ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606070012
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRUCE SMITH ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. - The set of ``Gullah Gullah Island,'' the hot new television show for preschoolers, is a combination summer camp, cheerleading session and music video.
One recent morning, the mythical island was in reality a beach on the South Carolina coast as hosts Ron and Natalie Daise, their young charges and the giant yellow Binyah Binyah Pollywog danced '60s dances in the sand and sang rock 'n' roll.
And all the while one could sense, perhaps just beyond the palmetto trees, the presence of a large purple dinosaur that has captured the loyalty of a generation of American children.
``It would be terrific if we could take the place of Barney,'' said Brown Johnson, executive producer of Nick Jr., the preschool programming branch of the Nickelodeon cable TV network that airs ``Gullah Gullah Island'' twice a day (11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.).
``But it (the thought) isn't really how do we get the yellow pollywog where the purple dinosaur is,'' she said. ``We set out with the goal of making great television for little kids.''
``Gullah Gullah Island,'' the first preschool show centered on a black family, is the network's top-rated live action preschool show with an estimated 767,000 children between ages 2 and 5 watching daily.
The cast is taping a third season and the network hopes to shoot five more, Johnson said.
From behind the hand-held camera, director Chuck Vinson cheers ``And dance!'' as the cast boogies on the beach and a sailboat glides by in the distance. ``Everybody get in there!''
The show centers on the Daises' television family and the pollywog.
``What attracted people to Barney was unconditional love,'' said executive producer Kathleen Minton. ``What we wanted to do was take it to another level with the family.''
Daise grew up on St. Helena speaking Gullah, the creole language used by generations of slaves and their descendants on the islands of the Southeast coast.
When Daise was young, blacks were often discouraged from using the language - it was believed it would prevent them from getting ahead. But in recent years, there has been renewed interest. A translation of the Gospel of Luke in Gullah was published in 1994.
Daise quit his job as a newspaper reporter about 10 years ago to create a touring show based on the Gullah culture. ``I always had a feeling it would lead to something,'' he said.
The pollywog's name comes from binyah - Gullah for ``been here a long time,'' as opposed to someone who has just moved to the sea islands. Binyah Binyah doesn't speak, but does communicate in its own dialect, ``croakese.''
The show features a unified plot, instead of separate segments, and is shown without commercial interruptions.
One show might deal with what a child's experiences when his or her mother is ill and can't play; another with preparing for a trip to the beach. The dancing and singing on the beach showed what happened when the family arrived at water's edge.
The Gullah language and culture are used to show how people from different cultures can get along. Although the show is not a history lesson of the islands, the cameras visit real people in the Gullah community.
``For many years, a lot of adults didn't even know the word Gullah,'' said Natalie, Daise's real-life wife. ``Now for millions of little people all over the world it's a common word.''
The Daises live in nearby Beaufort with their children, 6-year-old Sara and 3-year-old Simeon, who are both in the cast. The show's rising popularity has forced them to get an unlisted number, but fans and their parents still seem to find their way to the Daises' doorstep.
Since last fall, the network has licensed a series of children's books, videos, CDs and cassettes. The first of the Binyah Binyah Pollywog plush animals hit the stores in April. A live tour featuring the cast of the show is also in the works.
The children in the cast are consulted about the dancing and dialogue in the show.
``We use `kiddieography' instead of choreography,'' said choreographer Ken Grant as he watched Vinson take still another angle on the beach.
The cast, which includes three child actors in addition to the Daises' two children, tapes exteriors for about three weeks each year near Beaufort. The interior scenes are shot at the Nickelodeon studios in Orlando, Fla.
Vinson uses about 25 camera angles - about a half day's work - to tape a 21/2-minute song. Other children's shows might use four angles.
MTV for tots? ``I wouldn't go that far,'' Vinson said. ``But I'm a kid, even though I'm 40. I get down and dance on the floor with them.''
One more angle with Simeon and the morning's shoot is over. At one point, Vinson playfully bounces the child upside down in front of the camera in time to the music.
Later, Simeon falls asleep on the shoulder of a crew member as the cast heads off for lunch.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 linesby CNB