The Kid Stuff Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 24 - Sarah Serrata Apr 04, 2017

Show notes

One of the first people I talked to for this show was Shane Portman, the script supervisor for the Amazon preschool show Tumble Leaf. Shane has been a huge supporter of the show, and has connected me with several of the people I've talked to since then.

At one point, looking at a long list of people who had worked for Tumble Leaf, I thought "Maybe I should stop going through this list, it's starting to become a podcast of people who have worked on Tumble Leaf."

Then I decided not to worry about that, because I firmly believe in the idea that "every head is a story." Every person you see on the street has a story and a history and an inner life and is worthy of your curiosity.

Today's guest, Sarah Serrata, is a perfect example of why I made that decision. Not only did she work for Tumble Leaf as a producer for a while, but I didn't know that much about her going into our conversation. All I had were a couple job descriptions on LinkedIn and a couple credits on IMDb.

It ended up being a really interesting conversation with a really interesting person who has lived, by my count, about 18 lives so far. Her current life sees her as a producer for Mattel, making the animated Barbie movies. If you respond to the idea of animated Barbie movies the way I did before talking to Sarah, which is with at least a little skepticism (which is also the way Sarah responded to them before taking the job), than I think you'll be just as surprised and delighted as I was by what you learn about her and about what Barbie has been up to lately.

Episode 23 - Beth Blenz-Clucas Mar 28, 2017

Show notes

Beth Blenz-Clucas is a PR rep and Publicist working mostly with family-friendly musicians. She lives in Portland, but her clients and the work of her firm Sugar Mountain PR extend across the US and Canada. She represents many of the biggest names in the kindie scene, from The Lucky Diaz Family Jam Band, to Justin Roberts, to Raffi, to Lisa Loeb, to The Pop Ups, to Alphabet Rockers… it's a very long list of really great people.

I talked to Beth via Skype about how she went from getting a Masters in English Lit to a 20 year career in children's music We talked about the importance of knowing who you are as an artist, and about the importance of setting realistic, reachable goals for yourself.

You can find Beth and Sugar Mountain PR on Twitter, on Instagram, and on Facebook.

Episode 22 - Cheryl Capezzuti Mar 21, 2017

Show notes

Cheryl Capezzuti is a puppet maker living and working in Pittsburgh. She is also a sculptor and a painter and a teacher. She told me about how she was introduced to making giant puppets.

She also told me how, if you live in or around Pittsburgh, you can check her giant puppets out of the library. Seriously. How cool is that?

And she told me about all the things Pittsburgh is doing that make it such an incredible place for artists and families and everybody else.

You can find Cheryl's work on her website or on her Facebook page.

Episode 21 - Adam Berger Mar 14, 2017

Show notes

Adam Berger loves storytelling.

It started with books when he was a young kid, and it continued with movies like 2001 and Star Wars. Then, when he was 12, his family took a trip to DisneyWorld. It was then that he realized, if only subconsciously, the power that an immersive experience like a theme park could have when it uses the power of mythic storytelling to make the guest the hero of their own story.

He's been an attraction show writer for most of his adult life, and has had his own consulting business with his wife Julia, Berger Creative Associates, since 2007.

Adam has a book about the use of mythic storytelling in Disney Theme Parks called "Every Guest is a Hero." You can find hard copies or digital downloads of it anywhere online that you usually buy or download books. Here it is on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

You can also find Adam on his blog, at TheMythingLink.tumblr.com

Episode 20 - Laurie Berkner Mar 07, 2017

Show notes

This episode comes out on March 7th, 2017, which also marks the 20 year anniversary of Laurie Berkner's career writing, recording, and performing kindie music for 0-7 year olds.

If you have kids or an interest in kids' music, you already know her and her songs and videos.

March is a big month for Laurie, with fun stuff going on at the Laurie Berkner Band Facebook page everyday, leading up to the release of her book "We Are The Dinosaurs" on March 21st. You can also find info on her official website, LauireBerkner.com.

Episode 19 - Alisha Gaddis & Lucky Diaz Feb 28, 2017

Show notes

What do you do if you've just fallen in love, but you never see each other because your new partner works days as a session guitar player on American Idol, and you work evenings as a stand-up comedian?

If you are Alisha Gaddis and Lucky Diaz, you form The Lucky Diaz Family Jam Band. Then, you get to work together making albums, playing shows, teaching workshops, and doing all kinds of family-friendly art. And, if that band is really good (which it is), you win a Grammy. Then you turn the band into a TV show, and you also win an Emmy.

During all this, in case you still have some down time, you also get married and have a new baby girl together.

If you have kids, you have probably heard Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band. It is pop-based bilingual kindie music at its very best. Alisha and Lucky were generous enough to have me to their home one recent Saturday while they were still passing around the colds and flus that everyone has been getting lately. I talked to both of them about the band and elementary school fundraisers and Trader Joe's for the first half of the show, then Alisha and I got into a little more of her background in acting, writing, and comedy for the second half.

Enjoy my conversation with Alisha and Lucky! You can find them on the web in all the usual places, including their website at luckydiazmusic.com.

Episode 18 - Joel Zwick Feb 21, 2017

Show notes

Directing theater and movies and tv involves three very different skill sets, and Joel Zwick has not only done all three, he has flourished at all of them.

He started with the famous La Mama theater company, bringing their shows from the Village to Broadway and the West End.

He spent the 80s and 90s with Miller Boyett television, directing literally hundreds of episodes of some of the most popular TV comedies from that era.

In features, Tom Hanks convinced him to direct this little independent comedy, called "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"

And since 2010, he's been directing episodes of every show that you like on the Disney Channel.

All that aside, this is a guy who should have been on Hollywood Squares. He pulls no punches, he's willing to talk about anything and everything, and he's as naturally hilarious as the things he's been directing for the last 40 years.

Many thanks to Marc Warren for the introduction.that lead to this conversation.

You can catch Mr. Zwick's upcoming episodes of "K.C. Undercover" on Disney Channel, and if you're in southern California, keep an eye out this April for the play he's putting up in Thousand Oaks, written by previous guest Marc Warren, called "Furniture."

Episode 12A - Bite-Sized Daniel Chong Feb 17, 2017

Show notes

In this Bite-sized episode, We Bare Bears creator Daniel Chong explains how they found the voices for the three bears.

You can find We Bare Bears on Cartoon Network.

Episode 4A - Bite-Sized Shane Portman Feb 16, 2017

Show notes

In this Bite-sized episode, writer Shane Portman explains how some people get into animation from art school, bBut some people get into it from… working in a chocolate shop?

You can stream Tumble Leaf on Amazon.

Episode 03A - Bite-Sized Brad Breeck Feb 15, 2017

Show notes

In this Bite-sized episode, animation composer Brad Breeck explains how he works with the creators of his shows to get the music ready for a new episode.

Brad makes the music for shows that you can find on Cartoon Network, Netflix, Disney Channel, and more.

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