Scene 1: The farmhouse table at the Fairbanks home in Shorewood, WI. It’s a chilly morning in early December, and Sam, a nine-month-old English Cream Golden Retriever is curled up on a rug in front of the fireplace. Mark and Margaret Fairbanks enjoy their morning coffee together, talking, and taking notes on a laptop. Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas softly plays on Sonos.

MARGARET

(speaking off left, from kitchen)

Do you need a warm-up on your coffee?

MARK

The answer’s always yes. (looking at phone) Did you do Wordle yet?

MARGARET

(pouring more coffee) 

I’m stuck after three guesses. How do you want to tackle the year end reflection?

MARK

(pulls at his beard)

You know, I was thinking maybe we could do something different. We could talk about our favorite moments and then we could shape it into a post. Kind of a dialogue between us. I mean, we talk about the program and the students all the time over coffee, why not try to capture that?

MARGARET

(Sits down at the table across from Mark) 

That could be fun. Should we talk about the record number of enrollments this past year, growth of the program, the NEA research?

MARK

We could. Kinda feels like we’re just talking about us. Maybe we could talk more about our students and outcomes?

MARGARET

Lots of stories there. Where do we even start?


MARK

You always talk about the “joy factor” and we’ve been using that word a lot more. That might be interesting to write about.

(Begins typing on the laptop keyboard)

MARGARET

I love it. I think that’s the most important outcome we deliver, one that has been consistent since the very first workshop. I think plenty of people in the IOB have witnessed it, so they’ll definitely connect with what we’re saying. 

MARK

(Reading from the laptop screen)

Check this out. I did a quick google search on the importance of joy. Mayo Clinic comes up. “Joy can positively improve physical and mental health and overall well-being.” 

MARGARET

Joy’s a thing!

MARK

It’s definitely a thing. Scroll down, and it says Mayo Clinic has identified joy as a key driver of the overall success of the organization.

MARGARET

See, I get antsy and think - how many more individuals, families, and communities can we connect with? How do we create more moments of joy? 

MARK

(Leans back in chair, looks at ceiling) 

Yeah. I have this new mantra I’ve been thinking about for 2024: To create as many one-hour doses of IOB joy, in as many spaces, in as many communities as possible.

MARGARET

So not a season of joy, but an entire year of joy.

MARK

Exactly. I mean, I think we do that already, but it’s time to just come out and say it. That’s what we live for, that’s why IOB exists. To provide those moments.


MARGARET

Whatever brand that car commercial is with people waking up to a new car in the driveway with a giant red bow on top. That’s literally how I feel after each workshop. Those countless moments of joy is how I measure wealth.

MARK

Me too. If you look at all the things we have planned for 2024, launching The Fellowship in six communities new to IOB, the iPad Labs, and how Digital Academy has evolved and is growing, there’s going to be a whole lot more joy in 2024.

MARGARET

I know, and the team we have to deliver it. Young, joyful disruptors!

MARK

This is less of a reflection and more of a projection of what we’re excited about for 2024.

MARGARET

Is that a bad thing?

MARK

Nope. The bad thing is that I think we are out of coffee and we have to write this blog post.

MARGARET

Is this a ha’pot morning?

MARK

You could talk me into it.

(Sam growl-groans from her spot in front of the fireplace)

MARGARET

Sam sayeth otherwise.


MARK

Actually, let’s take her for a walk. (Sarcastically) I love procrastinating on blog posts and waiting until the last minute. That’s when all the great creative ideas come.

(Mark and Margaret get up from the table and put their winter coats on. Sam waits patiently as Margaret puts her harness on and attaches her orange leash. They exit through the front door. Vince Guaraldi continues to play. After a few moments, the screen on the MacBook Air laptop darkens and goes to sleep.)


(BLACKOUT)


(END OF SCENE)


Mark Fairbanks and Margaret Pearson met in 1980 at UWM’s Peck School of the Arts while studying acting as part of the Professional Actors Training Program. In 1984, they organized Labyrinth Company, an experimental theater group in Boston. Mark wrote multiple plays, and Margaret had a successful career as a professional actress. Theater, improv, and connecting with an audience are formative elements of their early lives together, which they have always brought to Islands of Brilliance.

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