Tappin’ The Map
Conceived, Written, Produced, and Directed by Juleen Murray Shaw
Photo Credit: David Lee Hoskins
The Updated Concept
I had a desire to update the original Nursery Tap concept. My belief is that it still has “legs.” This time, I framed the dancer’s full body to create an even more global look and sound. What you will see below is a very brief trailer of the longer-pitch idea.
One of the goals of Tappin’ the Map is to give the small child an opportunity to experience slow learning; time to just marinate in movement, language, rhythm, rhyme, and repetition.
“I chose three international children’s songs and rhymes to bring to life through dance for this updated, proof-of-concept version: the much loved Peter Piper from England, A Keelie Makolay - a children’s call and response song from Ghana, and A La Puerto del Cielo, a lovely lullaby from Mexico via Spain. ”
The Creative Workshop
The Actor’s Fund is a safe haven in NYC & LA for creatives. In 2016, they implemented a pilot program for people “in the biz” with entrepreneurial concepts to be a part of their innovative pilot program The Creative Workshop. I was one of 16 invited to commit to this incredible process. Two years later, I filmed the follow-up to the Nursery Tap series which became Tappin’ the Map. Just as I was ready to start the pitch process in 2020, Covid hit. Bumps in the road are inevitable for creatives and often times this gives projects time to breathe and find their perfect timing. Maybe someday this will become a children’s programming reality.
