Putting the power of puppetry in the hands of the people.
History
The Puppet Power—Festival of Ideas is galvanized by Martin Robinson's words, an American puppeteer who works for the Jim Henson Company and is best known for his work on Sesame Street International.
“If you can make a difference in the world – how can you not do it?”
Or the hands of the people into puppets!
2025
Immigration
October 18-19 2025
Centre for Newcomers
INSPIRE, INFORM, GALVANIZE
Puppet Power 2025 explored the complex subject of immigration, offering a creative and innovative perspective through the lens of puppetry.
We were excited to share the amazing work being done by puppeteers from around the world, showcasing empathetic approaches, impactful interventions and inspiration as well as the challenges, failures and recoveries.
Highlights of Puppet Power 2025
(8 minutes)
2023
Materials
The magic and wonder of live puppet theatre is ephemeral. The moment is there, and then it is not.
The ‘sparks of animation’ live on only in the memory of the performer and audience. But at the same time, there is a materiality in the puppet. It is a physical object. Its very being is wrapped in a wood or fabric case. They can be ice puppets, brick puppets, plastic puppets or even puppets made from adult diapers.
The puppet’s character dictates the materials and animation methods chosen by the maker.
Its appearance influences the audience’s perceptions of its nature. “It is the ultimate ‘mark maker’ – a statement that we are here and we exist.”
Puppets, quite literally, are the stories of stuff.
How can puppets, ‘metaphors of matter,’ help us address our Material World?
2022
Non-Human Perspectives
Is it time for the non-human voice to be heard?
This one-day festival was presented in person and live-streamed from C-Space in Calgary.
It was inspired by Mind of a Snail, a shadow puppetry duo currently based out of Vancouver, BC. Their large-scale shadow puppetry is quirky, colourful and beautiful, like early animation performed live before your eyes. Chloe and Jessica lead a wonderful Overhead Projector Shadow Puppetry Workshop.
We also hosted a fascinating online conversation with panellists Paulette Richards, Clem Martini, Larry Kaputska and Matt Smith hosted by Wendy Passmore-Godfrey, where we asked, “Is it time for the non-human voice to be heard?”
In the evening, they performed Caws & Effect, a modern fable told using handmade layered projections, puppetry, masks, and an original musical score.
2022
Celebration
Puppet Power 2022, both the online Festival of Ideas program and the in-person Family Puppet Festival Day, had many different aspects that resonated with many people, as indicated in the surveys and the smiles on their faces.
This is indeed a celebration that carries us into planning the next iterations!
As we have in past years, we engaged an ‘Animateur’ to ‘animate the ideas and inspiration.’ Jeremiah Bartrum, Ottawa, rose to this unusual challenge with thoughtful, insightful observations.
We celebrate in the face of the fears and dark forces of our time, knowing that we belong to a community of artists, puppeteers, seekers, and peacemakers. We are confident that our work, however intimate or grand in scale, has the power to change the world
We celebrate in the face of fears and dark forces of our time…
2020
Puppets Go Existential
Existentialism is a philosophical inquiry concerned with the experience of being a thinking, feeling, acting, and living human. It examines existence and questions the meaning of life.
This year’s theme was chosen against a backdrop of Fridays for Future, a rise of machine learning and algorithms, the Mars exploration program, genetic engineering on mosquitos, Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, nanotechnology, and burning Amazon jungles.
The year 2020 suggested a special time for clarity to examine some of the existential considerations of our time: Climate Action, Artificial Intelligence, Culture & Identity and Hope & Human Agency.
Then a new existential event brought even greater urgency to examine our vulnerabilities and spurred our decision to offer our biennial conference 100% online.
2018
Story
Diving into the power of transformation of story.
The very successful weekend inspired, galvanized, encouraged, and mentored over 150 attendees to think deeply about ‘the story.’
Experiencing the transformative power of all things, living and non-living, to tell stories – including stories and songs that have been told on this land for thousands of years by our first peoples.
2016
Connecting Generations
Evidence that puppets bring together people of all ages.
Two keynote speakers, Karrie Marshall of Creativity in Care (Scotland) and Eric Bass of Sandglass Theater (USA), moved the audience to tears as they discussed their work with dementia and Alzheimer's participants.
Sharon Bayly (Vancouver), Marla Limousin (Courtney) and Mudfoot Theatre (Calgary) were also wonderful presenters.
Brief Notes
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Martin Robinson inspired us as our keynote and master class presenter, and Trish Leeper discussed the impactful “Tale of Teeka.” Other impactful speakers included Puppeteers without Borders, Lynn Jeffries, Catherine Hahn, Peter Balkwill, and Pam Atkinson.
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Featured Gary Friedman speaking on Puppets in Apartheid and a giant puppet parade in which the puppets themselves presented a Manifesto based on the UN Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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Judith O’Hare presented The Literacy Connection as a keynote.
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It featured an exhibit of Kathy Foley’s puppets, a performance by Puppetmongers, and a workshop by Chinese Theatre Works.
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Mickey Aronoff presents “A Soul in the Palm of Your Hand” as the keynote.
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Matthew Bernier spoke and led wonderful workshops on puppets used in therapeutic interventions.
