by KRISTIN MORENCY GOLDMAN, senior advisor, strategic communications, The Toy Association
What do an actress, a “boss baker” entrepreneur, and a world-famous sculptor have in common? They all managed to turn their innate love of play as kids into successful careers as adults.
Tune into “Once Upon a Playtime,” a new podcast series from the Genius of Play, to get inspired by the true stories of Alicia Silverstone, an actress best-known for her role in the movie Clueless; Melissa Ben-Ishay, CEO and co-founder of Baked by Melissa; Nathan Sawaya, a world-famous artist who sculpts with LEGOs; and other guests.
“‘Once Upon a Playtime’ is a podcast made for parents and kids about the serious value of playing around,” says Anna Yudina, senior director of marketing initiatives at The Toy Association. “Each episode features a well-known personality or celebrity who shares how a toy or play experience from their childhood shaped them.”
A hybrid between Dr. Seuss’ whimsical, narrator-driven storytelling and Pixar Animation Studios’ “movies for kids with messages for grown-ups,” the podcast presents a rare joint listening opportunity for parents and kids. Each episode is roughly 15 minutes long and offers a glimpse at how the creative, storytelling, artistic, and STEAM skills developed through childhood play can set the tone for the rest of a kid’s life — and career success.
As a young kid, Silverstone engaged in symbolic play when she built a house for her Barbies out of books. Symbolic play builds the foundation for pretend play, aka make-believe, another word for acting. As an older kid, she regularly put on shows for her family and friends. When she was a tween battling tough emotions, Silverstone leveraged her love of make-believe play to express herself through acting.
“Acting was a form of therapy for me, and I became a theater nerd. … You take all of your emotions and your feelings and just shove it into this world that’s not yours. And I found it really exciting,” Silverstone says in the podcast.
For her part, Ben-Ishay was a true child of the ’80s who was told to “go outside and play” whenever she was bored. Engaging in unstructured play at a young age helped her develop self-esteem, self-discipline, and self-determination — the qualities of any successful entrepreneur. As an adult, after getting fired from a job she hated as a media planner, Ben-Ishay started her own company, Baked by Melissa, which became a massive success.
“I’ll be the first one to tell you that what I do for a living, creating these bite-size cupcakes that make people happy, it’s like arts and crafts, but even better, because I get to eat my project,” Ben-Ishay jokes in her episode.
She now has two daughters of her own and sometimes all three of them bake together — but first, she says, she makes sure they discover all the ingredients for silver linings, including the upside to life’s many disappointments.
“Life is hard. Your [Magna-Tile] tower’s going to get knocked down … But you build it again, and it’s even better than it was before,” Ben-Ishay says.
To hear the rest of these inspiring stories and more, you can subscribe to “Once Upon a Playtime” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever podcasts are found.
Upcoming guests include Danielle Prescod, author; Stephanie Klemons, Broadway choreographer and performer; and Simon Sinek, author, thought leader, and inspirational speaker.
To learn more about the many benefits of play, visit thegeniusofplay.org.
