[Tenure Period]
About MEMOIRS OF AN ELF (2022) Runtime: 10:00
Featuring Sutton Foster (YOUNGER, ANYTHING GOES)
Written by Devin Scillian, Illustrated by Tim Bowers
Executive Produced by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation
Directed & Produced by Amy Adrion
It's Christmas Eve and Spark Elf has the very important job of keeping Santa Claus on schedule as he travels the globe delivering presents. Small in stature with pointy ears and stopwatch in hand, Spark programs the GPS while the other elves secure the toy bag and check the Nice list.
Six hours into the trip Santa, sleigh and crew begin to fall behind--so many doggies to pet and cookies to eat. The jolly group makes up time in Brazil and soon find themselves back at the North Pole. Their work is done. But wait, there's something left in the bag--but it isn't a present at all--it's a dog! Well known fact: Santa gives things away. He does not take things! Momma Claus comes to the rescue with a plan to get the dog back to his family. Can Santa return a family's beloved pooch in time to keep their Christmas merry?
The Making of My first introduction to musical theater legend Sutton Foster was seeing her as Reno Sweeney in ANYTHING GOES on Broadway. My friend and I marveled at her electric, inexhaustible singing and dancing; it was nothing less than a tour-de-force, so it came as no surprise when she won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. A decade, and many Broadway roles and TV series later, it was a thrill to meet her and she was as cool and down to earth as can be.
We filmed MEMOIRS OF AN ELF in the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Robin Williams Center in Midtown Manhattan on May 27, 2022, two days our shoot of ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER with Lea Michele. Production Designer Amy Mathews and Set Decorator Jennifer Mara transformed an empty stage into a Christmas spectacular with lights, trees, baubles, cups of cocoa and a portable working fireplace.
After we wrapped, I stored my suitcase in a closet at the Robin Williams Center, returned our rented grip and electric gear, came back to retrieve my luggage and got an Uber to the airport, headed back to Rochester after a fruitful trip to Los Angeles where I had been assisting in scouting locations and making introductions for the inaugural RIT Semester in LA program that was starting that Fall, and then NYC where we filmed two Storyline Online episodes.
I edited MEMOIRS OF AN ELF and again worked with my RIT colleague Meghdad Asadilari as Animation Director and RIT graduate student Yuting Shao as Animation Assistant. We finished the episode in the Fall and it was released for the holidays on December 5, 2022.
Dissemination Storyline Online is used by teachers in classrooms, by parents at home and on mobile devices, and is endorsed by leading organizations including the American Federation of Teachers and the American Library Association.
Each book includes supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator to strengthen comprehension, verbal and written skills. Teacher’s Guide
I am proud that each of the 7 episodes I directed have been given the “Storyline Online Kids' Top Pick Seal of Approval,” recognizing books that have surpassed 1 million views, highlighting their popularity among children and their impact as trusted early literacy tools for parents and educators.
MEMOIRS OF AN ELF has over 2.9 million views on YouTube
Peer Review The 2022 season of Storyline Online received a Children’s and Family Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Short Form Program.
The 2nd Children's and Family Emmy Awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), to honor the best in American children's and family-oriented television programming in 2022 and 2023. The eligibility period ran from June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023, mirroring that of the Primetime Emmy Awards.
As a director of 3 episodes of the 2022 season, I was thrilled to be among the nominated team.
