Add to that mix: Britney Spears, Cyberchase and 45 weeks and you'll get a taste of the panel I was exposed to last weekend at Cyberchase Saturday. It was a quintessential New York experience, all thanks to PBS THIRTEEN WNET, Tribeca Cinemas and math. Yeah, you read that right: MATH.
Saturday I had the pleasure of moderating a celebrity talkback panel with the cast of PBS's Cyberchase at the famous Tribeca Cinemas, as part of Tribeca Cinemas' Kids Club program. Cyberchase is one of the only children's programs where the heroes use "brain power" and math in everyday situations to save the day. It was a fantastic opportunity for fans of the series to see a sneak peek at episodes from the new season, meet some of their favorite stars and learn some behind-the-scenes secrets of the show. So much goes into the production of such a high quality show like this one, and as a PBS Kids Club 13 Ambassador, I was delighted to be asked to participate in the event, which featured:
- Gilbert Gottfried (voice of "Digit")
- Matt Wilson ("Harry" in Cyberchase For Real)
- Annick Obonsawin (voice of "Inez")
- Ellen Doherty (senior series producer and story editor - and another Michigan native!)
With an entertaining and at times animated discussion (no pun intended), the panel delivered on the promise of a quirky and fun look at the cast behind the show. I think everyone in the audience walked away with a greater understanding of what it takes to get something from concept to on-air - along with some fun tidbits about the actors. It's always interesting to see how the cast interacts with each other when their real-life personalities emerge naturally in-person. Here's some of the interesting things I learned during the talkback, and some footage of the beginning of the panel:
The Cast: While some of them have met each other in the past, they've never all been in the same room together. (Christopher Lloyd, who voices the evil "Hacker," was not able to join for the event.) The voice actors record their voices alone in different cities around the country and in Toronto. As in Canada, eh!
The Show: The goal of Cyberchase is to demonstrate the usefulness of math, and foster enthusiasm for solving situations in everyday life with math, during a time when many kids (aged 8-12) decide they don't like it, and tend to steer away from the subject. Creating each episode is a complex process that starts with identifying math concepts to focus on, based on suggestions from The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (For instance, fractions were highlighted as an area of weakness among that age range, so Cyberchase focused on different ways of approaching and using fractions in the next few episodes.)
Once the math concepts are determined, math consultants develop math problems to tackle or complement that area of focus. The math problems are translated into real-life situational stories, and then the episode stories are built with situations appropriate for the Cyberchase characters. An average episode from start to finish can take from 45 weeks all the way up to a year and a half to produce!! As of July 2010, there will be 94 episodes on the air. This summer celebrates their eighth season on air.
Matt Wilson: Episodes of "Cyberchase For Real" are often shot in Matt's own apartment (or lobby), and in only a day. Does he know math? You bet, he actually majored in Biophysics at Vassar. He's involved with the Big Apple Circus as a member of the Clown Care program, where he conducts rounds as a Clown Doctor on pediatric floors at hospitals around the city. This passion and talent led to an opportunity for him to perform with Britney Spears on a Good Morning America appearance, and then an invitation to join her Circus World Tour last year! Matt has received a Daytime Emmy for his work on Cyberchase.
Annick Obonsawin: She's multi-talented! In addition to doing the voice for Inez, we learned that women often voice the part of young boys...she demonstrated how she can like a five year old boy... It's also interesting that her best friend in real life is actually the voice behind "Jackie" on the show.
Gilbert Gottfried: Digit isn't the first time he's played a bird, he's also the voice of "Iago" in Aladdin, and the voice of the AFLAC Duck! He and Christopher Lloyd actually worked together on another project: Jack and the Beanstalk...where you'll find Gilbert voicing another bird. One of Digit's catch phrases, "Yoikes!" is actually one of the most difficult words for Gottfried to voice. . .and Digit says it alot. You can catch more information on his performances for grown-up kids on Gottfried's Facebook page.
I couldn't recommend more that the next time you read about or are invited to attend a Cyberchase cast discussion or talkback panel, to GO! You'll hear some exclusive stories from the fun and friendly people behind the series, gain a greater appreciation for the work and preparation that goes into the show, have some laughs, bond with your child over the experience, and learn about some resources and ways to support yourself as a parent. Cyberchase Saturday was a worthwhile opportunity, and I'm grateful and honored to have been a part of it.
Cyberchase is launching a "Summer Challenge" eight-week initiative to help combat the summer slide of losing math skills during these weeks spent away from school. Five new weekly episodes begin airing June 25, 2010 and there are several ways to earn points and rewards by visiting the cubercase website and playing Cyber trivia, creating your own math games, or doing different activities from home.
*Special thanks to Li'l Boo for taking these photos while c2cDad was recording video!
I almost went to that event.We are such cyberchase fans. You should have mentioned I would have come out to support you or maybe heckle. Looked like a lot of fun.
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Posted by: NYC Single Mom | June 27, 2010 at 07:24 AM