'There’s so much joy in writing for children, in knowing that the things you are showing them are helping guide the way they see the world. For me, that means making sure there is great gender and multicultural representation.'
For puppeteers, working for Sesame Street is the ultimate career achievement. Here, the women who bring the show’s fiery felt females to life reveal what it’s like working on the world’s most beloved block. Visitors to the midtown Manhattan offices of Sesame Workshop are greeted by colorful Muppet-themed art. It’s everywhere you look: a life-sized Big Bird, murals, giant framed photos, TV screens. Even the light fixtures feature smiling Muppet characters.
The cozy studio assigned to us is used primarily for filming video segments for Sesame Street—a more important part of the show than ever, as Sesame is retooled for smaller screens and quick, online features. And finally, on the end sits Zoe, the fuzzy orange monster with baby barrettes. Zoe was introduced in 1993 in an effort to showcase more female characters. Her orange color was chosen as a complement to a then-rising star, Elmo. In the words of her first puppeteer, Fran Brill, Zoe was created to proudly “be a girl, with girl stuff.” Her pink ballet tutu and sparkly accessories are nods to that, and it is a tradition her new puppeteer Jennifer Barnhart is happy to be carrying on.
When I ask the 66-year-old what it’s like to perform Grundgetta on camera, the process she describes is quite physical. “It takes a lot of years and a lot of practice to do what we do,” she says. “We work on the floor, so it’s a lot of sitting on these little scooters that are only three or four inches off the ground with wheels, riding yourself all over the set. With Grundgetta, it’s two arms over your head at all times because it’s a two-handed character.
While every day is special on Sesame Street, Carrara-Rudolph’s favorite part of her job is when the show does work in specialized communities, including military outreach and special autism initiatives. It’s work she’s especially suited for, because when she attended San Francisco State University, Carrara-Rudolph designed her own major in child development through the arts. “I was going to be a drama therapist or a special-ed teacher. But I really love theater,” she says.
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