Matt Connarton Unleashed: Gracie Gato talks about Adam's World

0:00 Speaker 1: Well, we have a great show for you today and right now for the first hour, someone who has not been with us for Yeah, it's been at least a year. I think a year. Gracie Gatto is here. Welcome, Hello, welcome. You gotta just pull that pull that up a little bit. Yeah, you're right.

0:17 Speaker 2: Right to your face, I feel like, the only face that makes you feel weird.

0:25 Speaker 3: Then you got it in the right place.

0:26 Speaker 1: There you go.

0:27 Speaker 4: There you got the boner here.

0:31 Speaker 1: Well that that reminds me. Today's show is audio only. So, Gracie, what have you What have you been up to? It's it's kind of a general question, but it has been over a year since since we've seen you, and uh, and you do have a very interesting project we're going to talk about. But uh, what's been going on?

0:49 Speaker 2: Well, it's been grim the past year. So I've been I kind of disappeared. I was my mother's caregiver for a year.

0:58 Speaker 1: Oh wow, that so yeah, so you mentioned so sorry to hear about your mom.

1:02 Speaker 2: Yeah, she passed away and it was it was rough, but it took me out of you know, making whatever, you know, my projects. Yeah, so eventually I'm working on something called Adam's world, and it is a television a child a children's television show celebrating your diversity. Okay, so did you know that one out of thirty six children in the United States has autism or a form of or on the spectrum.

1:31 Speaker 1: I didn't know. I didn't know it was that many. But but I'm not surprised in a sense because I do know, uh, and you know, I only know a little bit about the subject, but I do know that they've gotten much better at identifying autism than they used to be.

1:44 Speaker 2: Certainly right, and yeah, I'm definitely on a spectrum myself. So there's not really good representation out there. I've seen the television shows and uh, they all seem a little robotic, are just sort of like an android type character. They weren't really like charismatic, and you know, having to deal with you know, working with children who have autism, you got them all over the place. You got some really charismatic kids who are just obsessed with one thing, you know.

2:14 Speaker 4: So I made that a part of the show.

2:16 Speaker 2: Okay, So we have Adam, who's my son, and he is autistic, nonverbal, and there is absolutely zero representation. And I'm noticing that a lot of other mothers have come up to me saying, hey, my kid's autistic nonverbal. I thought I was the only one. Oh okay, and oh I thought I was the only one. And wait a minute, you're gonna make a TV show with a kid who can't.

2:36 Speaker 1: Talk, and just and just so, just so we're clear. So when you say nonverbal, no, no speech at all, no speech at all, okay, wow.

2:44 Speaker 2: But he understands everything and he uses the talking device. Okay, So I made that?

2:50 Speaker 4: What was that?

2:50 Speaker 1: Jen?

2:51 Speaker 4: M Oh, yeah, that face, like, what's going on?

2:54 Speaker 1: Jen?

2:54 Speaker 5: Oh no, no, I'm doing other things. Oh well, you guys are Yeah, don't look at my face.

3:01 Speaker 4: It looked like some really bad news over there.

3:05 Speaker 2: So so yeah, it just I came up with three characters and it kind of sets up the whole show, and it's you know, Adam doesn't speak, but he can touch things and upload information directly to his brain and a lot of internal dialogue. Ok So that's how I get around the whole not talking thing, because the audience and the kids are in on a secret, and that is they are super geniuses, only they got to play dumb for the adults. Interesting, so you know, everybody's in on it, but the teachers, you know, so it's it's really cute.

3:38 Speaker 2: And you know, we got one character who's Sam, who is obsessed with numbers, and I've seen that before where it's like everything is numerical. The girl Zoe, some little blonde pigtails, you know, she runs really fast, and she can run so fast she can travel through time. So it sets up the premise for many adventures. Okay, yeah, okay, So I pitched.

4:03 Speaker 4: This already to PBS kids.

4:04 Speaker 2: I'm waiting to hear back for somebody soon, and I'm doing the Kickstarter too.

4:10 Speaker 4: I'm getting a lot of the you.

4:11 Speaker 2: Know, people involved in the autism community as well, So I'm getting from both sides, you know, Like I'm from you know, LA, and I'm getting the LA side and i got the East Coast side with the academics, and I'm just sort of marrying the two. And it's becoming really interesting and really really exciting.

4:27 Speaker 1: That's great. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. I saw on your website the clip that you had posted, and how like, what is the process in terms of so basically you're pitching this to say to PBS and others.

4:42 Speaker 3: What is that?

4:42 Speaker 1: What is that process? Like, what is the process of pitching a series?

4:47 Speaker 2: Essentially, basically, it's just what I'm doing right now. I'm this is sort of like a pitch, you know, you talk about who it's for, why it needs to exist, and and just kind of go from there.

