Welcome to the first in a series of Roarbots interviews…with a twist. We’re calling it 5 Questions with a 5-Year-Old. The idea is that Zoey will sit down with various people she’s identified (or who are linked to interests she’s identified) and ask them five simple questions she wants to know the answers to.

She comes up with all the questions. Seriously. I may help her “refine” some of them, but she comes up with each on her own. Don’t worry; I’m not surreptitiously interviewing anyone through my 5-year-old daughter.

We were lucky enough to sit down with Alan Muraoka as her first interviewee. Alan is perhaps most famous for his role on Sesame Street where he’s been the owner of Hooper’s Store since 1998. Zoey was absolutely thrilled to learn that “Alan” on Sesame Street is also named Alan in real life!

Zoey couldn’t have been more excited. And as it turns out, Alan Muraoka is every bit as friendly, charming, and approachable (not to mention patient) as his on-screen persona.

Alan comes from a long background in theater and on Broadway. And he continues to be extremely active on stage, both as a performer and director. It was this latter role that brought him our way. He is currently directing a performance of Once on This Island at Olney Theatre Center in Olney, MD. Read our review of the show here.

After the performance, Zoey sat down with Alan and cut her teeth on the whole “journalism” thing. Not bad for a preschooler…

Zoey: What’s it like being on TV?

Alan: What’s it like being on TV? I have to tell you, it’s one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. Do you like Sesame Street? It’s fun, right? As much fun as you have watching it, I have fun making it. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s so exciting, so I love it.

[Alan asks Zoey about the stuffed polar bear she’s holding. This polar bear has literally been around the world with Zoey and goes everywhere with her.]

Zoey: [freezes and forgets her second question]

Alan: That’s OK. That’s what happens to me when I try to memorize my lines. And I’m like, “I don’t know!”

Zoey: What was it like when you were working at Disney World?

[While enrolled in the Theatre Department at UCLA, Alan took a semester off to be one of 12 “kids of the kingdom” at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in 1982. This was a singing and dancing group that performed in front of Cinderella’s Castle five times a day.]

Alan: When I worked at Disney World? You know, Disney World was my first professional job, and it was so great. And the best part was when we were rehearsing…sometimes we would rehearse late at night, and then we got to go and sneak around and check out all the rides at night. We got to go sneak in the back. And then sometimes when we rehearsed in the morning, they were testing the rides, and they would let us go on the rides before anyone else. So I got to go on Space Mountain before anybody, before they opened to the public. So it was really fun. Again, it was such a great job.

Zoey: Can the puppets [on Sesame Street] hear you?

Alan: Can the puppets hear me? Yeah, of course!

Zoey: Because they’re really furry. Aren’t they [the performers inside] hot?

Alan: Are they hot? The puppets? Oh, you mean the people inside the puppets? Sometimes. Sometimes they’re a little hot, but for the most part, they’re good. They’re really good. Did you like the little shadow puppets we had tonight [during Once on This Island]?

Zoey: Yeah!

Alan: Yeah, they’re pretty cool, right?

Zoey: In the play, how was there another boy singing when he was already wrapped up in the blanket?

[There is a scene in Once on This Island where a main character is lying down under a blanket. At some point, the actor slips off stage unnoticed and walks back on during a musical number. Zoey thought he was in two places at once.]

Alan: Oh, that was the magic of theater! The magic of theater! That was our magic moment. Did it work? [Zoey nods.] What else?

Zoey: What did you want to be when you were 5?

Alan: Wow, when I was five…I knew I loved…even at that age, I knew I loved to perform, but I didn’t think I wanted to be an actor yet. What do you want to be?

Zoey: A paleontologist.

Alan: A paleontologist? I think at that time, surprisingly, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I loved animals so much; I wanted to be a veterinarian. But I realized I didn’t have the smarts for the school. [laughs] No, that’s not true. I just loved performing so much. That’s what I wanted to do. And that’s why I’m here working on this show.

Zoey: Thank you!

Alan: You’re welcome. Tell your friends; come see the show! Tell your friends you had a good time!

Once on This Island is currently playing at the Olney Theatre Center in Olney, MD, until May 4. Tickets are on sale through the box office and Goldstar.

Sesame Street is currently in its 44th season(!) and airs daily on PBS. Tune in to check out the awesome, super friendly, and incredibly charming owner of Hooper’s Store!