Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (Feb. 2007) | Photo: Anya Garrett

You play "Shock," a beat-boxing employee of the Electric Diner. Describe your character. What sort of direction did you receive?
Where the old Electric Company was essentially a montage of short form pieces, the new show is much more story-line driven. In this narrative section, I play an employee of The Electric Diner, a meeting place and common ground for exposition and crazy hijinks. Elsewhere in the plot, I have cameo-type appearances where I assist the core cast of four in overcoming literacy obstacles and solving the puzzles. Here, I'm more or less playing a more joyful version of myself, a man of very few words and a tendency towards verbal sound effects and vocal percussion over sentences.

Will the new Electric Company look anything at all like the original?
In every show, the narrative cuts away to short-form pieces similar to the old-school style with skits, sketches, animations and music videos. It's here that I really get a chance to play. Three times a show, I'm part of this green-screen world of animation and I interact with letters and beatbox with words and various guests. These pieces are very curriculum heavy and a key opportunity to teach rules of language almost subliminally. I get to play characters like a secret agent, a butcher, and a DJ. We're excited about using the power of self-expression, comedy and music to give kids permission to do the same.

Why "Shock" and not "Shockwave"?
I can't be known as "Shockwave" in the show because Viacom owns the name, from The Transformers ... of whom, ironically, I was named after (named incorrectly -- it was actually after the character of "Soundwave").

According to the Times article, "It is [Shockwave's] D.J. routine that may be mimicked on playgrounds next year." Does that kinda freak you out?
What they're referring to is a recurring skit similar to the old-school Electric Company silhouettes of faces saying ch, ange, change. In my version, I'm paying homage to those silhouettes and to the DJ in using each turntable as half a word as I sound them out in time to a beat. Using this turntablism derivative is a common device used in beatboxing performances, but never in lessons of grammar. I'm excited to use this power of hip hop to educate. I do hope it catches on, especially if it makes teachers try it in classrooms... that'll be funny.

Freestyle Love Supreme in Edinburgh, Scotland (August 2005)

Do you stick to a tight script, or do you get to chime in with improvised ideas a la Freestyle Love Supreme?
A lot of my green screen material is performance based and as long as the strict curriculum and graphic guidelines are met, I can improvise as much as I want. In some pieces, I'm the master of letters and words and in others they sometimes get the best of me so it gives me a fun status game to play. In the narrative, we sometimes experiment with lines to make them feel more natural and free but generally the script is set, especially since that's where we teach vocabulary.

You're also playing "Paul the Gorilla," one of the few elements of the original show they've decided to bring back. Tell us what it's like to get paid to (literally) wear a monkey suit.
In my lifetime, I've worn the suit of many a character. Chicken, Homer Simpson, The Pink Panther, a giant olive, a giant lightbulb, Stewie from Family Guy, a superhero bird and dog, and finally, my very first costumed characters Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Talk about bringing it full circle. It is with years of professional experience and the utmost honor, grace and tradition that I embody Paul the Gorilla. Oh but when we share a scene, some other guy plays him.

Does anyone ever accidentally curse on set? We're thinking that if you're shooting a children's program, everything has to be above board even when the cameras aren't rolling. What's it like to work on a kid's program?
I can only compare it to the set of Martha Stewart Living (I was a PA) and this is in fact quite different and more above board.

Short pieces featured Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and cast members from the show. According to Wikipedia, Marvel allowed producers from Children's Television Workshop to use Spider-Man for free.

What's your shooting schedule like? We're imagining because it's educational and for kids, you get to work by 8AM, have recess after lunch and then the bell rings at 3:30PM. ... we're probably wrong, though.
Ha ha, not so much like that... call times are 5:45 am some days and wrap by 7 the latest. The food is delicious, the crew amazing and the whole thing usually feels like recess. However on those long days...sometimes more like detention.

The Electric Company is scheduled for release in January 2009, and we understand show promotion will be heavy. Are you ready for your face to be plastered all over the city?
I have full faith that promotion will be awesome and I'll be portrayed in a great way as will the rest of the fantastic cast. The show is funded through public grants (and viewers like you) so thankfully it won't have ridiculous advertising but I do think it could change the way 6-9 year olds see me on the street.

And we see that Freestyle has some shows next month at Comix (Aug. 4th and 11th). Do you still have time to throw down with your boys? Bring us up to speed on everyone (if you can).
We're all a little crazy with In the Heights cleaning up at the TONYs and this filming schedule. The good news is that we're all still working together on a regular basis even if not on the same stage. Tommy Kail, our director, works with Bill Sherman and Chris Jackson on the music for the show as well as with me on my material. James Inglehart has a featured "Silent E" song. Anthony Venenziale helped in the artistic development and is featured in a segment rapping about letter combinations. Utkarsh will be a featured role and Lin-Manuel will be in some of my segments as a guest star rapping about grammar. In the end, we're all happy about our success but the real magic happens during an FLS show. I'm thankful that every now and again for about an hour, we get the chance to forget about all this TV and Broadway business and rock a good ole' fashioned make-em-up hip-hop improv comedy show.

--Don't miss Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan and the rest of Freestyle Love Supreme perform at Comix, Mondays, Aug. 4 & Aug. 11.