5:02 Speaker 1: Yeah, it sounds like it's a lot to take on. I mean, I mean, I mean, I would imagine just you know, just like going out into the marketplace and pitching it. That almost sounds like more challenging than making the actual content. Yeah it is.

5:17 Speaker 2: Yeah, but luckily there's a hole in media that hasn't been filled yet. Yeah, so hopefully I'll get a bunch of copycats and we can help autistic children feel more together and less uh you know, ostracized.

5:30 Speaker 1: Yeah, is this an idea that you've had for a while to do this?

5:34 Speaker 2: I've had it for a while, I just haven't really done anything with it.

5:38 Speaker 1: Yeah.

5:39 Speaker 2: So at first, it was like, you know, something I did for my kid only it was just me and him on his tablet and make little cartoons and stuff, and he would love it, loved it. And then and then I got really you know, just turned around with the whole like, you know, the political stuff, Like I just pulled the plug on that for now.

5:57 Speaker 4: I don't know if I want to go back to that. We'll see. Yeah, but I'm really I feel like they're a lost cause.

6:04 Speaker 2: And children, you know, you can help them question reality, question where they come from and why things are the way they are.

6:12 Speaker 4: There's still hope for the kids, so to speak. Yeah, you know, I don't do that.

6:16 Speaker 1: The political side, Yeah, they're gone, they're gone.

6:19 Speaker 4: Yeah, but the children are great.

6:21 Speaker 2: I love working with children, and especially you know after a major death, you know, it really helps heal the hearts.

6:29 Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. Have you done anything like that before involving a cartoon project or I know you've done you know you're from LA and yeah, you've done a lot of things.

6:39 Speaker 4: Well, I dated a lot of animators. That helps. And I actually called in a.

6:45 Speaker 2: Few animator friends here in the you know, the New England area, and they seem really excited.

6:52 Speaker 4: So that's another thing I'm pitching too.

6:54 Speaker 2: The story takes place in New England, in you know, New Hampshire, and I want to use East Coast to animes.

7:00 Speaker 1: Okay, so yeah that makes sense. Yeah, that makes sense. Is the idea that every uh so, will every episode be a full length thirty minute episode or twenty two minutes.

7:12 Speaker 2: Yeah, hopefully the pilot episode they want. They are so curious about dinosaurs they will see them for themselves.

7:20 Speaker 1: That's cool. Yeah yeah, yeah. You mentioned one of the characters can go so fast she time travels. Yeah, now that's uh, yeah, there is. I can't think of anything I've ever seen quite like what you're what you're doing. So you're right, I mean there is a hole in the market for that, right.

7:35 Speaker 2: There's a major hole in the market. They have something close. Excuse me, readjust myself here. Yeah, they have something close. And I think there's a show called Attorney Wu Okay that's on Netflix. Yeah, I was doing my market research. I was watching it, and it's like, you know, she is basically unable to live her life normally, but she is a whiz when it comes to law, so that the law is kind of like her superhuman power. Yeah, you know, she can recite things really fast, and that's the way the autism world works.

8:10 Speaker 4: But it just wasn't as fun.

8:12 Speaker 1: Okay.

8:13 Speaker 2: You know, it's like a legal drama, but God as solve everything like Matt Locke.

8:18 Speaker 1: Right, and.

8:20 Speaker 4: It just disconjoined.

8:21 Speaker 1: Okay, okay, Yeah. It's nice too though, that we live in a time where you've got if you think about it, and I'm sure you've thought about this if you were doing this thirty years ago, or actually even twenty years ago, the possibilities in terms of where you could go with it, where you could take it and pitch it to Yeah, we're very limited. But now we live in a time because of streaming, you know, I mean Netflix has a million different shows, and you know, you've got all these streaming services.

8:50 Speaker 1: You could even you know, put it, you could put it yourself on YouTube and you know, go with that strategy. You've got so many different options. So it's kind of like from your perspective, I don't know if you're thinking about it this way, but I would imagine it's kind of like, well, you know, something will work out, you know what I mean, Eventually something will work out with this because you know, there's so many different options.

9:13 Speaker 2: Yeah, with a big hole in the market, right, you know, I want to eventually bring in other characters based on real children, and that's something I want to do eventually, where we could do sweepstakes to get written in to the show, like someone who did something awesome and neuro divergent. You know, we'll write to you in the show.

9:31 Speaker 1: Can we define that term too, neurodivergent for people who don't know, because I think that means more than just autism, right or does it?

9:38 Speaker 4: Well, it's it just makes you fall into the spectrum. Okay, so yeah, it is autism.

9:44 Speaker 2: Just you know, you're just neuro diversion. You're you can't you have sensory overload.

9:49 Speaker 1: Okay, it happens.

9:50 Speaker 2: And you know, I think I have that too, and you know I don't and a lot of people do when they go into crowds all of a sudden, they just feel like overwhelmed, right, Yeah, you know I can relate to that.

