For some reason Mr. King's Play, written by Andrea Robin Skinner, always felt quiet to me. Not really sure why. Not in a negative way...more in a peaceful way. Like a moment in time in Kaleidoscope Woods.
As someone who finds himself in a leadership role I really love the message in this ep. You may write the thing. You may direct the thing. You may have even created the thing. You have all these ideas for how things should go and when they don't you really have only two choices. You double down on thinking you know the best or you open your mind and listen to others. I'm a firm believer in a good idea can come from anyone, anywhere. This strategy has helped me out of quite a few dead ends. As a leader you may not have all the answers but if others working with you are working in an environment where they feel comfortable sharing, you will find solutions.
I'd also like to thank Laura Bennet, BG Artist extraordinaire, for doing some 11th hour fixes to the main location. I originally wanted to just have regular trees as the audience but realized, rather late, that the play was called The Pine Trees Wish. Obviously we needed pine trees in the audience. Thanks Laura.
Finding
Finding was another great story from our creator Genevieve Cote. A simple message on the surface, that being to leave nature to its own business. However, the story has a much deeper meaning which I think revolves around the fact that we're born one way but often grow into something different. And we're constantly changing/growing still.
This was a really cute episode which takes place in only two locations. Harriet's nest and a river bank. Very friendly from a production standpoint. I think a nice balance was achieved where we maybe had a few more character designs needed but offset this with virtually no new props and the two locations. I also wanted the baby versions of each of the characters to be stills. Mainly for aesthetic reasons but also to save on rigging. The baby versions were designed by the amazingly talented Bora Nah and look as adorable as anything.
I'm also glad Mama Turtle was so understanding, and that Mr. King wasn't arrested for turtle-napping.
Itchy Scarf
Itchy Scarf was written by the incredible Andrew Sabiston and has the distinct privilege of being the one script that went through with the most minimal of notes. Everyone on the team loved the script as it was universally relatable. Who hasn't received that gift, that sweater, that scarf, that is incredibly itchy? What do you do? You don't want to disappoint the gift giver. I personally remember getting an authentic Scottish sweater from my Nana which was made of pure wool. I think I wore it twice. I remember my mother telling me to wear a turtleneck shirt underneath however, like Mr. King and his three scarves, I could feel the wool poking right through it. It was a lovely sweater though. Looked great in my closet.
I also particularly like Mr. King's struggle to maintain the "everything is fine" illusion until eventually having his meltdown. Laurie and I have this theory though that Jim knew exactly what he was doing all along. (By giving Mr. King his itchy scarf.)
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