2011 Student Writing Awards Booklet - Santa Fe Community College

ehind to give me a tour of Studio J. Caroll Spinney, who performs Big
Bird and Oscar the Grouch, was still wearing the lower half of Big Bird’s
pink and orange costume legs. He also still wore, strapped to his chest, the
small T.V. monitor he uses inside the 8-foot-tall, yellow-feathered body of
Big Bird. As he patiently led me and Kevin through the lighting equipment
and cables to the back of the studio, I noticed Caroll’s natural voice
sounded much like Big Bird’s voice.
Kevin wheeled me to the corner in Studio J to show me the
show’s famous nest, steps, and trash can. Kevin placed me behind Oscar’s
trash can to show me the mechanism Caroll uses to open and close the lid.
Suddenly, Caroll switched from sounding like Big Bird’s character, and
growled in Oscar’s gruff voice,
“Get out of my trash can!”
He told us he wanted me to hear him voice Oscar even though
he was not holding the green puppet at the time.
Next, Kevin wheeled me over to where Eric Jacobson was sitting
on a director’s wooden folding chair. Eric looked like a teenager and was
casually wearing a light blue t-shirt and jeans. He had the Grover Muppet
on his hand, spoke to me in Grover’s voice, and posed with me for a photograph.
Then Eric put Grover away in a special cabinet where all the
other Muppets had been stored earlier. When Eric returned to us, Kevin
interviewed Eric so I could learn more about which characters Eric
played. I learned Eric had taken over many of Frank Oz’s characters.
Besides Grover, he also performed the Muppets,“Miss Piggy”,“Animal”,
“Bert” and “Guy Smiley”.
At the end of the studio tour, Kevin told me he had some gifts for
me and a special surprise. He asked if I would wait for him in the hall
outside Studio J. While I waited for Kevin, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, with
her puppet character,“Abby Cadabby,” entertained me and made me
laugh. She spoke in Abby’s whispery, little-girlish voice.
I was amazed when Kevin brought me a gift bag of various
“Sesame Street” plush toys, and a sheet of paper autographed by many of
the show’s cast. I thanked Kevin for allowing me the opportunity to see
first-hand all that goes into the show before it airs.
The extraordinary experience that day allowed me to see the
multi-team effort in the production of an award-winning children’s television
show. Now, watching television, I have a better appreciation for
scripting, filming, lighting, directing, editing, and coordinating of people to
run a show. The crew, cast and the people who play the “Sesame Street”
characters shared their expertise with me in friendship. Because Kevin
Clash was welcoming, and a thorough guide that day, I now have a fresh
perspective when I watch any television show, and am still interested in television
production as a career.
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