HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-04-22, Page 40Page A40 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Goderich boy to begin filming reality series
Dominique Milburn
• signal -star staff
Five-year-old Gracin Black is on his
way to Kindergarten, all he needs to
do first is a quick wardrobe fitting and
lighting test.
The Goderich-area tyke has been in
Toronto earlier this week where he be-
gan work on TVO's second season of
the reality pre-school series 'The Jungle
Room,' now named 'The Ocean Room.'
Gracin is excited to go, "way excited,"
he said when he stopped by The Signal -
Star last week. "I'm looking forward to
learning things."
`t To support her little working man,
mom Jennifer Black has packed up Gra-
cin and his two sisters Amelia, 4, and Sa-
die, 8 months, and begun moving them
-to Ajax, where they will stay with family
throughout his six-week work and film-
ing schedule.
The reality -style educational series
will reflect an actual, kindergarten class-
room that will embark on in -class as
well as hands-on learning during themed
episodes, which will include farming,
travel, and animals. The seven -student
class roster was selectively chosen over
a three-month period beginning in Janu-
ary of this year, and according to mom,
Gracin was a shoo-in from day one. In
fact, what was supposed to be a four-
.stage
our-.stage audition process quickly turned
into two stages for the bright and bubbly
Photo by Dominique Milburn
Five-year-old Gracin Black is set to debut on reality TV sometime in the
near future. He begins filming The Ocean Room this week in Toronto.
Gracin. Casting directors bumped him
into the final stage after his first visit.
"It was surprising because we prob-
ably met 50 other kids at that first day
of auditions so we weren't expecting
much," Jennifer said. "But after meet-
ing him, the producers kinda gave us the
thumbs -up and soon we got a call from
them, saying they were going to skip
him right to the end."
Gracin not only stood out during cast-
ing, but he may too stand out in the se-
. ries. He is what Jennifer understands
to be the only classmate coming from
a rural area outside of the GTA. While
Gracin gets •to work, with his mom and
sisters close by, father Wayne will be
keeping things running smoothly at
the family dairy farm north of Goder-
ich. While he's excited about his first
stop toward his goal of "being famous,"
Gracin is a little worried about all of
the fun he may be missing back at his
home on the farm, and with his sisters
running loose exploring Toronto.
"'The Ocean Room' continues the tra-
dition of 'The Jungle Room' in helping
our young audience prepare for what
can be a scary, unknown and mysteri-
ous world: kindergarten," says Patricia
Ellingson, TVO's creative head of Chil-
dren's Media Content and Program-
ming.
From •snack time to playtime, each
episode of "The Ocean Room" takes
kids and parents at home into the ev-
eryday world of preschoolers. This sea-
son's ocean theme will be reflected in a
coral reef and shipwreck designed for
the classroom. Also, Moxey the mon-
key puppet from last year will be re-
placed with a sea creature. A special
guest will still appear each episode
— from firefighters to magicians — to
teach the kids' something new. In ad-
dition, for season two, a new Toronto
preschool and group of children will
be featured.
•1
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