{"id":32438,"date":"2022-12-04T07:30:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T15:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000029005"},"modified":"2022-12-04T15:53:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T23:53:05","slug":"long-beach-native-stars-alongside-michelle-obama-in-new-netflix-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/long-beach-native-stars-alongside-michelle-obama-in-new-netflix-series","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach native stars alongside Michelle Obama in new Netflix series"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you flip through your various streaming services in search of some family-friendly programming this holiday season, you may land on a new Netflix release with a familiar face in a starring role.<\/p>\n

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is one of the stars (and producers) of a newly-released children\u2019s series, \u201cWaffles + Mochi\u2019s Restaurant\u201d, and while you may not be able to see Mrs. Obama\u2019s co-star on screen, you may just bump into her right here in Long Beach.<\/p>\n

Sarah Berman stars as Waffles in the series, serving as both the voice and the puppeteer who brings one of the title characters to life. It\u2019s a dream role for Berman\u2014who still lives right here in her hometown\u2014but one that keeps her out of the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Quite literally, in fact, as she spends most of her day on the floor, contorted in awkward positions while handling her puppet and delivering lines outside of the camera\u2019s view. As Berman explains, it\u2019s a rare opportunity in the puppeteering world to be given a speaking role while also animating a puppet, but it\u2019s a role she seems uniquely suited for.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of us in puppetry will perform the actual art of manipulation with the puppets, but we don’t always do the voice,\u201d Berman said. \u201cThey’ll hire voice actors or celebrities or whoever, so for speaking roles in film and TV, there\u2019s only like a handful of them. Especially for a female performer, too, which is what makes this so special to me. There aren’t a lot of female puppeteers in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berman notes that female puppeteers can often be overlooked given how physically taxing the demands are on set. Puppeteers are asked to lie on the floor, often in awkward and uncomfortable positions, support and manipulate their puppets, and sometimes find creative ways to move during a scene.<\/p>\n

If Waffles goes for a walk during a scene, for instance, Berman would be right underneath, crab walking on a rolling dolly to create that illusion. All the while she\u2019s holding a puppet above her head for hours on end.<\/p>\n

\u201cPuppets look very light, but a lot of Muppet-style puppets are actually quite heavy,\u201d Berman explained. \u201cEven if you do an exercise where you’re just holding your hand above your head for 15 minutes, you’re gonna feel that. And it comes in surprising ways and surprising muscle groups all over your body that you didn’t know you could be sore in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading up to her debut as Waffles, Berman\u2019s credits included shows with the Aquarium of the Pacific, Disney\u2019s \u201cThe Little Mermaid Live\u201d, and an appearance\u2014somewhat ironically\u2014as Melania Trump in the FOX series \u201cLet\u2019s Be Real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berman actually auditioned for the role of Waffles prior to the character\u2019s debut on \u201cWaffles + Mochi\u201d in 2021, and was \u201ccrushed\u201d to not get the part. However, the role was re-opened prior to this year\u2019s spinoff series, \u201cWaffles + Mochi\u2019s Restaurant\u201d and she jumped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaffles + Mochi\u201d is one of the first television shows produced by Higher Ground Productions, founded in 2018 by former president Barack Obama and former first lady, Michelle. The show was created not just to entertain children and families, but to educate them about healthy eating.<\/p>\n

Along with Partnership for A Healthier America, the show has helped distribute over one million meals across the country with its Pass the Love Campaign, providing ingredients and recipes for families to cook healthy food at home.<\/p>\n

When Berman thinks back to meeting Michelle Obama on set for the first time, she remembers it like a dream. Not only was it Berman\u2019s birthday, but it was also International Women\u2019s Day. Quite a time to meet one of the most prominent female leaders in the world and one of Berman\u2019s personal heroes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Former First Lady Michelle Obama in a new Netflix series “Waffles + Mochi Restaurant.” Courtesy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOh my gosh, you’re not going higher than the Obamas, that\u2019s as good as it gets,\u201d said Berman, still bursting with excitement. \u201cI can’t think of a single person on the planet that I would want to work with more than her, and she’s the real deal. She could not be any more lovely, and real, and just a delight to work with. She’s so funny, and a lot of the stuff we did was off the cuff. We did a lot of banter back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berman\u2019s journey to that moment started eight years ago with an open casting call at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. They were starting a summer educational puppet program and it caught Berman\u2019s eye. She decided to quit her job at Nordstrom and pursue this new opportunity in puppetry, where Berman quickly realized she was a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of found myself having a knack for it,\u201d she remembered. \u201cIt’s sort of a sport, if that makes sense\u2014you have to be flexible, and comfortable with being in really tight spaces. A lot of times we tell people, if you’re doing puppetry, it shouldn’t feel good if you’re doing it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up the daughter of a teacher and a businessman, Berman didn\u2019t have a direct connection to showbiz, but she did have a natural gift as an entertainer. She describes herself as \u201cthe woman of a thousand voices\u201d but that had only really served as a way to entertain her friends and family.<\/p>\n

She remembers putting on performances for her parents in the living room, using sock puppets or beanie babies as her characters.<\/p>\n

Not until that summer at the aquarium did she discover her love of puppeteering and find a way to spin her voice acting skills into a career. The show grew rapidly under the name \u201cPacific Pals\u201d and Berman fell in love not just with her new career, but also with her co-creator, Luke Richmond. They worked closely together on the show, creating memorable characters using puppets created by Swazzle, Inc.<\/p>\n

Berman describes their puppet romance as \u201cthe most wholesome kind of love\u201d and the couple is set to be married next June.<\/p>\n

“Long Beach is where it all started, in many ways,\u201d Berman said. \u201cThe aquarium is like a pillar to our community, so I\u2019m super grateful that they let me cut my teeth there, so to speak. It was like doing stand up comedy for kids every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her career has continued to progress after wrapping the first season of \u201cWaffles + Mochi\u2019s Restaurant.\u201d Berman recently finished shooting a show for Nickelodeon which is expected to air next spring on their streaming platform, Noggin.<\/p>\n

More locally, Berman and her co-creators of \u201cPacific Pals\u201d have designed a float that will feature all the Pacific Pals characters and will be included during both the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade and the Daisy Lane Parade this month.<\/p>\n

A graduate of Wilson High School, Berman has an outspoken affinity for Long Beach and has no desire to leave for the bright lights of Hollywood. She may not get the face time on camera that most actors crave, but that\u2019s just fine by her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get to perform, you get to do all the things that spark joy, but you get to keep your anonymity,\u201d Berman explained. \u201cWhich allows me to stay in beautiful Long Beach and be surrounded by my neighbors; and not every person needs to know what I’m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah Berman stars as Waffles in the series, serving as both the voice and the puppeteer who brings one of the title characters to life. It\u2019s a dream role for Berman\u2014who still lives right here in her hometown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":72202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[32060,1285],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[31922],"class_list":["post-32438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-michelle-obama","tag-television","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32438"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=32438"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=32438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}