GENUS 394Wz is a poetic sci-fi allegory presented as a visually and musically rich hybrid puppet theatre–film production. Performed live by Wendy Passmore-Godfrey and featuring video performances by eight local Calgary actors, the work traces the mythic history of an imagined Genus and its species across deep time.
Guided by Aanigma, a timeless narrator, the species are revered, consumed, classified, engineered, abandoned, and more — asking how power, empathy, and ethical responsibility shape humanity’s treatment of “others.”
Wendy Passmore-Godfrey is a multidisciplinary artist—visual creator, writer, performer, and puppeteer—and the founder and Artistic Director of W.P. Puppet Theatre Society in Calgary/Moh’kinsstis. Since 1991, she has advanced puppetry as a tool for education, expression, and social change. Wendy has created and performed over twenty original productions, touring nationally and abroad. Her work blends scientific curiosity with imaginative storytelling, using puppetry as a transformative catalyst for empathy, connection, and meaningful dialogue.
Cost: $20 pp OR pay what you can ($15/$10/$5)
Run time: 55 minutes, Artist TalkBack and simple reception
Best for ages 18+
Venue: Burnswest Theatre at The Confluence (formerly Fort Calgary)
GENUS 394Wz is a pre-season event for the 2026 Festival of Animated Objects, kicking off two weeks of events that marry the timeless practice of mask and puppet arts with contemporary spaces, themes and ideas.
CONCEIVED AND CREATED BY
Karin Millson and Wendy Passmore-Godfrey
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2026 PRODUCTION
DIRECTOR and PRODUCER
Wendy Passmore- Godfrey
CINEMATOGRAPHER and POST PRODUCTION
Gil Ngai – Day One Media
CAST:
AANIGMA Wendy Passmore-Godfrey
MATRIARCH Michelle Warkentin
PRIESTESS Ashwini Mohan
HUNTER Andréus Wallace
SCHOLAR. Alèn Martel
INDUSTRIALIST Hussein Juma
PROMOTER. Jocelyn Mah
SCIENTIST Mike Tan
CYBORG Kaja Irwin
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Glenn Taylor, Rob Ward, Tam Godfrey, Sky Weir
THANK YOU TO SUPPORTERS:
W.P. Puppet Theatre Society and Karin Millson
Festival of Animated Objects (marketing)
GENUS 394Wz is an independent Wendy Passmore-Godfrey production