BIG NEWS! The premiere episodes of Albie’s Elevator of Season 2 are now streaming! This award-winning, children’s television show is the brain child of Crossroads Philly Study Hall performer, Caitlin Corkery, and features the talents of tons of designers, directors, crew, and actors from Crossroads and the Philly comedy world at large. Returning as Zia is Crossroads Performer / Instructor, Kelly Conrad. Soon Kelly will be joined by Crossroads performer / instructor Keane Cobb as JK Saxophoney! The show also features new and returning performers Samantha Russell, Frank Farrell, Geoff Jackson, and Emily McGraw. Albie’s first two episodes begin airing on Philly’s PBS’s station WHYY. If you are not in the Philly area you can stream on WHYY Kids. You can also follow Albie on Instagram @AlbiesElevator.
Below is a short Q&A with Caitlin Corkery after Season One of Albie’s Elevator Premiered along with a couple new questions for season two!
How did improv and/or sketch comedy training help you in the writing or production process?
I’ve been fortunate to meet so many collaborators through my time doing improv and sketch – people who aren’t just talented, but have the same desire to have fun, remain flexible, and love to heighten. That shared sensibility goes a long way. I called on so many people I met through the comedy scene to help bring these shows to life. Additionally, our early development process required a lot of pivoting. Feedback from our advisory board, early concept testing, stakeholders all meant shifting the content. Having the ability to rewrite something or find a new way to approach the project was critical (multiple times.)
What have you learned about yourself creating Albie’s Elevator and Infinite Art Hunt?
Creating Albie’s Elevator and The Infinite Art Hunt taught me two, possibly contradictory things about myself. The first is that things are always better when there’s more than one brain involved. Opening up the project to other extremely talented people meant having so many good, weird brains bringing things to the table. I think the worlds of both shows are richer for it. The second thing I learned is to trust my instincts. On projects like this, that become your baby and are so personal, it was very easy for me to doubt myself or think other people knew better. That can become extremely confusing and sway the vision. Trusting myself and listening to my gut (because it’s a good gut!) was something I really had to practice.
What was your goal or goals in creating these shows?
For Infinite, I wanted to create a show where kids could see themselves reflected in art spaces that can maybe be intimidating or difficult to approach. I wanted kids to be inspired to visit real places, make their own art, and bring their own perspective to viewing art. For Albie, I wanted to build a world that was as sentimental and soft and silly as my daughter deserves to occupy. I wanted to talk about the really big and beautiful feelings that make our lives sometimes hard, but mostly very worthwhile. I very strongly believe that it’s cool to care. The world can really shake that out of you sometimes. It’s easy to mock enthusiasm. But Albie is pure enthusiasm. Both process and product. That was the goal.
How did you come up with the ideas for these shows?
I love Philadelphia a lot. Everyone is so talented and doing amazing things and I wanted to find a way to showcase the artists and performers and creatives that I admire. Both shows feature real people which felt important to me as the mom of a pandemic baby. Infinite is a deep dive and an immersive field trip show. The format came together after a lot of trial and error and input from my incredible internal team. For Albie, I liked the elevator device to wrap real world field packages (something that would make the show more practical to produce because I am forever practical) and for kids, elevators can feel like a nice slice of everyday magic. They evolved so much with so many wonderful people adding to them. I also have to shout out my husband Dan Corkery who came up with the name Huggy Pepper (a character in Albie), originally for our daughter’s toy, but let me steal it for the show as well.
What fun show changes or cast additions can we look forward to in Albie 2?
So many familiar faces from Philly improv! Kean Cobb as a saxophone rockstar, Samantha Russell as a dramatic neighbor, Geoff Jackson and Frank Farrell reprising French Toast Frank and Gene the Mailman. PLUS! A huge celeb from my childhood, Danny Tamberelli, as a lemonade savant construction worker!!
