FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Noel MacNeal’s The Show Me Show for Kids with Autism Launches Kickstarter Campaign

Fundraiser needs $55K by May 17 in order to begin production of interactive web series

Brooklyn, NY – April 19, 2016 – Professional puppeteer and Muppets performer Noel MacNeal (Bear of Disney’s Bear in the Big Blue House and Magellan the Dragon from Nick Jr.’s Eureeka’s Castle) has launched a crowdsourcing campaign for his latest project, “The Show Me Show”, an online series for kids with autism and special needs. This live action educational series will be available for viewers to download and then “choose” which version of the show they would like to help the characters (and Noel) create. Those interested in making a tax-deductible contribution and learning more about the benefits of donating can do so at http://kck.st/1NzHXY2.

The show, produced by MacNeal’s non-profit company Elephant Shoes, Inc., presents early science and math concepts such as counting to three to dance the waltz, or using simple engineering, like using a ramp to get a prop on stage. It will also help autistic and special needs kids recognize and work through everyday social and emotional situations; for example, meeting people, playing together, handling changes / transitions, recognizing emotional reactions in others and in themselves, etc.

Apart from host MacNeal, the show will feature three main puppet characters. Fynnias is a five-year-old with an endless amount of energy and eagerness. He loves to pretend, has a winning smile, expressive eyes and a wild imagination for creating stories and plays. Older sister Taylor is a bright and gifted eight-year-old girl with a quick wit who knows she wants to be a professional singer when she grows up. Nona is the mature, “invented” yak that Noel created from assorted this-and-that items on hand; she is the host’s best friend and confidante, and often, dance partner.

At the start of each show, the day’s “guest star” is revealed – a sound (e.g. “laughter”), a color (e.g. “blue”), a number (e.g. “three”), or a shape (e.g. “circle” or the “human hand”). Two characters will have an idea on what kind of show to do. The viewer will be asked to choose who they want help create the show, then the show proceeds in that direction. Because all episodes are downloadable, viewers can go back and pick the alternate choice to see the same show go in the other direction. Thus, each episode is two shows in one, reminiscent of the popular Choose Your Own Adventure books written by Edward Packard beginning in the 1970s.

The perks for donating to the fundraiser include everything from social media shout outs from Noel and Fynnias, to the musical soundtrack to the show featuring music composed by award-winning singer-songwriter Jim Camacho; autographed photos of MacNeal with the now classic and iconic characters he helped bring to life for children’s television; Skype chats and tours of the set; a personalized puppet to be used on the show, then sent to the owner, and more.

For more information about the program, visit www.theshowmeshow.com.

###

ABOUT NOEL MACNEAL

Noel MacNeal launched his career performing on PBS’s award-winning Sesame Street, where he honed his craft with puppetry legends Jim Henson and Frank Oz. He’s been a performer on Sesame Street for more than thirty years, and has trained puppeteers in Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Jordan, Palestine, India, and Pakistan for the Sesame Workshop international co-productions of Sesame Street. Noel has also performed with Disney’s The Muppets as Sweetums.

For more than a decade, Noel was the spirit and voice of Bear, the gentle and lovable star of the Emmy Award-winning series Disney’s Bear in the Big Blue House and the Disney Channel morning series Breakfast with Bear. In 2003, Noel received a Daytime Emmy Nomination as “Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series.”

His repertoire of characters also includes Kako on the Nick Jr. series Oobi and Blue on Nick Jr.’s Blue’s Room. He’s also played Magellan on the award-winning series Eureeka’s Castle on Nick Jr., Madame Chairbird in the film Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird, Rabbit for Disney Channel’s Emmy Award-winning series The Book of Pooh, Leon on PBS’s The Puzzle Place, and Knock–Knock on The Great Space Coaster.

Noel is also a television writer. His scripts have been featured on PBS Kids Sprout’s The Goodnight Show, Bear in the Big Blue House, The Puzzle Place, The Magic Schoolbus, Cyberchase, Eureeka’s Castle and Gullah Gullah Island. He is also a script and television directorial adviser and consultant for the international versions of Sesame Street, as well having directed episodes of Bear in the Big Blue House and The Good Night Show.

Noel lives in Brooklyn with his wife, novelist Susan Elia MacNeal, (of the Maggie Hope Mystery series) and ten-year-old son, Matt (a budding puppeteer).

For more information, visit www.noelmacneal.com.