#Sesame street abby how to
#Sesame street abby series

“Representation is what got me into puppetry,” said Piphus Peace, explaining that watching performances by Judy Buch and Liz VonSeggen, both female ventriloquists, motivated her. Playing Gabrielle, she said, is a long-held dream come true - especially because of the historic nature of her casting. “I really had to decide what makes me come alive,” Piphus Peace said. But last month, she decided to pivot away from real estate - which she was doing between taping seasons of the show - to focus on “Sesame Street” and other puppeteering opportunities. “I’ve always felt that I can say more with a puppet than I can myself,” said Piphus Peace, who for years worked as a real estate agent.ĭespite getting glowing feedback on her “Sesame Street” performances and feeling at home with the cast, she hesitated to trust her puppeteering career to make a full-fledged living. Before Piphus Peace started playing Gabrielle, a child actress performed the voice of the character.

#Sesame street abby series

She plays Gabrielle, a 6-year-old Black girl who first appeared in the series in 2017. In June 2020, Piphus Peace made history by becoming the first Black woman to be a puppeteer performer on “Sesame Street,” and the following year, she became a full-time cast member on Season 52 of the show. It was puppeteering, she said, that allowed her to find her voice. “I had a hard time opening up and expressing myself.” She practiced in her room for hours and put on shows at home for her family.

#Sesame street abby how to

At first, she did not take puppeteer classes or workshops, but instead learned how to mimic the ventriloquists she watched on VHS tapes at home.

Her parents bought her a puppet at age 8, thinking it would be a good outlet for her. The puppets left such an impression, in fact, that she decided to try her hand at it. When she did find out, though, they remained her friends. “I did not know until I was much older that the puppets were not real,” Piphus Peace, 29, said. She felt like the characters were her friends. She recalled sitting cross-legged in front of the television screen when she was 2 watching “Sesame Street” and reruns of “The Shari Lewis Show.” The post Abby Cadabby Joins Sesame Street appeared first on Spilling the Beans - Magic Beans.Megan Piphus Peace was a shy child. And, as a matured tomboy myself, I think it’s OK for my daughters to get the message that it’s great to be a girl. The unique thing about Sesame Street is the incredible diversity, and it’s been a long standing oversight that there isn’t a character who is really comfortable being feminine. Time will tell, but for now, she’s back into Sesame Street, which suits me fine. However, my four-year-old, who barely tolerates Elmo was totally captivated by Abby. Now, similar to the Globe columnist’s observation, my two-year-old was entertained by Abby, but not enough to distract her from her beloved Elmo. They haven’t watched Sesame Street in a while (much to my disappointment), but my little one was sick and was requesting her favorite - Elmo - and my older one (benevolent ruler of the TiVo) aquiesced. In contrast, my kids happened to catch Abby’s debut on Sesame Street on Friday. Today, the Boston Globe ran a column, Will a fairy muppet be a good role model for girls? Joanna Weiss raises some interesting points about Abby versus Zoe, but seems to feel lukewarm about her overall. According to her official bio, she’s a 3-year old fairy-in-training who just relocated to Sesame Street from Fairyside, Queens. She’s pink with fluffy pigtails, dainty fairy wings and a “training wand” that she uses to perform mostly botched magic. Abby Cadabby is the first female muppet to join the cast in 13 years, and unlike any of the other muppets on the show, Abby is a girly girl. There’s a new muppet on Sesame Street, and naturally there’s an uproar to herald her arrival.