It’s a wonderful day, and not just cause the sun is shining on Sesame Street. It’s a wonderful day because this morning we learned a new friend was moving in to the neighborhood. Armando, or “Mando” as the gang on Sesame Street has nicknamed him, is join the cast on the upcoming 44th season.

Played by actor Ismael Cruz Córdova, Mando is part of Sesame’s increased focus on engaging with and educating children in the Hispanic community in the United States. The show is constantly evolving and has a long-standing history of modeling a diverse community.  As producers were identifying the realities of the changing American population, it was important to represent that diversity in the new addition to the cast. “Armando,” a writer from Puerto Rico, will join Maria (played by Sonia Manzano), Luis (Emilio Delgado) and Muppets™ Rosita and Ovejita (Carmen Osbahr) as part of Sesame Street’s bilingual community.

To learn more about Mando and his new home on Sesame Street, check out the video above.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

On June 6, K.I.D.S – Kids in Distressed Situations – will be honoring Maura Regan, Sesame Workshop’s Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Consumer Products, at their annual Women in Industry Luncheon. 

Throughout Sesame Street’s history, we’ve seen the power that our characters have. When children interact with Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Elmo and the gang, their faces light up and even a bad day can turn around quickly. And while a gently used item can elicit the same effect, there’s  something special about a brand new toy, shirt, or similar item. Knowing that this is yours – and only, and always yours – carries a bit of extra weight.

A few years ago, a friend in my professional network introduced me to an organization called K.I.D.S. – Kids in Distressed Situations – which provides new, in package items to children in need around the globe. Even in our own backyard, we’ve seen this need pop up; for example, when Hurricane Sandy struck the Eastern Seaboard, thousands upon thousands of children found their foundations shaken. As active members of our communities, both Sesame Workshop and K.I.D.S. look for ways to help.  And like Sesame Street, K.I.D.S. goes in with solutions, not just ideas.

The nuances of the retail world result in a significant amount of product – all new, never used – which goes unsold. Sometimes those items sit in warehouses until they eventually become unusable or are otherwise destroyed. But K.I.D.S works with licensees and others in the retail supply chain to get those products into the hands of children like those affected by Sandy, and for free.  Their work is done with immediacy, and they are able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children.

Sesame, also being an organization which is committed to empowering the lives of children, is glad to be working with K.I.D.S whenever we can. In fact, they may be honoring me, but the true honor is ours.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

Susan Tofte is Sesame Worskhop’s archivist.

There is a scene in the promo film for Sesame Street where ad-men type Muppets in business suits meet around a large conference table debating potential names for the show. Ridiculous titles are suggested like the Two and Two Ain’t Five Show and the Itty-Bitty, Farm-and-City, Witty-Ditty, Nitty-Gritty, Dog-and-Kitty, Pretty-Little-Kiddie Show. Rowlf the Dog fires the entire group of Muppets and Kermit the Frog eventually comes up with the name Sesame Street. “You know, like ‘Open Sesame.’ It kind of gives the idea of a street where neat stuff happens,” he suggests.

The name Sesame Street was not dreamed up by Muppets in a boardroom but the promo sketch does reference the dilemma the Workshop had in finding a name for the show. As producer Jon Stone remembers, “the name was set at the 11^th hour and fifty ninth minute.” Early promotional materials simply referred to the show as a “preschool educational television show.” In early spring of 1969, the press conference announcing the show neared and producers had still not made a decision. “We were just frantic for a title,” said Joan Ganz Cooney. “Our press and publicity people were going nuts. How were they going to promote a show that had no name?”

Pressure was put on the production staff and Workshop employees to come up ideas for names and hundreds of titles were suggested. Potential names included The Video Classroom and 1-2-3 Avenue B. “Everything from the mundane Fun Street,” Joan would later recall. 1-2-3 Avenue B was seriously considered and worked well with the show’s set design, which resembled an urban, inner city neighborhood complete with a corner store, subway station and brownstone stoop. It also made reference to the show’s educational goals. However, the name was eventually rejected for fear that the show’s title would not appeal to viewers outside of New York City.

