Rhode Island PBS brings alum's kids series to Screen
After two years of pre-production, RI PBS (WSBE TV) will broadcast a new early learning series for kids, Pollywog Pond!
The new series, produced by Bill Culbertson MAE 81 (Whooplah LLC), is based on the video game portal they company produced, Pollywog Pond. The fun half-hour shows feature “live” puppets Derb, Berb, Waddle and Weep, embedded in the video game to create an engaging, unique visual environment. The series has a soft curriculum of social and emotional skills. Additionally, the series carries an underlying theme of conservation awareness, promoting environmental stewardship to safeguard the environmental health of our planet and community.
Whooplah, based in Rhode Island, is led by executive producer Bill Culbertson, an entertainment industry veteran with extensive experience in the toy and theme park industries, having worked with Disney, Henson, Sesame Street, Hasbro and Mattel. A former Director of Sculpture at Hasbro, Culbertson is a full professor in the nationally ranked Video Game Development and Design Department at the New England Institute of Technology teaching 3D modeling, character development, animation and game level design.
The puppets in the world of Pollywog Pond are brought to life through the efforts of Culbertson, Chantell Arraial, and former Sesame Street puppeteer Matthew Furtado. Noted children’s musician Greg Cooney contributes both his musical and directing talents to the series. Also featured in the first series is a musical appearance by guest star Michelle Brooks-Thompson, a finalist from the hit NBC show, The Voice, singing “A Horrendously Horrible Day” duet with the puppet, Waddle.
“The show has a magical quality of simplicity and sincerity that we hope will be very engaging,” said Culbertson. “The characters each have well defined personalities viewers can relate to. With our video game, we strive to create a safe learning environment parents can trust. We are now extending that mission to the broadcast environment with story driven content. The content of the game and the show reinforce the learning concepts. We are able to make changes in the game, customizing the content to correspond to the show stories.” The video game, nominated for Best New Video Game at the 2019 Kidscreen Awards, can be accessed for free at www.PollywogPond.com.
In 2021, Whooplah produced a series of seven COVID-19 mask wearing interstitials for kids for RI PBS, featuring the Pollywog Pond puppets that garnered four international awards. The initial three half-hour shows from the new series will premiered July 17 on WSBE-TV Rhode Island PBS.
