''Behind the Scenes'' was a 10-part television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

aimed towards 8- to 12-year-olds about various aspects of

the arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

, that was broadcast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in 1992. The series was executive produced by

Alice Stewart Trillin Alice Stewart Trillin (May 8, 1938 – September 11, 2001) was an American educator, author, film producer and longtime muse to her husband, author Calvin Trillin. She was also known for her work with cancer patients. Alice Trillin is a recurr ...

and Jane Garmey, produced and directed by Ellen Hovde and

Muffie Meyer Marion "Muffie" Meyer is an American director, whose productions include documentaries, theatrical features, television series and children’s films. Films that she directed are the recipients of two Emmy Awards, CINE Golden Eagles, the Japan Pr ...

, and hosted by

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo ha ...

. It was developed to illuminate the creative process underlying the working of artists.

Style

The show used a wide variety of short films, computer animation, and music to illustrate certain abstractions associated with the artistic process. Each of Penn & Teller's skits were specifically geared towards demonstrating an aspect of that episode's theme.

"'To show rhythmic patterns in a song, we produce a mouse each time the pattern goes one way and when there is a variation, we produce a frog,' Teller said. 'This continues until there are quite a number of mice and frogs all over the place.'"

"Penn and Teller said they didn't want to talk down to the series' young viewers. 'Kids tend to be desperately curious,' Teller said. 'There is a certain element we are doing in this that is making the analogy between the arts and a magic trick. When you think of something like perspective in a painting, it really is a magic trick.'"

Episodes

References

External links

* 1992 American television series debuts 1990s American children's television series 1990s American television miniseries American children's education television series PBS Kids shows PBS original programming Television series about art Arts in the United States Visual arts education {{US-child-tv-prog-stub