Pillow Fort Brings Hope One Year Later

New Illustration by Appolllo Bey

It has been over a year that the pandemic hit the U.S., and a little over year since NYC was held in the dire grips of the pandemic. The sound of the sirens cradling us in a constant state of fear, the world seemingly on the edge of a cliff. Would we be the the ones who would fall off the ledge? The sound of the sirens still ghost me today. I often think I am hearing ambulances when there are none.

Katie Montoya on the set of Pillow Fort

But despite this year of extreme loss, sadness and isolation, there have been ribbons of hope. I have had more time at home with my family. I've taken a walk nearly every day, meditating on the clouds, the sound of birds, the change in foliage. Professionally, Treehouse Shakers has been able to reach more young people all over the country through our multitude of virtual programs. We also created our webisode series, Pillow Fort, for ages 3-7 and their families. A month ago, we shot our next three episodes. We were also able to return to our Queens rehearsal space to film, which not only brought a sense of pre-covid normalcy, it felt so good to be home. Last week we released Episode 4: Hibernation. Already, we have seen our episode watches increase.

Miranda Noelle Wilson as Mama Bear, Episode 4

We learned a great deal creating the first three episodes, but by Episodes 4-6, we felt totally in control of our unknown. We were able to  hire Appolllo Bey to do our illustrations and to design a new opening, which was then animated by the incredibly talented, John Noel. Ben Demarest, who normally stage manages, and creates lighting for our live productions, helped with sound. We also increased the budget slightly for each episode. These small changes, and the reflection on how we make each episode, has created a better, more efficient artistic work environment.

Trey Coates-Mitchell as the Host, Episode 4

Ashley Chavonne and Emily Bunning, filming Episode 5

I hope you will take the time to watch our next episodes of Pillow Fort, featured on our Vimeo on Demand page. Episode 4, is truly one of my favorites thus far. New episodes will be released later this month.

Thank you for watching! Enjoy.