PATRICK ROBERTS
Co-Creator, Producer

Pat Roberts, a Los Angeles-based fine artist, loves crafting with his two young children.

One day, after reading an entertaining story about an owl, his children wanted to make one. This was the beginning of MAGPIE TIME. Rather than go out and buy supplies or a ready-made kit, Pat thought there had to be a simpler, more environmentally responsible, and less “packaged” way to spend time on an art project with his kids. So that morning’s coffee cups, lids, sleeves and tray holder became the first owl. The kids helped assemble the owl and then they each painted them according to their own vision.

Simple, unplugged, reusable entertainment was born.

Pat grew up in Richmond, Virginia and attended Virginia Commonwealth University Art School. He moved out to Los Angeles in the 1990s to work in animation on a Nickelodeon show. Once in Los Angeles, he met other artists, animators, writers and actors among those were Maggie Wheeler, Ric Heitzman, Cori Stern and Helen Bartlett. The MAGPIE TIME group was born.

RIC HEITZMAN
Co-Creator, Director, Production Designer

Born in Texas, Ric studied drawing and printmaking at East Texas State University and later earned his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was there he first began to combine his love for lively, bombastic imagery via film and sound. His talent as an artist has fostered a unique career as a designer, director, cartoonist and puppeteer.

Ric has garnered three EMMY awards for production design on PEE WEE’S PLAYHOUSE, the internationally syndicated children’s television series. In addition, he has directed music videos, commercials and film. Some of his commercial clients are: Atlantic Records, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Sprint and Chili’s Restaurants.

Ric has mastered many forms of animation and puppetry. He directed for the stop-motion animated series the PJ’s starring Eddie Murphy for FOX-TV. He co-wrote and directed 15 Flash animated shorts, interactive games and two series THE BANANA SPLITS and PINK DONKEY GOES TO JAPAN all for Cartoon Network.

As a 20 year member of the Screen Actors Guild, Ric has supplied voices and puppeteered a number of characters for Cartoon Network, Children’s Television Workshop, MTV, CBS-TV and Paramount Pictures. He also has enjoyed teaching animation and printmaking and has lectured extensively.

Ric designs from his studio in Los Angeles where he continues to paint, sculpt, write and direct.

MAGGIE WHEELER
Actress

Maggie Wheeler is best known here and around the world as the beloved and annoying character of “Janice” on NBC’s hit series FRIENDS. She has enjoyed memorable guest appearances and recurring roles on many wonderful comedies including: EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, SEINFELD, WILL & GRACE, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, THE WAR AT HOME and many more.

When not busy making people laugh, Maggie has appeared in many dramatic series. Her credits include: E.R., FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, CSI, THE X FILES, LA LAW and many others.

Maggie also has an impressive list of credits in animation for her voice characterizations: LILO & STITCH, PEPPER ANN, HIGGLY TOWN HEROES, JUSTICE LEAGUE and BATMAN.

Along side her acting career, Maggie Wheeler is the mother of two wonderful daughters aged 8 and 13. Since childhood, Maggie has been an avid crafter and maker of things. Her own children have grown up in the same creative environment. No box, container, or scrap of fabric leaves the house unchanged. Maggie hopes to share the magic of transforming the world around us.

HELEN BARTLETT
Producer

Helen has produced feature films such as NORTH COUNTRY for Warner Bros., UNTAMED HEART for MGM/UA, and A HOME OF OUR OWN for Grammercy. In television, she has produced numerous films for Showtime such as BEYOND THE CALL, THE FIXER, IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES and THE LAST CALL.

Helen is also a journalist and published poet. She worked for THE PARIS REVIEW, where she continues to be a contributing editor, and has written articles for LOS ANGELES magazine and THE LOS ANGELES TIMES. She is the chairman of the Associate Board for The American Public Service Awards which gives out awards annually to Americans who have done deeds of great public service.

Born in Washington, DC and currently living in Los Angeles, Helen graduated with honors from Trinity College where she won several awards for poetry and fiction. When not working in the entertainment world, Helen prints on a 1889 Chandler & Price letterpress and raises Bantam chickens.

CORI STERN
Writer

Cori Stern is a writer, producer, and story/character consultant for new media, theater, television, and film.

She began her career as a playwright, specializing in children’s musical theater. Her first play, MONSTERS, was a musical collaboration with a variety of artists including Willie Nelson. She was Writer-in-Residence at the O Henry Museum in Austin, Texas for three years, where she worked with hundreds of children in creative writing workshops. She founded the Texas Young Playwrights Festival, which earned her work the recognition from the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanity as an “Innovative Arts Leader.”

Following a move into television, Cori created numerous series for children and teens, including BREAKER HIGH starring Ryan Gosling. She went on to head live-action teen and tween series development for Fox Family Channel and ABC Family. In this capacity, she was the network consultant on Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s series SO LITTLE TIME.

In the realm of new media, Cori has worked as a story and character consultant for Electronic Arts and as a writer for Kaibridge’s SAVE THE DINOS, an educational video game which won the 2007 Editor’s Choice Award from Children’s Technology Review. Currently Cori has several film projects in development, as both a screenwriter and producer.

MIKE SIMPSON
Theme Song Written and Composed by

Best known as one-half of the Dust Brothers, Mike has been composing and producing music for almost three decades. He began writing and producing hits for Tone-Loc and Young MC in the mid-to-late 1980s and in 1989 co-wrote and produced the Beastie Boys’ groundbreaking album, “Paul’s Boutique”. His work continued in the 1990s creating Grammy nominated hits for such groups as the Rolling Stones, Hanson (“Mmbop”) and Beck’s landmark album, “Odelay”.

Mike has gone on to compose and produce music for several films including FIGHT CLUB, THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE, ROAD TRIP, ZOOLANDER and FREAKY FRIDAY.