10:01 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, as you mentioned earlier, there's a spectrum obviously, and you know the ways that autism, the ways that they're able to identify autism, they've gotten much better at it, which I I often will point out to people. You know, there's people with their weird conspiracy theories about it all.

10:19 Speaker 4: And vaccines cause autism. That's the big one. That's the big one.

10:23 Speaker 1: Yeah.

10:23 Speaker 2: Yeah, honestly, we don't know all that. We don't know when when my son got diagnosed as a mother. I took it hard because I thought it was something I did. Oh really, yeah, wait, you know, maybe it was my diet.

10:36 Speaker 1: Maybe.

10:37 Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, it's just something a mother does.

10:39 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense.

10:41 Speaker 4: But no, he is a brilliant, smart kid and he loves his song Adam's World.

10:46 Speaker 1: Yeah.

10:47 Speaker 4: Yeah, so he's like, that's mine.

10:49 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, But I want to bring it to other children who need that, you know, Like I want to do kind of like a resurgence of like I'm actually talking to some of the old Hannah Barbara.

10:59 Speaker 4: Guys really involved in this.

11:00 Speaker 2: Oh wow, whoever's left, you know, And it's great because they have that childlike spark still even though they're older, and they're like, oh my god, I could do something with this.

11:12 Speaker 4: I could do something with.

11:13 Speaker 2: This, you know, and it's just, you know, it puts a smile on my face versus what I was doing before, which was turning me into a monster too unplugged, unsubscribe. Yeah, so this is so much more fun.

11:28 Speaker 1: I can I can somewhat relate to what you're saying. You know, there was a time when we used to do politics on the show, and we stopped that, and now we keep that separate from what we do here at w M and H and from a mental health perspective, I do think it benefited me.

11:46 Speaker 2: Yeah, because these little prejudices start happening, and you know, it's it's not a good look, and I think that we need to get back to humanity and less of this.

11:56 Speaker 4: He did this, but he did this, but he did this enough of that?

12:00 Speaker 1: Yeah? Enough? Yeah? Absolutely, absolutely, I agree. Do you find that in terms of well, how old is Adam?

12:07 Speaker 4: Adam is?

12:08 Speaker 2: He just turned nine on December twenty fourth, Okay, so happy birthday at him.

12:12 Speaker 1: Yeah, happy birthday Atam. Over the course of these nine years, do you think that, I mean, what's your experience been in terms of uh? Is there a lot of uh? Is there still a lot to learn? I assume there's still a lot to learn about autism? Is there still a lot that they don't know?

12:29 Speaker 4: Or I had to tell you the truth? We're learning with the kids.

12:33 Speaker 1: Yeah.

12:33 Speaker 2: Yeah, So luckily he goes to I'm going to do a shout out to Nottingham West Elementary School because they go above and beyond for my kid that. I mean, it's the state pace ward, it's not a private school.

12:47 Speaker 1: Yeah.

12:48 Speaker 2: So but they go above and beyond help children. So I've seen my my kids rise like he's been.

12:54 Speaker 4: You know, he's a different kid really.

12:55 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like now he gets into trouble now yeah with his top little goose, you know. Yeah, now he gets dirty, you know, gets into things.

13:04 Speaker 1: Oh that's fantastic though, that's that's that's good to hear, you know, because public schools get a bad rap.

13:09 Speaker 2: They do get a bad rap, they really do. But I'm let's just say I was cautiously optimistic, uh huh, but now totally blown away.

13:17 Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh that's great. That's great. And obviously for you it's you know, it's a challenge. You know, I mean an autistic is Adam your only child?

13:26 Speaker 4: My only child?

13:27 Speaker 2: Oh okay, okay, so I wanted uh well it was really crazy. So I was missing for a year and a half and I have I was caregiving to my mother, taking care of my autistic kid, so I had like zero time to myself. Yeah, and you know, when she was sick and he was at school or she was asleep, I would do these little animation things. Yeah, and it just sort of kind of grew from there.

13:48 Speaker 1: Okay, like you know I.

13:49 Speaker 4: Could do this. I could do this and.

13:51 Speaker 1: You done anything like that before. On your you know you mentioned you had dated some animators.

13:55 Speaker 2: Yeah, well we used to do like we're adult versions of that.

13:59 Speaker 1: Yeah.

14:00 Speaker 2: This is my first time ever doing children's television, so I don't know. I mean I'm spiling a lot more so that goes to show you I'm doing something right.

14:10 Speaker 1: Yeah.

