In a shoebox-size studio at Sesame Workshop’s headquarters on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, cast and crew members expert in all things Muppet are preparing to film a 90-second video starring Elmo and his new friend, Karli, a lime-green monster with yellow-feathered pigtails who is in foster care. The purpose of the scene, as with so many Sesame stories, is to use pretend play to address a real-world issue “without overstating it,” says Kama Einhorn, a senior content manager for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that creates both Sesame Street and a slew of other educational materials that, like this video, live entirely outside the show.
The cast reviews the plan for the scene: Elmo and Karli will use their stuffed animals to construct a castle out of blocks. But when Karli’s stuffed elephant accidentally knocks over the castle, the cheerful Muppet will crumple with guilt. As Elmo consoles her, Karli will quietly admit that she used to feel similarly because of her mom’s “problem,” until she learned that drug addiction isn’t her fault and that her mom loves her “no matter what.”
The story appears straightforward, but Einhorn and her supervising producer, Melissa Dino, have meticulously engineered every line of the script, channeling the perspective of their young viewers. “Kids can understand the concept of accidents not being your fault when they can see what happens in the physical world,” explains Einhorn. Teaching them to apply that principle to a familial relationship that’s being roiled by substance abuse is difficult, but crucial.
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