The name Sesame Street is credited to Virginia Schone, a writer for the show. Almost everyone on the staff disliked the name. There was concern that young children would have trouble pronouncing it. But time was running out and the show needed a name. Finally, Executive Producer Dave Connell put out a memo to the staff saying “if nobody came up with a better idea, as of Monday we were going to call it Sesame Street.” As Joan put it, “We went with it because it was the least bad title.”

As it turned out, all of the stress and worry over the title were for nothing. The first episode of Sesame Street opens with a view of the now iconic green and yellow street sign hanging on a lamppost. The camera pans down to Gordon telling a little girl named Sally “you’ve never seen a street like Sesame Street. Everything happens here. You’re gonna love it!” 

The Sesame Workshop Blog

The 4^th of May has become an unofficial holiday for fans of the Star Wars films.  While the date seems arbitrary, it’s a day when we can all break out the pun, “May the Fourth be with you”.  A play on words like that absolutely deserves its own holiday.

But why, you may be asking, is the Sesame Workshop blog writing about Star Wars? That’s a perfectly good question, and much easier to answer than “What’s a Midichlorian?”  You might be surprised to learn that R2-D2 and C-3PO traveled from their galaxy far, far away to visit the most famous street in the world (or perhaps the universe??).

In 1980, just a few months before the release of The Empire Strikes Back, the Star Wars Droids made two appearances on Sesame Street.  And they are just as amazing and bizarre as anything you might see at The Mos Eisley Cantina.

In the first episode (#1364, aired on January 31, 1980), Big Bird spots a flying saucer, but just like his stories about the elusive Mr. Snuffleupagus, the adults think it’s just a product of his imagination.  C-3PO and R2-D2 are on a secret mission to deliver an important mission to Oscar the Grouch.  Much like Princess Leia’s message to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the message comes in the form of a hologram from Oscar’s alien Grouch friend Lothar.  But rather than declare that Oscar is his only hope, Lothar’s message is “Oscar the Grouch: Get lost!”

Later, Big Bird asks the Droids if robots have feelings.  As they discuss different emotions, C-3PO remembers a time when he and R2-D2 became separated in the desert, which you may remember from the first Star Wars film.  Does this mean that their appearances on Sesame Street are in Star Wars continuity??  In a universe of Wookies, Ewoks, and whatever Admiral Ackbar is, why could there not be giant birds, Grouches and monsters?

Having successfully delivered Lothar’s message, C-3PO and R2-D2 head back to their home galaxy, only to return a few months later (in episode #1396, aired on March 17, 1980), this time not by any sort of space craft, but by bus.  Their mission is much less clear here, as the Droids spend their time on Sesame Street singing the alphabet song with Bob, saying hello to Linda, and considering going to the park while it’s raining.

In the very best segment of the episode, and what may be the best segment of the entirety of Sesame Street, R2-D2 falls in love.  She’s quiet, short, has a pointed head, and lives on Sesame Street.  Oh, and she’s a fire hydrant.  Love knows no bounds…  or species or mechanics, it would seem.

R2-D2 and C-3PO made a few more appearances on Sesame Street, taking advantage of R2’s unique way of speaking.  They teach Big Bird how to count to four by counting the beeps, and Big Bird sings a song about how he says “banana” while R2-D2 says *bleep blop boop* (or something close to that).

Although that was the end of the Droids’ time on Sesame Street, it wasn’t the end of Sesame Street’s connection with the Star Wars universe.  In 2009, Oscar the Grouch appeared alongside Darth Vader in the feature film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, both of whom can be seen at the real Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.  In 2012, Elmo and Cookie Monster appeared on the Australian radio show “Fifi and Jules” where they reenacted a pivotal scene from The Empire Strikes Back.  And most recently, a certain “Darth Chicken” appeared in the “Pizza the Musical” episode of Elmo the Musical.

Both Star Wars and Sesame Street have been engrained in the public consciousness for decades, so it’s only natural that their paths should cross every so often, whether it’s in sunny days on Dagobah or a Rubber Duckie frozen in Carbonite.

Happy Star Wars Day, and May the Force Be With You!