14:10 Speaker 2: Yeah, but I started a kickstarter. We need some cash, help help, so I need to do one polished pilot and that's gonna be our vehicle to you know, shoot to the top. I'm actually I got in touch with the CEO of New Balance because I was thinking about doing product titans and since Zoe's sneakers light up, which she's about the time travel, I thought that might be something that we can kind of team up on. I haven't gotten response, an official response yet, but yeah it is and it's you know, everybody knows someone with autism, so I just styled it could be a good tie in and for Autism Awareness months, you know, we'll have a special brand sneakers that happened to look just like Zoe's in the show Excellent.

14:57 Speaker 1: When is When is Autism Awareness Month? June June? Okay? Okay, yeah, I didn't even know there was. Well, no, it makes sense that actually, I think I do remember hearing that there was an autism awareness month.

15:09 Speaker 2: There's hope there's an awareness month for everything. I think there's a peanut butter holiday too, and.

15:14 Speaker 1: Well as as there should be. When was how soon was Adam diagnosed after he was born? Because obviously you don't you don't know right away, right he was three three okay.

15:29 Speaker 4: The heat was in babbling okay, And.

15:32 Speaker 1: That's what I've read is one of the one of the first indicators where you really kind of figure out that there's there's something here as if they're not.

15:39 Speaker 2: And he would have like these attacks, like panic attacks. He's trying to talk, talk to me and tell me things. Yeah, and he started pulling his hair up.

15:48 Speaker 1: Oh wow.

15:49 Speaker 4: So that's when we got.

15:50 Speaker 2: Him help, okay, because it started, you know, he started just being aggressive to him, like he like almost like I hate myself. Oh yeah, you know, or I don't want to say I hate myself.

15:59 Speaker 1: That's horrible, but that frustrate.

16:01 Speaker 4: He was frustrated.

16:03 Speaker 2: So when we got him help, yeah, they we got him diagnosed, and sure enough, he was a textbook So he's got ADHD and you know autism. Yeah, but he's shocked his attack that he could see the wheel spinning. He just can't talk or he'll just pull his tongue, you know, little things like that, and it breaks your heart.

16:22 Speaker 1: Does does he learn very fast? Yeah? Yeah, I don't know if you know doctor Kevin. He's a Nashua doctor Kevin ross Emory. He's been on the show and he he's done a lot of work in add and ADHD and he's written some books about it. And actually one of the books he's written it's called Managing the Gift, and it's about how he calls it a gift because you know a d D or ADHD. It's like, uh, there are ways that you can use at your advantage. For example, a lot of very successful entrepreneurs you know, have that or they're on the spectrum.

16:55 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, so there are ways to.

16:58 Speaker 4: Talking to the to the expert. So yeah, leave me his name, that'll be great.

17:01 Speaker 2: Yeah, a lot of I talked to someone who's his name is Ellen Armie and he is the head of an organization for autistic children. He put me in touch with someone named Elaine Hall, who was a a list acting coach and she eventually had a kid with autism and she started using those methods acting methods. Yeah, and it started to work and he got out of a shell using you know, the ad L stuff, and you know, it really worked out. So now she's kind of like a big deal now in the autism community. And you know, she just happened to have an autistic kid and who knew, right.

17:41 Speaker 4: You know.

17:42 Speaker 2: So I am been emailing back and forth and a lot of people are you know, just they're excited about the projects because we need something positive in this world.

17:49 Speaker 1: Yes, so like at least.

17:52 Speaker 2: I do as a creator, you know, like you want to, you know, go home and say, you know what, I did my job.

17:57 Speaker 4: And I actually went as far.

18:00 Speaker 2: I was contacting someone named Ted and Nasty, who was one of the head animators of the of Ductails.

18:09 Speaker 1: Yeah.

18:09 Speaker 4: However, I was.

18:11 Speaker 2: Like googling him like a weird fan, you know, like who the hell looks for old animators from back in the day, right right, And I was like, okay, I got his name, I got his number. Cool, and the link next to him right after on Google it was a goalfund me and I click on it and he's in hospice and I'm like, ah, it's terrible. So uh yeah, but I've been talking to the old guys though. Yeah, it makes it more fun because once I get them excited, I could see their wheels turning, like, oh.

18:42 Speaker 4: I've done this and that and this and that. So it's just really great.

18:46 Speaker 1: Yeah. Sometimes you know, all it takes is one person to give you just a little bit of information or an idea and you just never know.

18:53 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it really is like being a showrunner really is like being in a band. You need your guitar player, you neat your drummer, you need your bass, do you need your lead singer? Get together and make music. And if one of you guys is off, the whole band is off. Right, So I am putting together a band right now.

19:09 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, excellent, excellent. What have you been doing anything else in terms of creative stuff or have you been solely focused on on the series.

19:19 Speaker 2: Well, I was doing another kind of puppet show, but we can't talk about that. Oh that was just for fun though, I was testing.

19:26 Speaker 1: The Yeah, that's for Matt Connor to unsheathed. That's a very different show.

