SUNSHINE for Heather

Every once in a while, I would like to take a step back from discussing a specific movie, or categories of movies to write about people I have met who either have worked, or are currently working in the entertainment industry in some way.

My first spotlight, then falls on a sweet young lady named Heather Ferreira. Now, Ms. Ferreira may not be a household name to you, yet, but it will be soon. Heather is the executive producer, creator, principal song writer and music coordinator, and one of the stars of a children’s TV show currently making it’s way around the country via local access channels. That show is SUNSHINE AGAIN. SUNSHINE seeks to recreate the original magic that was created by the best children’s educational shows of the early 1970’s. According to the SUNSHINE AGAIN website, located conveniently at http://sunshineagain.com, the action centers around the residents of a mythical town called Sunshine Again. The residents include a piano player named Joe (yes, in reference to my favorite Joe of all time), Ophelia (Ferreira), who works in a cupcake bakery, Jim (another tribute to yet another genius), who runs the TV station along with his receptionist Sylvia, and producer Jon (as in SESAME STREET writer Jon Stone). There are, as you might have guessed, some puppets that live in Sunshine Again as well. The fuzzy residents include: F. Scott Alphabets-Fitzgerald, who is into all things alphabetic, Schneider who is, well, we haven’t quite figured that out yet, Nip and Dave, patterned lovingly after another famous pair, and Mortimer, an English, um, we don’t know yet, who is into shapes.

Keeping in line with these classic shows, SUNSHINE AGAIN is going to, and in fact does feature film and animated inserts. A quick search of YouTube, or a visit to the site will give you some samples, but you know I can’t resist offering a taste of what you’ll see, so have a look at this clip that boasts a little of everything:

Now, you may be wondering how I got to know Heather. We met on YouTube a few months ago, when she started posting videos from her collection. I responded positively to what she had posted, and Heather, being the class act that she is, always had a response. Soon, I began to see some of her SUNSHINE material pop up, along with videos from another project or two that she is working on. We’ve been friends ever since.

You may have also noticed that Heather’s musical style favors Joe Raposo. That is NO coincidence. Joe is literally Heather’s muse. She’ll dream of Joe giving her a song, and within a week, Heather will be in the recording studio. I kid you not, we have had conversations about this. Jim Henson and Jon Stone are her scriptwriting muses. Again, we’ve talked about this, and I will vouch for Heather’s sources any day.

Right now, my good friend is hard at work fine-tuning SUNSHINE AGAIN for the next batch of episodes. If you want to know how to see Heather’s work, then you can pay a visit to her site. There, you will find a link to all of the stations that have agreed to air SUNSHINE AGAIN as part of their schedule. I am very hopeful that one day soon, when people discuss great Children’s TV talent, the list will not only include Jim Henson, Joe Raposo, Jon Stone, and Captain Kangaroo, but also Heather Ferreira.