Kimberly Persona had a very successful year, one that saw her strike a deal for a show with the largest children鈥檚 television network in the country.
The Victoria native鈥檚 preschool program, Miss Persona, was recently picked up for broadcast on Treehouse TV, just four months after debuting on the network鈥檚 YouTube channel in September.
After struggling for years to get the show made, Persona hit the big-time when Nelvana, the 91原创 studio and children鈥檚 media company that distributes Treehouse TV, Discovery Kids Canada and YTV, stepped in to produce. The show found an immediate audience 鈥� 100,000 views in a matter of days; more than 500,000 over the course of four months 鈥� which made the decision to air Miss Persona daily on Treehouse a no-brainer for the network.
鈥淏eing [a digital-only offering] was a great opportunity to get exposure and to see if kids were resonating with the show,鈥� Persona said Friday from her home in Toronto. 鈥淲e wanted something that was short and digestible, capturing attention spans for a short moment.鈥�
Nelvana ordered 52 three-minute episodes that began airing last week on Treehouse at 10:55 a.m. every weekday and 3:05 p.m. on the weekends. Persona is hoping for a second season, and the creator, producer and songwriter in the title role is toying with the idea of expanding future episodes to seven minutes.
鈥淲ith preschool programs, these things don鈥檛 often just get one run,鈥� Persona said. 鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e hopeful. I hear the ratings are going well.鈥�
The Stelly鈥檚 Secondary grad developed the character shortly after she left Victoria for Toronto in 2010. Miss Persona has roots in her many performances with the 91原创 College of Performing Arts, from which she graduated in 2008, in addition to her appearances on stage at Butchart Gardens. 鈥淲hen I moved to Toronto, I started doing kids鈥� shows because I had gained that experience in Victoria,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 even had the idea for a show until I started performing for kids. Once you start going into schools and see the effect these shows have on kids, that inspired me to start making Miss Persona.鈥�
She made several Miss Persona pilots using her own money years ago, with a crew consisting of friends and family.
Originally titled Miss Persona and the Marvelous Melodies, the episodes found an audience after she uploaded them to YouTube.
Persona said she was hoping to capture the feel-good familiarity of Big Comfy Couch and Mr. Dressup.
鈥淥n a whim, and with all this naivet茅, I thought it would be fun to create a show that was a love letter to some of those older shows. I shopped it around [to stations], and everybody said no. I did that on repeat five or six times.鈥�
The character solves problems on the show through singalongs and dress-up role playing. Persona is joined by a strong roster of collaborators, including show-runner Brandon Lane (a three-time 91原创 Comedy Award nominee) and actors Alyson Court (Big Comfy Couch) and Joe Motiki (The Crawlspace), puppeteer Mike Petersen (Fraggle Rock, Toopy and Binoo) and former WWE wrestling champion Santino Marella.
Her grandfather in the show is played by iconic children鈥檚 entertainer Fred Penner, which has led to many starstruck moments for everyone on set, Persona said.
鈥淎s if this whole thing wasn鈥檛 already a dream come true,鈥� she said of Penner鈥檚 involvement. 鈥淲hen he came on set, it felt like there was a superstar around.鈥�
Persona acted in several Toronto productions prior to Miss Persona, including playing Lady Gaga in the 2013 production Of a Monstrous Child: A Gaga Musical.
She continues to explore her talent, but is focused on Miss Persona and Balloon House Productions, her company with Lane. 鈥淚 got sick of going for the types of characters they were putting me up for,鈥� Persona said. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 going to pursue art because I love it, I鈥檓 not going to take jobs that I don鈥檛 love. It just isn鈥檛 in my heart.鈥�
