We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jackie Smook a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jackie, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Hello! My name is Jackie Smook, owner of Jackie Smook Company LLC and the creator of Dilly’s World! This is a TV show pitch for children for the whole family to watch. Dilly’s World is inspired by Peewees Playhouse, Blues Clues and The Big Comfy Couch. Dilly’s World showcases the art of many great artists under the umbrella of this Memphis style influenced production design. When coming up with the concept for Dilly’s World, I knew I wanted to create a show that encouraged kids (and adults) to be more creative. I also wanted to create something that had silliness, excitement and infuse it all with this educational element that would allow all ages to learn something new. The pilot follows Dilly, a professional painter and fun-willed, creative being of love and light, who gets a letter in the mail from Phyllis and Ed (the puppet mail delivery team). This is no ordinary letter…This letter had big news! “We want a new painting for our gallery by the end of the day, OR ELSE!” Dilly goes to paint her painting but for some reason she cant get any ideas on her canvas. Luckily, Dilly lives in a house full of puppets. What better way to get to the bottom of the issue than to ask her puppet friends for help! We take the journey with Dilly around her living room as she searches, chases and dances to get her spark back. What will help her get her spark back? And will Dilly get the answer from her puppet friends? This project is especially unique not only for its fun episodes which focus on asking for help, but also for its crew. Not only do we have a female show host, but this project prioritizes female, queer and non-binary individuals on set.
Jackie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hello! To all who is reading, my name is Jackie Smook, the owner of Jackie Smook Company LLC. I am a puppet designer and builder, actor and writer, singer and painter, and the creator of a new TV show, Dilly’s World!
I was on Season 21 of American Idol with my puppets, guest star on Chicago Fire, actor in many national commercials and design and build puppets for feature films, shorts and music videos. I am the creator and writer of my one woman shows, The Jackie Smook Program of De-dumbification and Under Your Skin. Both of these shows performed in NYC on-broadway and off-broadway. Both shows were selections in United Solo Theater Festival where we won Best Emerging Artist Award and Critics Choice Award.
Our mission and design is to hire talented and creative people prioritizing female, queer, and non-binary artists and creators to produce creative, artistic, educational content and content that brings joy back to the world. I am passionate about bringing production and film creation to Chicago. As large and vast as the Chicago artist community is, the puppetry and production market is slim leaving many incredible and passionate artists to either relocate or switch careers entirely. My mission is to keep Chicago artists and creatives working.
To kick off the business, I am creating a TV show called Dilly’s World inspired by PeeWee’s Playhouse, Blues Clues and The Big Comfy Couch. This project will represent many facets of art mediums, including stop motion, animation, sculpting, furniture building, set building and creation, visual arts, education, and of course, puppets. The idea is that each piece, each element of the set is touched by an artist. The mission of this project is to keep children and adults creative. Though this will be geared towards educating children and teens, I want this to be a program for the family, something everyone can do together. There will be creative ways of learning, crafting new projects and even finding ways of communicating with others. It will instill the idea of togetherness and the joy of being weird and silly. The first season of episodes will infuse the ideas of needing to ask for help, not comparing your art or self to others, and even battling common fears and how to cope with them.
During the pandemic, I began investing my time in puppet making. I’m thankful for my ability to get creative which helped me get through the pandemic. It occurred to me that not everyone has this same ability or the resources to be creative. Recently, I lost my dad. He owned his own architecture business and instilled in me the importance of art, business, and doing what you love. We would watch Pee Wee’s playhouse and talk about how incredible it was to see someone be silly and also instill joy. With his passing and Paul Rueben’s passing, I know I want to honor both of the love and joy they brought.
There are desirable tax incentives for bringing creative projects and production companies to Chicago. With more sound stages being built, including the Fields in Avondale, Trigger Casting, and the new sound stage south of Cinespace, Chicago has the potential of becoming a hub – so, why not develop a female owned and produced company in Chicago!
This project has given many amazing individuals the ability to work as an artist. here are the artists we were able to work with on the filming of Dilly’s World. This is also where funding and donations have currently helped artists be paid.
How I plan to use the funding:
Director and Dilly – Jackie Smook
Co-Director/Director of Photography – Jon Plester
Assistant Director and Angus (puppeteer) – Madigan Burke
Producer – Diego Salinas
Asst. Producer – Erika Rose
Music Director/Score and Dave (actor) – Kyle William Stephens
Set Designer/Builder – Chris Tuttle
Prop Designer/Builder – Glamhag
Instrument Designer and builder – Mattheus Leonhard
Head Puppeteer Chimes, Ed, Silver Ball – Frank Cesario
Sound – Liv Mershon
Chair designer/Builder – Michael Hennessy
Space Coordinator/Gaffer – Rudy Scheider
Production Supervisor – Anna Zaffarano
Choreographer Holstein, Bubbles Assist (Arms), Chimes Assist (Arms) – Margo O’Connell
Production Assistant – Dora Hewitt
Animator – Zoe Pham
Stop Motion Animator – Taylor Wells
Script Supervisor/Assistant Editor – Kerry Stevens
1st AC – Aaron Klinger
Voice Actor Maximo (VO) – Michael C Hyatt
Puppeteer Actor Dumont – Rob Chesler
Puppeteer Actor Longhorn – Margot Mitchell
Puppeteer Actor Phyllis – Connar Brown
Puppeteer Actor Bubbles, Guernsey, Capri (VO) – Autumn Eliza Sheffy
Puppeteer Actor Be, Watusi – Fletcher Pierson
Photographer – Sarah Larson
PA – Kellie Wyatt
We rented:
– Playground Social. I am going to be building the set inside.
– Equipment for filming including camera, lighting and boom mics.
We will be pitching this to networks I am in connection with as well as putting up at various film festivals.
We will then present it to educational programs such as PBS and other educational programs.
This funding will be the seed money for this incredible project and the future of my production company.
Jackie Smook
She | Her
http://www.jackiesmook.com
Singer | Actor | Comedian | Writer | Puppet Maker
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I felt that just about a year ago, I was in a valley (in the valley peek analogy). I didn’t have the right artist community for me, I felt lonely and found that I was at a loss for something in my life. I wasn’t sure what it was! I was building puppets, painting, writing, staying active and creatively, I was fulfilled. But was I? I was performing a showcase at Second City when someone named Ron walked up to me. “I love your work and have been meaning to meet you!” We immediately connected and Ron wanted me to meet their friend, a puppet builder in the city, Frank. We met and Frank Connected me to Chris (Dilly’s World Set designer and Builder). We did a puppet music video for Joey Nebulous. This video got me connected to a feature film where I built and co-designed all the puppets and puppeteered. I then got connected to a puppeteer from the Jim Henson Company. “I never give this advise to anyone – You should pitch a show to the Jim Henson Company”. That’s When I began writing. I went to a coffee shop everyday for 3 months. I am a freelancer and work was especially slow. And I hold like 6 jobs (seriously). but that’s for a different article. I met with many people to possibly hire them but many didn’t seem like a great fit for the project. Then, I worked on another music video and found Glam, Margo, and many other amazing artists. It felt cosmic how the team of Dilly’s World came together. One moment, it felt like it would be impossible to get anyone excited about this project and all of a sudden I’m putting together a dream team and some of the most incredible artists also wanted their name on it!
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Donate to projects! Donate to artists work. Buy their work. Donate to Dilly’s World! Give words of encouragement. I constantly hear questions like: “When will your career start?” and “When are you going to ‘make something happen’?”. Its happening, baby! I know your curious…so am I! But let me tell you, it has started. It has begun, and its just beginning!
Contact Info:
- Website: jackiesmook.com
- Instagram: @smookerstition
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackiesmookactor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@smookerstition
Image Credits
Sarah Elizabeth Larson