Mermaid Theatre 

In the quiet town of Windsor, Nova Scotia lives a beautiful puppetry company called Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. Its simple storefront facade and understated theatre hide a fantastic establishment of creative spaces, mentorship opportunities, and a home base for Mermaids' many touring teams.

Created in 1972, under the leadership of Evelyn Garbary, Sara Lee Lewis, and Tom Miller, Mermaid sought to bring the performing arts to rural children in Nova Scotia. Fourty eight years later, Mermaid now tours the world, bringing joy to children on every continent.

Mermaid Theatre is renowned for its creative storytelling of classical childrens' works like the Hungry Hungry Caterpillar, The Confused Chameleon, Guess How Much I Love You, and so, so much more. 

I was fortunate to take part in the 2019 Animation program hosted by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. This program introduced artists to Hand Puppets, Found Puppets, Little and Big Dough Boys, Table Top, and 3/4 Puppets. Artists also created a puppet and a show during their stay. 

Excited, I packed my suitcase into my car and arrived in the friendly village of Windsor on April 15th, 2019 with 12 other artists to begin our puppetry education. Over three weeks, I explored a new medium of creation under the watchful gaze of Jim Morrow and his team. His lifetime of puppetry boiled down to bite sized information. In early May, I returned with a new dragon puppet under one arm and a head full of ideas in another.

Animotion was supported finically by UNIMA and Mermaid through their scholarship funding. I am honoured to be the 2019 recipient of this award. A huge thank you to UNIMA and Mermaid for their continued support in puppetry creation.