On May 17, 2004, Mathew Shaw and his wife, Juleen, were wide-awake at 5 a.m., and they were nervous. The Peabody Awards would be announced that morning.
The George Foster Peabody Awards are often called the most prestigious in broadcast journalism and electronic media. Every year, board members from the University of Georgia’s journalism college select outstanding works by radio and television networks and stations, cable television organizations and individuals. Winners in the past include Edward R. Murrow, Rod Serling, Walter Cronkite and Oprah Winfrey.
Although the Shaws had submitted their children’s video, “Nursery Tap, Hip to Toe,” in 11 other broadcast competitions and won 10 of them, “this is the Peabody,” explains Mathew. “I didn’t even think we were in the same ballpark.” However, Juleen wouldn’t be discouraged. Mathew remembers how eerily persistent she was. “She kept saying, ‘Honey, I have a really weird feeling,’” he says.
At 6 a.m. the phone broke the silence. It was a Peabody board member calling with the good news. After that, the phone never stopped ringing all day, as NPR, the Museum of Television and Radio, TV producers and others contacted them.
The couple had been hesitant to even submit their video to the competition. The homemade project was done on a tight budget—costing only $10,000—and was the couple’s first experience with video production and children’s programming. Mathew, ’88, earned his degree in finance with a minor in English; Juleen has an extensive background in theater and dance. They’ve been professionally collaborating for a while, operating their own performing arts studio in Gig Harbor.
Bringing their areas of expertise to the project, the Shaws updated 30 nursery rhymes and set them to music in a 33-minute video targeted at 2- to 7-year-olds. They shot it in their studio using two of Juleen’s dance students and minimal backdrops and props. The actors were filmed only from the waist down. Some of this was out of necessity—the Shaws only hired two dancers—but it was also intentional.
“We were worried if the dancers’ faces were there, then the kids would get distracted,” explains Mathew.
“We wanted them to just see the way the body moves. lt turns out that it makes it easier for the kids to get up and dance without being distracted.”
Mathew knew he had a winner when the couple played it for their 7-year-old daughter Sophie and her friends. The group spontaneously jumped off the couch and started mimicking the movements. The Peabody board was equally enthusiastic, honoring them with one of 32 awards handed out in 2004. Other winners that year included the BBC News, 60 Minutes, the History Channel and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Currently the Shaws are trying to get their video sold in retail outlets. Mathew says his UW business training taught him to be patient. It’s a slow process crossing over to mainstream, he says. They have five distributors, and Mathew hopes national outlets such as Barnes and Noble will soon be carrying it. In the meantime, it is available at www.nurserytap.com.
The Shaws plan on doing many more nursery tap DVDs in the future. “There are over 500 nursery rhymes, not even including international ones from France and China,” says Mathew. “There are a lot of possibilities out there.”