Bunny Uriarte, host of a live Spanish-language show: "Some of my classmates at U of A can't believe I'm on TV."

courtesy of "The Bunny Show"

More Photos (1):

Other articles by Phil Villarreal:

Vaudeville lecturer expects to 'amaze' audience 'Conduit' leads new games lineup Local scene: Extra stands up to Johnny DeppAmphi grad, 33, picked for White House FellowshipTucson brothers create iPhone sensationDirector's layoff a blow to AZ Film OfficeEsplendor Resort offer: Stay now, pay later 'Ghostbusters' rocks the video game world Local scene: Production coordinator pushes Tucson localesNow playing: locally made studio films

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps

University of Arizona student Bunny Uriarte is a TV star. Currently, her live Spanish- language variety show, "The Bunny Show," airs at 6 p.m. on Cox Channel 97 and Comcast Channel 72, and the host dreams of making the big time. The 19-year-old talked with the Star in a phone interview.

"Yeah. Monday and Tuesday we're basically finding people to commit to being on the show Friday. My mom (Martha McGrath) pretty much does all the planning of the minutes and what will happen on the show. We also provide dinner for people at the end of the show. Cooking for that many people is stressful, too, but we get it done. We use all kinds of props from our house that we add to the show. My brother (Joseph) helps, too. He's a director. It's a family affair."

Any plans to take "The Bunny Show" to a national level?

"Eventually, I'd like to get onto a main network or real channel, but it's Access Tucson for now. It's a great, great learning experience. I'm learning a lot. We've sent tapes of the show out to a couple places, and I don't think we've heard back from all of them. We're also looking into getting our own Web site. We have a Web log we're using right now" (www.thebunny show.blogspot.com).

"It's just us pretty much making it up as we go. You get a good idea and go with it. It's kind of actually loosely modeled after the old Ed Sullivan show ("Toast of the Town"), where you have talent after talent after talent."

How has the show improved in the two years you've been doing it?

"We've advanced in a lot of ways. Before, it was hard to find a crew willing to commit to every week, but now we have a really dedicated crew that's all volunteers. People really into the show who want to make it happen. There's a lot more community involvement. We have young girls who are models, and dancers come on the show every week to dance. We train children in media arts, to use cameras and do lighting. They come into the studio and we send them on this course, and they help us with the show through hands-on training."

What do your friends think of what you do?

"My friends think it's weird. Some of my classmates at U of A can't believe I'm on TV. My close friends are used to it and very supportive."

What do you like most about the show?

"The audience dance is my favorite part of the show. It's "American Bandstand"-style. Everyone's all dancing. It's really cool. It's a family show."

Why is your show in Spanish?

"We do it in Spanish because that's the audience we're trying to reach. We know there's a huge Mexican-Hispanic population who doesn't see much done for them local-show-wise. That's kind of why we did it for them. Spanish makes more sense — they can understand it. We felt a need for this."