Once on a small island town there was a horrible storm. During this horrible storm the people who lived in this small island town hunkered down and stayed inside to wait it out. This storm was so terrific that it caused extensive damage to trees, homes, power lines and the shore. After the storm passed and the sun came out again to shine, the people of this small island town ventured outside to survey the damage. There were broken windows, downed trees and power lines. Devastation was everywhere you looked.
When the people went to the shore they were stunned to see that the strength of the storm had washed ashore thousands and thousands of starfish. They were laying helplessly on the sand, hopelessly baking in the hot afternoon sun. Crowds appeared and stood looking at the phenomena. They’d never seen anything like it. They were saddened at the loss and stood in amazement shaking their heads.
One little girl in the crowd walked up to the edge of the mass of starfish stranded along the shore and picked one up and threw it back into the ocean. Next to her stood an old, negative Nay-Sayer. The Nay-Sayer watched the child do it again and said to her, “What are you doing?” The girl replied, “Putting it back to where it belongs.” The Nay-Sayer said, “Don’t be silly, there’s too many! You can’t possibly make a difference!” The little girl didn’t pay any attention. She picked up another starfish, threw it into the ocean where it rightfully belonged, looked at the Nay-Sayer and said “Made a difference to that one.”
And so, the Newport Children’s Theatre is gladly adopting the Starfish as our logo, as a tribute to the tenacity, hope and dedication of all of our young stars and an outward symbol of our mission in the hopes that we too "Made a Difference to That One!"