19:32 Speaker 4: That's a very different show.

19:33 Speaker 1: Yes, and it's it's not available on FM radio.

19:37 Speaker 4: But but yes, let's stick to the kids.

19:39 Speaker 1: Yeah. No, I was curious because you've done a lot, you know, a lot of radio, a lot of radio back in La especially, and right, and and what else. It seems like you've done You've done a lot of voiceover work too, right.

19:52 Speaker 2: Yes, so I turn them out, just turn them out, like whenever comes my way.

19:57 Speaker 4: I need this, you know.

19:59 Speaker 1: Yeah.

20:00 Speaker 4: Yeah, so I've been surviving on that.

20:02 Speaker 1: Yeah, well you've got a lot of experience. And uh, how how long have you been in New Hamptire? How has it been ten years? No, it's been six, it's been six.

20:12 Speaker 2: I'm acclimated, you know, Like no, before I used to be such a wuss and like now it's like I'm walking around with T shirt and shorts and checking my mail and snowing outside, you know, like I've come a long way.

20:25 Speaker 1: Yeah. John Hopwood is who introduced us, right, yes, all right?

20:30 Speaker 4: Whatever happened to Hoppy?

20:32 Speaker 1: I think he's around. Uh, Jenny, didn't the Hammers say that John?

20:37 Speaker 3: They recently had had that he was with him.

20:40 Speaker 1: He was back in Manchester?

20:41 Speaker 4: I thought so.

20:42 Speaker 3: I thought I heard that, But he hasn't reached out to us yet.

20:46 Speaker 1: He's very mysterious, that John Hopwood. He's a mysterious character. But that's right, that's how we met.

20:53 Speaker 4: Yeah, we met John.

20:54 Speaker 1: Okay, okay, yeah, so you've you've grown too, You've grown to like it here.

20:59 Speaker 2: Yes, And I enjoy driving again thanks to me, I'm sure, because in La it's stopping stop.

21:05 Speaker 4: Literally.

21:05 Speaker 2: I had like these these big thighs of muscle in my abs because it will stop it stop it go.

21:10 Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh yeah, and.

21:12 Speaker 4: The gear you could just kind of like put put it and you're cool.

21:15 Speaker 1: Yeah.

21:16 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think I'm spoiled. I don't want to drive in California.

21:19 Speaker 1: Right right now, that's understandable. Well, you know, the winter's here too, have gotten easier, so that probably helps climate change because I grew up here, and uh, the winters are definitely easier than when I was a kid.

21:31 Speaker 4: I keep hearing that.

21:32 Speaker 1: Yeah, oh yeah, oh it's yeah, there's no getting It's not subtle. No, it's not as subtle as some people pretend it is. It's it's very obvious. And and I remember my dad's telling me that the winters are easier here than when he was a kid, Like he noticed in the in the eighties. Yeah, he said, Oh, the winter's here seemed to be easier than when I was a kid.

21:50 Speaker 2: So no, but there's still a real possibility if you don't have the right gear, you.

21:54 Speaker 4: Could freeze to death.

21:55 Speaker 1: Oh sure, Oh yeah.

21:56 Speaker 4: We don't want to give off like we're like the New Florida, right.

21:59 Speaker 1: No, no, no, We're a long way from that. And I don't want to get to that because I know what that means, because I am concerned. But in the moment, I enjoy it.

22:08 Speaker 4: Geez.

22:08 Speaker 1: We had one winter here, was it, I think twenty seventeen where winter just didn't show up at all, and like it barely snowed and it never got cold. It was incredible.

22:16 Speaker 4: Yeah, but it created a lot of sleet. I didn't appreciate that.

22:19 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, Sleet's not good. Sleet's not good.

22:23 Speaker 4: I found a new use for kitty litter because it's sleet.

22:25 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, what to just put the floor?

22:30 Speaker 2: Yeah, to get traction with your wheels. Okay, yeah, yeah, no, I didn't know that until I moved here.

22:34 Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, does anyone from the West Coast come out to visit you?

22:38 Speaker 4: Yes? I recently had my both my sisters come.

22:41 Speaker 1: Oh excellent, excellent. Do they do when they get here? Are they like, it's cold here? What do you do?

22:45 Speaker 2: The first thing my sister said was, we're all the homeless people? Oh really, Well they're in La from LA and it's like mad Max over there by comparison.

22:55 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, they were like, where are the homeless people? I'm like Manchester. U.

22:59 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's definitely a problem here, but probably nothing like La. Right. I mean you see the.

23:03 Speaker 2: Picture looks flag posts apocalyptic now, yeah, it's it's pretty sad.

23:08 Speaker 1: Yeah. Do you get back out there to visit?

23:11 Speaker 4: Not really?

23:11 Speaker 1: No.

23:12 Speaker 2: Yeah, the mom's thing was pretty rough, and I don't think I'm gonna be going back for what Yeah.