The Sesame Workshop Blog

I will never forget the afternoon it happened.  Pascaline, my daughter, was 18 months old and playing on the living room floor.  The afternoon sun began to spill into the room and illuminated her with this magical, golden light.  Everything in me wanted to capture that moment, to make time stand still.  But I didn’t even own a camera.  At thirty years old, I decided to buy my first camera.  Ten years later I’m still in love with the magic of photography. For years I assumed good photography was out of my reach.  I’m so glad I found I was wrong. Whether we are documenting the latest blanket fort our child has built or our baby’s chubby legs, there are several simple ways to tell their story and capture their world through the photos we take, even if you don’t have a professional photography background.

Here are five photo tips for capturing your child’s world.  You don’t have to own an expensive camera for these photo tips.  The built in camera of your SmartPhone will do the trick.  Knowing what story to tell is the focus.

1. Refuse to Say Cheese.  This four word statement is my mantra to moms all over the world.  No matter what country my family and I are travelling through, the local people may not know a word of English but they still say “cheese” to their kids when taking their photos.  Refuse to say “cheese” and capture the story—especially the ones without smiles.  There is no question about how cute smiles are but frowns are fun too!  Now that my kids are older, nine and twelve years old, they get a kick out of their fussy pictures much more than the smiling ones!

2. Pick a Story Based on Their Developmental Stage.  Every parent knows how easy it is to take thousands of photos of their child.  Picking one story to tell helps give your picture taking focus.  For example, did your baby discover his toes or fingers recently and sucks on them all day?  Did she learn to sit up recently on her own?  Or maybe your toddler is in love with princess dresses and wears the same dress every day, refusing to let you wash it.  Finding the story of what is happening today helps give you focus and keeps you from overshooting.

3. Turn Off Your Flash and Face the Window Light.  The built in flash to your camera or on your smart phone gives horrible results.  The flash washes out your child’s skin coloring, and it often leaves your little one looking like he has a five o’clock shadow.  My advice is to turn off the Auto flash and have your child face the window light.  The results of window light is soft, flattering, and most of all, no five o’clock shadows.

4. Limit Yourself to 36 Photos.  When I first started photography, it was still a film world.  I had two rolls of film that I would use for every portrait photo shoot.  Being limited to 36 photos per roll of film caused me to slow down, look for the shot, and find the story before shooting.  The digital world is wonderful because we can take endless photos.  But this is the exact reason why the digital photo world is overwhelming.  I don’t know about you, but being able to take endless photos can feel stressful.  It becomes so easy to overshoot the moment to where I have fifty photos of the same moment.  Anyone relate?  Next time you set out to capture your child, limit yourself to 36 photos—tell yourself you only have two rolls of film.  How are you going to spend each photo?   Take a deep breath, slow down, find the window light, and in taking these steps, you are setting yourself up for success.
5. Document Defining Details.  Sometimes we can get so focused on capturing our child’s face that we forget about all the little defining details.  As you capture a photographic story of your children, consider adding images that are defining details specific to their age.  This could be the shoes they wear, their bedroom, or the favorite toy.  Your child can be in the photo, but for defining detail shots it’s almost fun to not have them in the photo.

Photography is powerful.  It provides a visual record of our child’s world.  Even if the photo isn’t perfect, the story still moves us.  My mom has a photo of me as a baby standing in my crib with my dad sitting on the couch watching TV next to the crib.  I LOVE seeing the rust colored shag carpet, the wide wing collars on my dad’s polyester shirt, or the paisley orange colored couch that he’s sitting on.  Mom wasn’t a professional photographer.  There is clutter around the crib, toys all over the floor.  Yet, when I look at the photo, I don’t see all the imperfections, I see me—and I see this real world I came from.  When my kids are older, I love that they too will have a visual history of the world they came from.  And this sense of “knowing you came from somewhere, a place where you were loved” will help them stand that much taller.       

The Sesame Workshop Blog

Stay tuned for more information about the Sesame Street comic book available as part of Free Comic Book Day on Saturday.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

The Sesame Workshop Blog

Permit me to introduce you to a couple of our Irish friends. The big purple one you see on the left in the picture above is Potto Monster. He’s a jovial, caring, slightly neurotic inventor. The redhead with the big ears on the right is Hilda the Hare. She’s a rambunctious and energetic Irish Hare. And they’re the best friends who populate Sesame Tree, our adaptation of Sesame Street, produced for the children of Northern Ireland.

