Photos courtesy of Leah Lane

Leah Lane, a senior television and video production major, found inspiration for a new project in a unique place: her 8-year-old sister Jessica.

Following Hofstra’s decision to switch to remote learning amid the coronavirus outbreak, Leah and Jessica are proving to be quite the dynamic duo, delivering not only smiles and laughs, but also important lessons alongside their puppet, Pencil, in a new educational children’s series.

“In RTVF 165, that’s the senior capstone class, I was supposed to do a senior capstone project and it was going to be a half-hour children’s show called ‘Darcy’s Studio’ and it involved a girl named Darcy and her raccoon friend named Pencil,” Leah said. “Obviously things happened, [and the project] got a little derailed. So, I was at home and I was trying to think, ‘How can we adapt this?’”

The idea to transform the capstone project into a YouTube channel came from Jessica’s love for the platform. “It’s her favorite thing in the world, so we thought we could adapt it so it’s Jessica as the host,” Leah said.

The channel, “Pencil and Jess” launched on Monday, April 6, with the first episode sharing helpful tips about staying occupied and creative during quarantine through the heartwarming friendship between Jessica and Pencil.

The puppet’s name? Well, that was all Jessica too.

“Me and my friend came up with the name Pencil,” Jessica said. “We were making a book about a dog named Sprinkles and a raccoon named Pencil and they went out for adventures.”

“So now we are using Pencil for this,” Leah said.

The almost seven-minute episode teaches its viewers about COVID-19 and the importance of quarantining, all in a kid-friendly manner. The two plan to continue making videos throughout the remainder of the semester.

“We want to do a bunch of these longer six- or seven-minute episodes. And then we want to do also some shorter episodes where we do a minute or two-minute-long art projects,” Leah said. “We hope to get it out to kids and maybe to partner with either some children’s hospitals to bring the content to them or other places.”

Other students from Leah’s RTVF 165 class plan to help contribute by making graphics or editing episodes in the future. “I knew that even if we weren’t doing anything for the class, I would still want to do this on my own,” Leah said. “But it worked out really well that I was able to use this also for the class.”

The series is a bright light amid the darkness in today’s world.

“We just want people to be able to smile and while they’re watching this, just forget about the stressful stuff for a little bit and be able to just relax and have fun and put themselves in the shoes of how, ‘If we could be creative in our house and do this what else can other people do?’” Leah said. “There’s so much that everyone can do.”

“I want people to learn that it’s OK to stay inside during this,” Jessica said. “You don’t need to go outside and see your friends to have fun [because] there’s FaceTime. Also, you can have fun indoors with your family.”

The project has been a family affair featuring Jessica as the star, Leah’s other sister, Hannah, as the puppeteer and Leah’s mom making a cameo in the first episode as a “woman on the street.”

“My favorite part is definitely that I get to keep working on the things that I love, like making children’s television, but I get to do it with my family,” Leah said. “It’s fun that I get to combine my two passions, which [are] children’s television and working with my family.”

For Jessica, the project has provided a new creative outlet after the coronavirus canceled some of her activities. “My favorite part of it has been just practicing, because I was in ‘Frozen’ … I was doing a play and [because of] the coronavirus, they had to delay it,” Jessica said. “I’m still taking online rehearsals, but this really reminded me of having fun with my friends [at play practice].”

Aside from the educational messages that the inquisitive puppet Pencil helps emphasize, the sisters hope that viewers can feel inspired after watching.

“For seniors and other people in my boat, I know how hard it can be and honestly, when my project was canceled, I didn’t want to leave [my] bed. I was so sad and there’s so many people who are in that boat. But if you are able to make something, that’s awesome – it could be anything from a diary to little vlogs to TikTok dances, whatever you can do,” Leah said.

“And if you can’t, that’s OK, take those deep breaths that you need and find a way to relax. Not everyone has to make something amazing, but just find something that you can do to have fun and get your mind off of the stressful stuff.”

The first episode showcases some of Jessica’s many talents, from hosting a talk show, to making slime and creating art with fuse beads. While social distancing may be difficult and may be leaving some of us in a funk, the 8-year-old has some simple advice:

“If kids my age are bored and they don’t have anything to do,” Jessica said. “I would just say make your imagination go wild.”

It’s evident that this creative team has one spectacular imagination.

Stream the show here and be sure to follow Pencil on Instagram @pencilthepuppet.