23:17 Speaker 1: No, that makes sense, that makes sense. Have you been Uh so you've been working on the h on the cartoon.

23:28 Speaker 1: Are you doing that by yourself? And I mean obviously you're you know, you're trying to get other people involved, but so far as anyone like fully involved in the animation or anything, or are you literally doing this all?

23:38 Speaker 2: I'm doing this all on my own as of now. But they tell me be patient because after the holidays.

23:45 Speaker 4: Yeah, we're gonna work. Yeah, we'll work, We'll work it out.

23:48 Speaker 2: Yeah, so, I I mean, the the stuff I have on my website, you know, on grasigotto dot com is basically just like what I would give to the networks is basically it's okay, kind of like a it's like a visual thing that it's not the solid end product.

24:04 Speaker 1: Okay. So no, it looks really good though, And you know, as someone who so I have no I've always been fascinated by animation in the sense that I'm kind of fascinated by anything that I know that I can't do, Like I have no visual artistic ability whatsoever. I can't draw, Like if you ask me to draw a person, I could draw you a stick figure. That's the best I could do. I look at Jenny's artwork and I'm amazed or the macromea that she does, cause it's amazing to me because my brain, I always say this, my brain can't do the math, like with the macroma that's geometry.

24:35 Speaker 1: My brain can't do the geometry. So I'm always, you know, really interested when I look at things that I can't do, like animation, Like like I look at you know, I watched the clip on your website and it's like, how do you even how do you even draw that? Like, because my brain wouldn't be able to figure it out, you know what I mean?

24:51 Speaker 4: Well, the the kids.

24:53 Speaker 2: I used my son's face as a model, Okay, so I got a picture of him when he was seven, Okay, and you know, so I didn't mock up there, kind of change it up a bit and yeah, and then I got uh, I'd lost so much time playing with animation tools, you know, like the actual like drawing, because I used to doodle a lot.

25:13 Speaker 4: I'm an oil painter.

25:14 Speaker 2: Okay, So that was just like the natural progression. And there's some magic that happens when you get the lip sync going, and then you get the voice, and then you get the background music and when that you get that that trifecta.

25:29 Speaker 4: They're alive. It's they're alive.

25:32 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, do you I mean, do you do you use software? To forgive my ignorance? But no, just very curious, like do you use software to help you create the scenes or are you are you doing it like old school? Like are you actually hand drawing everything?

25:49 Speaker 2: No, I'm not hand drawing anything. I actually I've been using AI kind of help out. And you know, people go boo, but it's it's the cats out of the bag.

25:57 Speaker 4: It's here, yes, and they're snow avoiding it right right.

26:00 Speaker 2: I think a friend of mine pointed out a car commercial was like blatantly easing Aire.

26:06 Speaker 4: So basically AI has enabled me become ten people instead of one.

26:10 Speaker 1: Yeah.

26:10 Speaker 2: Yeah, So the scripts are mine though, the ideas are mine, but they're simply it's like having an assistant that's on speed. Right, So like the second I want something, I got it. Okay, cool, and I'll just incorporate that. So it's like mixing. It's like mixing a stew. You get all the ingredients from you know, television shows, I could say Ducktails where they time travel and they teach kids how to think, you know, get it, Get a little bit of that, you get a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

26:39 Speaker 2: Yeah, and you just kind of make a stew and it's something completely brand new.

26:44 Speaker 4: That's something that's really awesome. I even wrote the theme song.

26:47 Speaker 1: Did okay?

26:49 Speaker 3: Very cool?

26:49 Speaker 1: That's awesome. That's awesome. The other characters, because there's there's two other characters that I saw on the website. Yes, are those based on real kids or those completely?

27:03 Speaker 4: So I did?

27:04 Speaker 2: I did know I do know, so a kid who's obsessed with numbers, obsessed you know, like how many like things that you wouldn't even think about, like how many teeth are in a mouth or you know, just Okay, that's kind of quirky, but that could work for the show because they need to calculate speed time to get and you know, how to get from point A to point b. You know, so they're going to need math to learn numbers. Adam's internal dialogue is he upslolds everything, but you know he has a super dome that kind of teaches you what everything means.

27:41 Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's like a super dome kind of like a third eye kind of situation happening where he's projecting, you know, what he's getting and you know, so it's great.

27:51 Speaker 4: So I got the trio so far.

27:52 Speaker 2: And you know, they're going to get into adventures and you know, we're even talking about like possibly having them grow up eventually.

27:59 Speaker 4: They're in a fourth grade.

28:00 Speaker 2: Now, hey, my powers are getting stronger, you know, and maybe it could lead up to something different.

28:06 Speaker 1: Like e that's a cool concept too, because I'm trying to think. I'm trying to think, is there another cartoon or another animated show where where the characters actually do grow up, and I feel like there must be something Self Park did it? Oh did they?

