Creative Indigo Hosts Muppet Auditions for Indonesian Version of Sesame Street

JAKARTA/NEW YORK, March
26: The Jakarta-based production company, Creative Indigo, recently hosted
auditions in Jakarta to select four Muppeteers for Jalan Sesama, the new local Indonesian adaptation of the
award-winning children’s program Sesame Street, for premiere later this year.

Jalan Sesama, which broadly translates to “Everyone’s Street,”
will be co-produced by nonprofit educational organization Sesame Workshop,
which will introduce four newly created Indonesian Muppet characters. Three
seasons of the series will be produced and air until 2010. In addition, the
Indonesia adaptation will feature locally produced live action and animation
films, plus classic Sesame Street
segments with Elmo, Cookie Monster and the rest of the Sesame friends. Jalan Sesama aims to help children learn basic cognitive skills
such as literacy and mathematics, while representing the vibrant diversity of
the country's vast archipelago. The series will address issues specific to the
region, such as encouraging young children to protect the environment and
appreciate diversity.

At the auditions, Sesame
Street Muppeteer, Marty Robinson,
who plays Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, Slimey and many other characters on the
U.S. program, was on location in Jakarta to help choose the muppeteers and
train those selected. The new Indonesian muppets of Jalan Sesama include a 5-year-old-boy named Momon, who knows his
letters but is still learning his numbers; an independent and curious young
girl named Putri, who isn’t afraid to make mistakes; the wise family-oriented
female Orangutan Tantan; and Jabrik, a grouchy baby rhino who likes to laugh.
In addition to selecting the new Muppeteers, Creative Indigo has also cast four
human characters—a vegetable seller, a doctor, the doctor’s daughter and
a handyman.

“Coming into our final
phase of pre-production, it’s a great honor for us to share the developments
that we have achieved these last few months, namely the local name to the show
as well as the newly selected puppeteers who will bring life to our local
Muppets,” said Robby T. Winarka, the MD of Creative Indigo Production. “We hope
that our desire to produce an educational and entertaining program for Indonesian
children will encourage positive support from the audience.”

Initial funding for Jalan
Sesama is made possible through
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).