'Legendary Dudas' show creator hails from Batavia

In the Dr. Seuss book "My Book About Me" there is a page where you can write what you want to be when you grow up.

At the age of 6, Kevin Jakubowski wrote "Movie Maker." Decades later, Batavia native Jakubowski is not just a movie maker, he's a published author, a script writer and kids' show producer.

His latest venture, "Legendary Dudas," premiered July 9 and appears Saturday nights on Nickelodeon. The show centers on two brothers who end up in the same seventh-grade class in middle school.

"I was in one of the last classes to attend the old junior high and one of the first classes to graduate from the middle school," said Jakubowski. "So I drew on that experience." Batavia Middle School, which Jakubowski attended, is now known as Sam Rotolo Middle School.

He incorporated ideas from both schools in the story. He also went back to school to do a little research.

"I spent a week in Mr. Holm's seventh-grade class to see how middle school kids interact," says Jakubowski.

It's not unusual that Jakubowski chose Dave Holm's seventh-grade class. Holm was the writer's favorite teacher of all time.

"Mr. Holm made writing cool. It wasn't just about proper spelling or punctuation," Jakubowski said. "It was about taking chances and being funny and different with what you put down on paper. He opened up a whole new world for me."

Even though the show's main characters spend a lot of time in the principal's office, Jakubowski never had any firsthand experience there.

"I'd like to think that I was smart enough to avoid that," he said. "But I was probably too much of a wimp to get in trouble."

Six months as a substitute teacher in Batavia schools also provided him with plenty of ideas.

"When you're a sub, you're like a fly on the wall," he added. "You can really observe what's going on in the classroom."

The world of television isn't an easy one to navigate. It involves pitching ideas, writing scripts, working on pilots. Even at that point a show can be dropped or changed completely.

"Eighty to 90 percent of shows never make it to the air," Jakubowski said. "I originally pitched it to Nickelodeon as "Homeroom" about a younger brother who is smart and moves up a grade and an older brother who struggles and moves down a grade. Adult audiences liked it, but kids felt sorry for the older brother."

At that point the show went back to the drawing board and a new pilot was made with completely different actors.

"That took two years and when you're working with kids, they can change a lot, so the whole show was recast," Jakubowski said

To create the 12 episodes, Jakubowski hired a team of talented writers, including Dave Ihlenfeld, a Naperville native.

"We had never met before," he said. "We had a lot of the same experiences growing up, so that helped with writing. "

Jakubowski feels fortunate that he is working. Many writers in Los Angeles struggle in writing scripts, getting an agent, or pitching an idea. Luckily, Jakubowski is busy. In addition to writing and producing "Legendary Dudas," he is writing "School of Rock" and "Bizaardvark" for Disney.

He is very proud of the "Legendary Dudas" episode airing this weekend, "The Great Cricket Caper." It's his favorite.

"I hope we get a good audience for it," he added. "I think people will find it funny."

Welcoming a German choir:

Batavian Kellie Tratar, is also looking for an audience.

After her daughter, Emily, toured Europe with her chorus from Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Tratar took on the assignment of making arrangements for the exchange choir from Germany to come here.

"This is an award-winning high school choir from Luebeck, Germany," Kellie Tratar said. "They will be performing a free concert for the public at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 320 Franklin St. in Geneva. We're hoping for a good audience for them."

The choir sings a diverse range of music from Brahms and Bach to modern composers and performs a cappella pieces as well as symphonic choral pieces with different orchestras.

The choir will be visiting the Tri-Cities area from July 18-20, They will be staying in homes here and seeing what life is like here. Hopefully, our communities will give them a friendly welcome and a good audience for their concert.

• Email Batavia columnist Sammi King at king60510@aol.com.