28:23 Speaker 4: And The Simpsons did they?

28:26 Speaker 1: I haven't watched either of those and so long.

28:28 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a couple of episodes where you know they're all grown up.

28:32 Speaker 1: Oh okay, yeah, but not but not over a span of time where they got older.

28:35 Speaker 2: And right, yeah, yeah, or maybe I mean things are open. I mean, maybe they can get out of their animation bodies and become full right, you know, action motion you know characters.

28:48 Speaker 1: Right right, But I like that. I like that idea though. Yeah, you know, they go from one grade to the next and and.

28:55 Speaker 2: What to expect, and you know, teachers are new, teachers are scary, Substitute teachers are kind of cool. But I don't really know, right you know, yeah, you know we're going to get into that. And all those little things matter when you're autistic. Yeah, any little change is like, you know, detrimentally.

29:11 Speaker 1: Oh, I mean even for you know, for anybody. Yeah, those things matter. So yeah, so I would imagine for an autistic child, I can see where that would really be some heavy stuff to deal with.

29:20 Speaker 2: Yeah, And it was an honest question to myself, like, you know, am I gonna continue one with the division of people?

29:26 Speaker 4: Or am I going to make something that's going to help of course?

29:30 Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I think that's uh. I think that's fantastic. Yeah, so in the new year, you expect things will really start moving with it. Yeah, what's kind of your what's what's kind of your dream? Uh? Like where would you most like to see it? Like Netflix or where would you most like to see.

29:47 Speaker 2: This, lamb, I would love to see it anywhere. Really, it's just long as uh. You know, it gives children and identity.

29:54 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you mentioned PBS, which seems like a perfect fit.

29:57 Speaker 4: It is a perfect fit.

29:57 Speaker 2: There's always Netflix or Hulu. I have an agent working on it. So basically we're trying to create like some kind of a bidding situation in January to where it lands. It's as soon as January.

30:13 Speaker 1: Oh that's exciting.

30:14 Speaker 2: Yeah, it is exciting, except for Hanka got in the way. So so my Jewish animaters are the Alfred the Count and you know, my Christian friends are like, we're not working until January second.

30:29 Speaker 1: Yeah, so it's.

30:30 Speaker 2: Like, okay, I lost you both. Great, So it's just me for now I there are the holidays. I get it, and you know, I'm a showrunner, so I'm just constantly working, working, working through the holidays.

30:41 Speaker 1: By the way, for people who don't know what's a show runner.

30:44 Speaker 2: A showrunner is someone who is creating a show and the person who has the actual vision, the overall vision. So it's basically like being the CEO of a company, you know, so, but we're all moving working vital parts to the show.

31:01 Speaker 1: It's a very it's it's kind of a literal term show runner. You literally are running a show. I feel like, and you would know, having with with your experience and having been in la I feel like I didn't always hear that term. I feel like I started hearing the term showrunner like twenty years ago and then and then before that, it was always producer or something. But I feel like the am I right about that? Or is that just my weird perception?

31:26 Speaker 2: No, I don't know, I think because you know everybody's I don't know, I honestly can't answer that.

31:32 Speaker 1: I feel like it's a newer term.

31:34 Speaker 2: It's I've always heard showrunner because it was kind of like going back to the circus, you know, like you're the showrunner of the Circus. Yeah, I think I think it was kind of being facetious and it just kind of stuck.

31:45 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

31:47 Speaker 4: Or I'm the you know, the I'm the person in charge of this, you know show.

31:53 Speaker 1: What? Uh so you've got Do you have other projects that you're thinking about doing in addition to this or you're completely focused.

31:59 Speaker 2: On completely hyper focused on this one. Yeah, that's the way it has to be for each project. Otherwise you're spread on teeth in and people see right through it, especially the audience when you're half asking anything, you know, like, you know, they're pretty intelligent enough to pick that up.

32:12 Speaker 1: Right of course, of course, Well, very cool, very cool. Now we should mention too though. Like you said, you know, you take things that come your way. So you are available for voiceover work and things like oh absolutely, yeah yeah, And how how can people find you for that?

32:28 Speaker 2: Go to Grasiegatto dot com, send me an email and we will talk consultation.

32:34 Speaker 4: Hum what you want? You know, I'm pretty affordable.

32:37 Speaker 1: What's the strangest one you've had? Oh?

32:39 Speaker 2: God, the first one is the one that traumatized me was uh.

32:47 Speaker 4: Moan my IP?

32:51 Speaker 1: Is that something we can I'm very curious. Now is that something we can explain on a Saturday morning? Okay, but it was something.

33:00 Speaker 2: Sort of moaned MYIP dot com. Okay, I did some voiceover for that.

