Editing Sesame Street (section)

===Writing===
''Sesame Street'' has used many writers in its long history. As Peter Hellman wrote in his 1987 article in ''[[New York Magazine]]'', "The show, of course, depends upon its writers, and it isn't easy to find adults who could identify the interest level of a pre-schooler."<ref name="hellman-52"/> Fifteen writers a year worked on the show's scripts, but very few lasted longer than one season. [[Norman Stiles]], head writer in 1987, reported that most writers would "burn out" after writing about a dozen scripts.<ref name="hellman-52"/> According to Gikow, ''Sesame Street'' went against the convention of hiring teachers to write for the show, as most educational television programs did at the time. Instead, Cooney and the producers felt that it would be easier to teach writers how to interpret curriculum than to teach educators how to write comedy.<ref name="gikow-178">Gikow, p. 178</ref> As Stone stated, "Writing for children is not so easy."<ref name="gikow-178"/> Long-time writer Tony Geiss agreed, stating in 2009, "It's not an easy show to write. You have to know the characters and the format and how to teach and be funny at the same time, which is a big, ambidextrous stunt."<ref>Gikow, p. 174</ref>

[[File:Kaufman Univ Studio LIC jeh.JPG|right|200px|thumb|alt=Facade of a large white building, the left having large pillars beneath a strip with dozens of windows and the right three stories of large windows.|The [[Kaufman Astoria Studios]], where ''Sesame Street'' is taped]]

The show's research team developed an annotated document, or "Writer's Notebook," which served as a bridge between the show's curriculum goals and script development.<ref name="lesser-101">Lesser, p. 101</ref> The notebook was a compilation of programming ideas designed to teach specific curriculum points,<ref>Morrow, p. 82</ref> provided extended definitions of curriculum goals, and assisted the writers and producers in translating the goals into televised material.<ref>Palmer & Fisch in Fisch & Truglio, p. 10</ref> Suggestions in the notebook were free of references to specific characters and contexts on the show so that they could be implemented as openly and flexibly as possible.<ref>Palmer & Fisch in Fisch & Truglio, p. 11</ref>

The research team, in a series of meetings with the writers, also developed "a curriculum sheet" that described the show's goals and priorities for every season. After receiving the curriculum focus and goals for the season, the writers met to discuss ideas and story arcs for the characters, and an "assignment sheet" was created that suggested how much time was allotted for each goal and topic.<ref name="lesser-101"/><ref>{{cite book | last = Lesser | first = Gerald S. |author2=Joel Schneider  |editor= Shalom M. Fisch |editor2=Rosemarie T. Truglio | title = "G" is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street | url = https://archive.org/details/gisforgrowingthi00shal | url-access = registration | publisher = Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers | year = 2001 | location = Mahweh, New Jersey | page = [https://archive.org/details/gisforgrowingthi00shal/page/28 28] | isbn = 0-8058-3395-1 | chapter = Creation and Evolution of the ''Sesame Street'' Curriculum}}</ref> When a script was completed, the show's research team analyzed it to ensure that the goals were met. Then each production department met to determine what each episode needed in terms of costumes, lights, and sets. The writers were present during the show's taping, which for the first twenty-four years of the show took place in [[Manhattan]], and after 1992, at the [[Kaufman Astoria Studios]] in [[Queens]] to make last-minute revisions when necessary.<ref>{{cite news | last = Murphy | first = Tim | title = How We Got to 'Sesame Street' | work = New York Magazine | url = http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/61744/ | date = November 1, 2009 | access-date = July 8, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = How to Get to 'Sesame Street' at the Apollo Theater | publisher = New York City Mayor's Office | date = November 19, 2008 | url = http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/news_2008/110108_sesame_panel_recap.shtml | access-date = July 8, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Spinney | first = Caroll | author2 = Jason Milligan | title = The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers | publisher = Random House | year = 2003 | location = New York | page = [https://archive.org/details/wisdomofbigbirda00spin/page/3 3] | isbn = 0-375-50781-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/wisdomofbigbirda00spin/page/3 }}</ref>{{refn|Most of the first season was filmed at a studio near [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], but a strike forced their move to [[Teletape Studios]]. In the early days, the set was simple, consisting of four structures.<ref>Gikow, pp. 66–67</ref> In 1982, ''Sesame Street'' began filming at Unitel Studios on 57th Street, but relocated to Kaufman Astoria Studios in 1993, when the producers decided they needed more space.<ref>Gikow, pp. 206–207</ref>|group=note}}