‘Potto’s Heard of Cows,’ episode 7 of the second season of Sesame Tree, centers on a pop-up book of animals, which creeps-out Potto to no end. When he turns a page and up pops a white, wooly sheep, Potto shrieks and ducks for cover.

“What is it, Potto?” Hilda asks.

“That sweater has a face!” Potto cries.

(Of course, as this is a series made for Northern Ireland, the clothing item is called a “jumper,” not a “sweater,” but I’ve translated it to a more local, American dialect for the sake of this blog.)

 That sweater has a face. A pretty amusing joke, if I do say so myself. Not that I wrote the joke or anything, but I did have a hand in its creation, by killing the originally written joke.

As Sesame Workshop’s Associate Producer on the Sesame Tree series, part of my job was to help train the local Irish creative and production team in all things Sesame: the unique Sesame model, process, culture, characters, attitude … the whole shebang. The goal being that the finished product, Sesame Tree in this case, feels like a cohesive part of the “longest street in the world,” Sesame Street.

Part of this training process includes reviewing and commenting on early drafts of scripts. My colleagues and I make a concerted effort not to be overbearing in our comments, and we take special care to be sensitive to the differing social and cultural norms of the country we’re producing the Sesame adaptation for. Even so, it is inevitable that sometimes a joke is going to get killed.

In this case, the originally written joke didn’t involve a sheep at all. It was a jellyfish. Originally, Potto turns the page of his pop-up book of animals, and up jumps a picture of a jellyfish, at which he screams in fright.

“Potto, it’s just a jellyfish,” Hilda says to him.

“A jellyfish?” Potto responds, “But it looks like a sneeze!”

It looks like a sneeze … a jellyfish looks like a sneeze?

When I first read the joke in the first draft of the ‘Potto’s Heard of Cows’ script, I had to pause a moment, and think about it. Yes, I realized, if the sneeze results in the release of a large amount of mucus, I guess it could look a little like a jellyfish. And indeed, once I had thought about it for a while, I thought it a funny idea, if also a little gross. During the script review meeting with Veronica Wulff, Sesame Workshop Producer, and Natascha Crandall, Director of Educational Content, we all were of the same mind: kill the joke.

“Sorry, Danny, snot jokes aren’t very ‘Sesame,’” my kill comment began in our first draft notes.

“Let alone the fact that we can’t expect the young audience to connect the idea of a sneeze resulting in so much snot that it happens to look like a jellyfish – an animal a lot of children might not even recognize. Please use an animal more normal to a child.”

And like that, the jellyfish became a sheep, and the sneeze became a sweater with eyes. It was simpler, and funnier. A joke that was originally too abstract for our young audience became more accessible, all the while maintaining the absurdity of Potto Monster’s character. In my mind, our comment had done Danny Nash, the writer, a favor. It had resulted in a better joke. The episode turned out to be one he could be proud of. Everyone seemed happy with the change, and no feathers had gotten ruffled. Production moved on. The Sesame Workshop international adaptation process had worked again.

Or so I thought.

“You killed my favorite joke!” Danny told me with exaggerated outrage.

It had been about two years since ‘Potto’s Head of Cows’ was first broadcast, and it had receded well into the back of back of my memory of past projects. Danny was visiting New York, so I’d taken him to one of my favorite Greek restaurants, well off the beaten path of Times Square tourists. Now Danny had decided to interrupt this casual dinner amongst former colleagues to confront me about something that’s been eating at him for a long time: I killed his favorite joke. The jellyfish looking like a sneeze was his favorite joke!

I was completely set aback.

“Your favorite joke? Really?”

So I repeat the standard line that we’d established with our script notes two years previous: It was a good joke – funny – for adults. But Sesame Tree was for kids, and jellyfish just aren’t familiar animals to most kids, and the idea that a jellyfish might look like a mound of snot would be even less familiar.

“Unfamiliar to American kids, maybe.” Danny told me.

He proceeded to explain a joke which only the Irish – whether child or adult – could properly get.

Danny asked me to imagine a parent and young child in America, walking along a beach and coming across the familiar sight of jellyfish, slimy-looking sludge, washed up onto the shore.

“What’s that?” the child asks.

The parent, being playful, might answer: “Why, it’s seal snot.”

To which the child would laugh at the silly idea and say, “No it’s not!”