33:05 Speaker 4: Haven't admitted to that.

33:07 Speaker 1: Oh wow, ever does that? Does that still exist?

33:10 Speaker 4: I don't know. I haven't checked. It's been years.

33:13 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna check here at the station's computer.

33:18 Speaker 2: And I did the voiceover of this clown killer thriller.

33:23 Speaker 1: Yeah.

33:24 Speaker 2: Yeah, so basically I am, uh, screaming for my life, yeah, as this clown is undressing me.

33:33 Speaker 4: Okay, so that was probably the grossest voiceover.

33:37 Speaker 1: Wow. Yeah, I don't even.

33:40 Speaker 4: Know if that was used. Yeah, but I got paid for it.

33:43 Speaker 1: Oh that's cool. Yeah yeah, but.

33:45 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean voiceovers can go from anything from like jingles to you know radio stations like three, you know FL So it really depends. And I noticed that when they cast, they like people who have broadcasting experience because actors can't fake that.

34:02 Speaker 1: Yeah.

34:03 Speaker 4: So it's like that's why they go.

34:04 Speaker 2: With the newscasters in film, you know, the newscasters whoever's available.

34:08 Speaker 1: Right right, No, it makes sense, that makes sense. Have you done any that I would have heard, like any that are like really like like mainstream commercials or anything.

34:21 Speaker 4: That I can think of that's still around.

34:23 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's just funny to think about it. I may have heard your voice somewhere before I probably before we met you.

34:31 Speaker 4: Probably, I don't know. There is a lot.

34:34 Speaker 1: There's a lot if you ever had to say no to something like somebody comes to you with a voiceover project and it's just too weird.

34:41 Speaker 2: No, it's all about making copy work. But the only time I've said no is when they're too demanding and they want me.

34:51 Speaker 4: To charge less.

34:53 Speaker 2: So it's like practically like you know, fifty cents an hour kind of thing. Oh yeah, it's like no, dude, No.

34:59 Speaker 4: They're like, well, we're to go somewhere else.

35:00 Speaker 1: Thank bye.

35:01 Speaker 4: Yeah right exactly. Yeah yeah yeah.

35:05 Speaker 1: Wow, that's wild.

35:07 Speaker 2: So please, please, please, whoever's listening, go to Graciecotto dot com, or please donate some money to Kickstarter so we can get that episode going.

35:16 Speaker 5: So we now is g r a c I e g a t o dot com?

35:23 Speaker 1: You got it?

35:24 Speaker 5: I want to make sure people know how to spell it. G A c I e g a t o dot com?

35:30 Speaker 4: Got it?

35:32 Speaker 1: Yeah?

35:32 Speaker 5: Well, and Marriam actually was just asking about spelling it. One of our listeners who's actually a paraprofessional herself and very active in the autism community.

35:42 Speaker 4: Oh, send me an email. Let's talk.

35:44 Speaker 3: Absolutely, you hear that, Miriam, she'd like to talk. We'll make sure that. I will make sure.

35:49 Speaker 2: Actually, I'm just trying to get everybody involved, parents to UH, educators, entertainment industry. It's amazing how many high ranking entertainment industry executives have children with autism.

36:03 Speaker 5: True, so it touches many families. Yeah, many, many families.

36:08 Speaker 1: And it's interesting too to think about how many people don't realize.

36:10 Speaker 2: It, right, you know, and you know, why not make a Saturday morning cartoon to make them feel better?

36:15 Speaker 1: Yeah.

36:15 Speaker 3: I think that's awesome.

36:17 Speaker 4: I really do.

36:18 Speaker 1: I think that's No, I think that's fantastic. Well, Gracie, I'm really glad you came in today. It's wonderful to see you.

36:23 Speaker 4: Good to see you, and Jen, good to see you.

36:27 Speaker 1: We might won't hold you to it.

36:28 Speaker 3: I don't have to wait for over a year the next time to come back.

36:31 Speaker 4: No, that was a crazy circumstance.

36:33 Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that's understandable.

36:36 Speaker 3: But we love to have you. We love to see you, and I know our listeners love you.

36:38 Speaker 2: Hopefully next month I'm going to get the I'm gonna get the call and I'm gonna say.

36:42 Speaker 4: Guess what, guys, I got green lit.

36:44 Speaker 3: I got green lit.

36:45 Speaker 1: You know, we definitely have to have you back and then definitely.

36:48 Speaker 2: You know, I do want to promote New Hampshire in New England, and I mean the whole story takes place there, they go to school, and the backdrop. I made sure that it was like typical New England.

36:57 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, look it looks like that and what I watched, Yeah.

37:01 Speaker 2: That's kind of what I'm presenting to is a little bit of a New Hampshire pride so to speak.

37:05 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, no, I think that's I think that's awesome. And Gracie Gato, thank you so much, thank you for having me