You might not think funny lady Amy Poehler would have time to devote to a project aimed at making young women feel great about themselves, but Ms. Poehler is indeed doing just that with Smart Girls At the Party.
Famous for movie roles in Baby Mama, her eight seasons on Saturday Night Live and her new series Parks and Recreation, Poehler partnered with long-time TV industry friends Meredith Walker and Amy Miles to create the series of web videos which “celebrates extraordinary girls who are changing the world by being themselves.”
Amy told the Huffington Post, “The idea [for the show] came out of us wishing we had a time machine so we could go back to the younger versions of ourselves and let them know it was gonna be OK. We wanted to do a show that we would have wanted to watch at that age. And we knew we wanted to have a dance party at the end. We basically started with the dance party and worked backwards.”
In the weekly web series (now on its second season on ON Network) Amy and friends interview a pre-teen girl with “a unique talent, community interest or point of view”, and they do it with a fun, quirky style that’s pure Poehler, and totally accessible to girls.
The actress and mom says of her subjects, “We looked for girls that had passions, girls who felt passionate about stuff, no matter what that was.” Each episode showcases an average “smart girl next door”, with guests including a young writer, a robot builder, a dancer and a gardener.
Without a doubt, Poehler, Walker and Miles provide positive, realistic role models to their audience, but its the guests who make Smart Girls At the Party one of the most inspiring and empowering shows for girls out there today.
When asked about the overall message of the show, Amy had this to say: “Be yourself! And then tell us about it! And then let’s dance!” What more can you say? Check out the “Cameron the Writer” episode below!
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