(And maybe the parent, if cheeky, would reply: “Yes, it’s snot!”)

“But that joke would not happen like that in Ireland.” Danny continues.

“In Ireland, seal snot is exactly what that jellyfish on the beach is. Exactly!”

Once Danny has made sure that he had me completely confused, he continues.

“In Irish – not in English – in Irish, the name for jellyfish is ‘smugairle roin,’ which literally means ‘seal snot.’ It’s a joke, embedded in the Irish language itself!

So, in Ireland, when a parent and child walk along a beach and come across jellyfish, a parent can say: “Look! A seal must have a cold!”

And the child would get it!

(And maybe the child, if clever, would run with the joke and say: “Yeah! He’s sneezed all over the beach!”)

With that explanation, all was clear to this ignorant American, and I apologized to Danny for killing his favorite joke.

A darn good joke it was too. Seal snot, and all.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

Folk singer-songwriter Richie Havens passed away this week at the age of 72. In 1969, he brought his unique voice and rhythmic guitar style to Woodstock, where he performed as the festival’s opening act. And in 1975, Havens brought the same raw talent and enthusiasm to Sesame Street.

Richie Havens was brought into the studio to record four songs for the sixth season of Sesame Street, all of which were captured in one day of filming. His best known contribution was “Wonder Child”, a beautiful tune celebrating imagination and the innocence of youth.

Another song Havens performed that day was the original tune, “It’s Pouring”, a take on the nursery rhyme, “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring”. The upbeat song teaches the kids listening at home about the beauty of rain, the hope of a sunny day, and the ways rain can bring us all together.

In 1971, Havens recorded a cover of George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun”, which was his only single to hit the Billboard Top 100. He brought his folk version of the song to Sesame Street for another, undoubtedly memorable weather-related segment, with the underlying theme of optimism he conveyed so well.

Richie Havens also got to put his own spin on Sesame Street’s classic “celebrities count to 20” formula by adding guitar riffs between every few numbers, turning a simple number count into a quasi-song. And he seemed to have a great time doing it too.

Finally, in the 1990s, Richie Havens recorded an updated version of “Imagination Rain”, an animation from way back in 1972. The cartoon stayed the same, but Havens’ music brought new life into it.

Although Richie Havens only made a handful of appearances on the show, he has become a part of Sesame Street history, and we’ll always remember him for it.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

Here are some tips to help you and your children cope with frightening events:

Providing Reassurance 

* As parents and caregivers, it is important to first calm your own fears before talking with your child. Children will first react to your level of fear and anxiety. To help you plan what you will say to your child, talk to friends, neighbors, and your child’s teacher to get their advice. Please take care of yourself by limiting your television viewing and seeking comfort from your family and community.

* Be available and provide physical comfort. In fearful times, children need to be reassured that their parents and caretakers have their family life under control and are comforted by having their loved ones physically close to them. This family time reassures them that they and the whole family are safe. Hugs and special comfort items also help them to cope with their fears.

* Try to keep a normal routine. Children will be less anxious if life is as stable and predictable as possible. To the degree possible, stick to your usual schedules and routines.

* Avoid watching television coverage. Older children who know what is happening are often traumatized by the ongoing news coverage. For the younger children, they may interpret the ongoing news coverage of an event to mean that it’s actually happening over and over and possibly occurring in their neighborhood.

* Listen and allow your child to ask questions. Create an atmosphere during together time with your child to allow him or her to freely express his or her thoughts and concerns. Once you have an idea of the source of fear or anxiety, you can have an open dialogue with your child.

Coping with Emotions 

* Help your child deal with frightening times by discussing activities you can do together to feel better (e.g. drawing pictures, writing letters, reading, playing games). Resilient children learn that although they might feel sad, angry, or anxious, these emotions will change. They will not always feel this way and there are things they can do to feel better.

* Children need to know that it’s okay to express their feelings in their way. Your child may want to talk about his or her emotions openly or may prefer drawing pictures, writing stories, or taking comfort by reading books, listening to music or playing games.

* Empowering your child with a sense of control of his or her life is also beneficial to coping with this situation. Involve your child in decision making about activities the family can do together, and for older children, discuss strategies for maintaining their activities while being mindful of their safety.

The Sesame Workshop Blog