PRESENTED AT OUR 2015 FESTIVAL
Did you hear an odd thump?
What is that strange scratching sound?
Oh! That trunk is opening! Trunk Puppet lifts the lid off the Big Box of Life containing our creative spirit, pushing the boundaries of how we experience puppetry. By releasing the imposed control of the puppeteer, letting the puppet have a life of its own, what wonders and mysteries, hilarity and havoc will be unleashed? CAOS is proud to support the world premiere of Trunk Puppet, a brand new work, co-produced with Montreal’s Festival de Casteliers.
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop
In the blustery winter of 1999, with the dreaded Y2K looming, a gang of childhood friends huddled on a southern Alberta ranch, seeking mutual protection in case of apocalypse. With the simple reasoning the world will always need puppetry – even in the face of an economic and technological collapse— they founded the Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and premiered to a bunkhouse full of cowboys and Hutterites. Ever since those uncertain, savage days in the wilderness, the Old Trouts have toured the world with their puppets, written and illustrated books, crafted immense sculptures, taught eager young apprentices their secrets, and made films. The Old Trouts also form half of trance-blues band, Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir. Next up (if the world doesn’t end), a show in a Roman amphitheatre in Lyon, France.
CAMP
The Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry is a new institution based in Calgary. Dedicated to training and developing the stylized physical forms of performance and object manipulation, CAMP’s mandate fosters the next generation of artists inspired by these forms of theatre and storytelling. CAMP’s objective is to found a centre that will enable all of these activities. Join our CAMP! Email pete@theoldtrouts.org to pitch in.
Also join Artistic Director Peter Balkwill at the Breakfast with Sleepy Artists Panel and Anne Lalancette for the Moving and Making Puppets workshop.
