful and professional family of filmmakers one could ever have the good fortune to meet. Without them the series would still be simply a collection of eight page scripts nestled comfortably in our drop-box folder.

While Tuberville is not a “real” place – though some might argue this point – it is filmed in a real place and we must thank the real people who own the real places where Tuberville is brought to life. Particularly Barb and Bob Chapelle. They graciously allowed us (and continue to welcome us) into their lives and onto their farm to film the series.

And lastly, we must thank all of you who, through viewing the series, visiting the website and telling your friends and family about it, are helping us spread the word about this great organization and movement, one potato at a time.

Tune in next time for a quick recap of the shoot for the first two episodes. And don’t forget to tell your friends about us. And if you happen to be in rural New England, please don’t hesitate to drop by and say “hi” in Tuberville.

Russ Murphy (Mark Booker) is feeling much better after exiting that blasted truck.

Russ Murphy (Mark Booker) consults the map his grandfather left him.

Making a little shady spot for the upcoming action at the big red tractor site.

Camera and jib arm taking a moment to hang out with Kyle Wullschleger (1st AC).

Daniel Stephens (DoP) lovingly framing Ashton Herrewyn's (gaffer) head.

Russ Murphy (Mark Booker) attempts to keep his luggage from flying away.

Russ Murphy (Mark Booker) and Molly (Susan Traylor) enjoying a summer's afternoon.

Russ Murphy (Mark Booker) and Molly (Susan Traylor) sharing a moment of deep connection.

Nothing like a big hug after a well-done scene.

It's actually surprisingly difficult to walk and act at the same time.

Molly (Susan Traylor) and Russ Murphy (Mark Booker) make their way towards the potato fields.

Anelisa Garfunkel (Director) considers the next scene and how fantastic she looks in this hat.

Molly (Susan Traylor) and Russ Murphy (Mark Booker) trek through the fields of pretty flowers (or potatoes).

Yes, Russ, those pretty flowers are potatoes.

Molly (Susan Traylor) and Ox (Nic Roewert) rest on the set of Tuberville.

Virginia Hastings, Rocki Rock and Kristine Reeder share a light moment on set.

These were taken in August by our set photographer Brent Harrewyn during the filming of episodes 1 and 2.

Tuberville founder and director, Ralph Perkins had the foresight to allow us some creative flexibility. Ralph’s vision for Tuberville is to get people talking about hunger. He was wide open to exploring a different approach to help him get the word out, help share the Tuberville model of sharecropping potatoes to give to food banks, and maybe someday making Tuberville a household name.

What was exciting for us, the production team, was to have found a project that we could get behind, not just because we believed in the cause and the Tuberville solution but that challenged and engaged us creatively. It wasn’t just an opportunity to flex our storytelling muscle, it was a chance to try something innovative, to develop a model that combines creative storytelling with advocacy. We wanted to step in a new direction, away from the traditional promotional documentaries that most non-profits utilize. We had a developed a different philosophy about advocacy and promotion and we believed that Tuberville was the perfect project to put that into practice. We hope that through the fictional, magical world of Tuberville, we’ll accomplish the same thing that those documentaries accomplish and so much more.  We believe in the power of a good story. We believe in the power of the potato.

The Goodfocus Production Team