As a special bonus for you parents and caretakers who check out SFP, I've got insider information about The Sunny Side Up Show. From the show's origins to the way they create each episode, I've got scoop from Betsy Oliphant, the Executive Producer. She's been a part of the show before Chica was-- before there was a show at all, even. For all you grown up Sprouts, this one’s for you!
How do you develop a brand new show from scratch?
Betsy: Since Sprout’s programming strategy is to follow the structure of a child's day, a morning show clearly had to have elements that kids will recognize and relate to from their own lives. Before we had any characters or even a name for the show, we had goals.
We were determined to meet kids where they are emotionally, developmentally, intellectually, and offer them a robust experience to play with characters on-air, relating to the show they just saw. We would do this in two ways--by having hosts talk about and explore themes from the episode we just aired, and by offering viewers the opportunity to share messages, art, and photos in real time via the web. No one else is doing that. This dual opportunity turns TV watching into a much more active experience that preschoolers can feel some ownership over.
So how did a few goals turn into The Sunny Side Up Show?
Betsy: Andrew Beecham, SVP of Programming knew he wanted a live show. We talked a lot about creating a unique show where the hosts--human and puppet--would have the ability to interact with characters and viewers. We wanted Sprout hosts to model the way kids play in their own lives. When you see Kelly and Chica build a bridge after they just watched Bob the Builder build one, that's an example of how our strategy came to life.
We also felt it was important that the show connected with morning activities. We had content ideas before we had a name for the show--we knew we would check the weather daily, look at the calendar and talk about what celebrations are happening. Since preschoolers are learning to dress themselves, we wanted to create an on-air and online activity that modeled that (which is now Dress Chica). We thought breakfast, eggs, Sunny Side Up Show. We had our title.
Then you answered that age-old question, what comes first, the Chica or the Egg? It's the egg!
Betsy: I guess you're right! Chica evolved because Andrew really wanted the puppet to be an animal. I said it's got to be a chicken, then, because chickens and eggs easily connect to mornings, and we could have fun revealing playful information and surprises from eggs. Andrew wasn't sure that kids would connect with a chicken, so we started to work with a designer to make sure that our bird would be cute enough. And then of course the concept of a barn setting was a natural.
So how do you put a live show every day?
Betsy: Believe it or not, we start quite far in advance! Once a year we gather a large team including the hosts, associate producers (who also serve as the puppeteers… or as we call them, Chicateers), and a number of others involved with the show gather together for a brainstorming session to come up with weekly themes. We start out with the obvious ones--holidays, seasons, different events that may take place over the year that are relevant to preschoolers. March is National Nutrition Month, so we tie into that. Then we look at topics that kids are interested in like dinosaurs, fairy tales, pirates or pets. After we set out a calendar of themes, we assign a team to develop the content each week.
Who's on a team?
Betsy: A team of two people, the host and an associate producer/Chicateer work on a three-week cycle. The first week is a prep week. The team watches all the episodes that will air the following week, and decide how to tie those into the weekly theme. They think about the shows in the context of their weekly theme and try to pull out ideas that kids would also pick up on. On Tuesday, the host and associate producer pitch their ideas to producers, and our Education Consultant who enhances the activities to include additional learning opportunities. We each listen to the ideas with different needs in mind: are the activities safe and age appropriate, are they developmentally appropriate, are they engaging clear, fresh and FUN?!
The team spends the rest of the week getting materials together and tweaking their ideas. We don't write a script, though. The teams know what they want to say, but we want it to be natural and not written in advance. It's very important that these are hosts not actors. Consider them v-jays for the preschool crowd. They play themselves, use their real names, can think on their feet and really love what they do.
For the second week, the team is on-air live from 9-12. At around 8:40, we start rehearsing our first link of the day. Then we go live and end the link by throwing to the first show, Roary the Racing Car. While that is airing, what you don't see at home is that the host and Chica are rehearsing the next link. And so on… They’re on air for about 40 minutes total over the course of three hours, but they've been preparing and rehearsing for quite a bit more time than that.
For the third week, the associate producer moves into the control room to help produce the show.
The teams also go to local preschools and daycare centers every six weeks or so to observe. It’s important that we see what kids find engaging, what they talk about, and how they play and the teams are able to integrate that information when they develop show content. It keeps us fresh, inspired and excited about who we’re reaching.
I have to say, the whole Sunny Side Up team is a dream – the cast, crew and everyone behind the scenes are so creative, committed and always trying new things. The online team is an important part of the show’s success, too – we all work closely together to create an experience that is truly harmonized and includes pay offs for users of either platform.
What do you think makes The Sunny Side Up Show so special?
Betsy: It’s TV that preschoolers can play along with in real time. The fact that we are live, and encourage active thinking about the episodes preschoolers are watching is one really special element of our show. The other unique and fantastic piece is that we connect with families in real time by sharing their submissions throughout the morning. Preschoolers and their parents are able to affect the show with their birthday cards, messages, and photos. We monitor the Farm Talk section of SproutOnline while Chica and the host are on-air so that we can find what viewers are saying about the theme or episodes we’re watching together. This year alone The Sunny Side Up Show has received over 400,000 submissions! We’re always looking to use preschoolers and families’ ideas to inspire other viewers. That’s really special.
We also make an effort to have special guests in the barn, such as Oscar the Grouch on Earth day or our friend Barney for a Valentine’s Day celebration We even take live phone calls some days which creates a unique opportunity for viewers to connect with hosts and characters instantly.
The fact that we've had over 830,000 submissions since the show launched inspires us. Knowing that so many Sproutlets are engaged by what we do is terrific!
I have to agree with Betsy. There’s something really special about The Sunny Side Up Show. It’s a friendly, playful & lively world that our children fit right into. I can’t believe they've accomplished so much since they launched in September of 2007. And in such a small studio! I was able to take a peek while Sean was on-air one morning and was shocked that the Sunshine Barn is almost as small as a closet! They really make magic in there.
What do you think of The Sunny Side Up Show? Have you done any Farm Talk with your Sproutlet lately? (If not, go to SproutOnline and click on The Sunny Side Up Show!)