As a Gen X kid in the Boston area, Jen was but one Jennifer in a sea of Jennifers. She set herself apart by being “talkative” (in her college years this would earn her the moniker “leader of a distracting subgroup”) and reading inappropriately above her age level. When a well-meaning teacher took her lack of interest for lack of ability, it was revealed Jen just preferred her mother’s copies of Oliver Twist, The Collected Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and, questionably, The Stand, over second grade chapter books.
A circuitous route of interrupted education, failed romance, solo international travel, a sight-unseen cross-country move, and a string of punishing blue collar jobs set an obvious foundation for her career in… children’s television.
Lowly-Assistant-Jen, freshly back in NYC, worked on properties such as Max & Ruby, Octonauts, Mr. Men, Gaspard & Lisa, Olivia, and the Eric Carle estate. This, her “The Devil Wears Prada” era of copies, coffees, itineraries, and relentless dehumanization, introduced Jen to a lot of amazing people, one of whom gave her a call when there was an in on a little Disney puppet show called Johnny and the Sprites; a call that would change her life into #setlife.
The pay cut was worth it.
Assistant now to a man her own age, and production assistant to boot, Jen was exhausted but happy. It was in this studio she discovered that many of the crew and puppeteers split their time between Sprites, Broadway, and Sesame Street. The holy grail… and professional thorn in the side of that first Miranda Priestly boss.
Sprites led to an MTV gig where everyone seemed to know each other from The Sopranos and/or Chappelle’s Show. Jen ascended to script supervisor and worked on location sets around NYC, sitting side by side with the writer and producer. When the job was over, a new opportunity arose: Sesame Workshop was rebooting The Electric Company. Did she want to be one half of the two-woman script department?
HEY YOU GUUUUYS!
Thus began her 16 year tenure editing and managing scripts for Sesame Workshop. First for TEC, where she worked with incredible talents like Will Harper (The Good Place) and Lin Manuel Miranda (like he needs introductions). Then one day, she got called up to The Big Show as script supervisor for Sesame Street.
Her first day on set, back at the same studio Sprites had called home, Big Bird needed scripts run up to him. Jen’s coordinator handed them to her, “Go on, you take them.” Heart in her throat, Jen clutched the pages, trying not to let her sweaty hands leave any evidence.
Caroll Spinney stood by the iconic brownstone steps, surrounded by cameras and wires. The unmistakable bird legs were held up by suspenders that cut down his white t-shirt from his shoulders. The large, three-toed feet were covered by protective purple plastic booties to keep them clean between takes. He pushed his long white-blond hair behind his ear and beamed at her, taking the pages. Jen’s head swam as they shook hands, as she met his wife Debbie. And when she turned to leave–knowing how to best deliver the magic–he spoke to her now in Big Bird’s voice, “Thanks Jen! It’s so very nice to meet you. Welcome to Sesame Street.”
Through all the muppets and magic, the celebrities, the First and Second Ladies along with their secret service details, the edits and meetings and copies and paper cuts, Jen had a secret: she was writing.
10 years into her time at Sesame Street, the new Executive Producer announced a contest. It was an invitation to pitch a show for a Sesame character. Entries would be judged blindly. Winners would have their ideas developed into a short animatic.
She won.
This victory opened the door she’d been pressing up against her entire life. From the talkative little girl who filled notebooks with stories and typed “newspapers” on her mother’s manual typewriter, to the struggling college student working full time and writing a novel, to the woman shoved in a cubicle, relegated to silent note-taking and invisible script editing.
Jen has been writing for Sesame Street since season 47. Assignments started off small and slow, growing into steady show format pieces like Elmo’s World and Foodie Truck. Then, in February of 2024, she sat on set in the writer’s chair watching her first full street story episode being filmed. In August of 2025, that very episode featuring celebrity guest star Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye) finally premiered. “No Wrong Way to Be You” is an inspirational story of identity and self expression following Irish American Muppet Niamh (pronounced NEEV) as she is empowered to make a big change to her iconic auburn braid with the help of skilled friend JVN.
Writing is now Jen’s primary focus. She is currently finishing a manuscript, has a second in progress, and is open to script work. She is a member of the WGA East, and was even fortunate enough to sit on the bargaining committee negotiating the Sesame writers’ contract.
In addition to helping Sesame Street venture into the TikTok space, creating a library of content–much of which has enjoyed viral success, Jen can be found on her personal TikTok @genexistentialcrisis where she mostly talks about Muppets, writing, her weird and tiny generation, and surviving the ever-expanding hellscape.
Jen Capra lives in upstate New York with her husband, Omar (did we mention they met on Sesame Street?) in a very old house replete with creepy colonial basement and eternally frozen pipes.
She’s available for editing, review, script doctor work, and talks on media, media literacy, writing, production, and Muppets!
Jen Capra 