About Us
A simple and brief description of the page following, which will be shadowy good fun. It can be about this long. Well, a little bit longer.
The Story of
Shadow Puppet Theatre
We're fun, seriously... fun!
Shadow Puppet Theatre started in 2006 when Arlene was a drinking a glass of red wine after a very bad day. Her now business partner Mat, called her about half way through her glass and asked "what would happen if you combined Shakespeare with Shadow Puppets?" Mat was very bubbly and excited about this possibility and since Arlene was tired and wanted to be left alone to wallow in her misery, she said vaguely that she had a grant application form for the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund and that she would apply for the grant and if the grant was successful, then she'd help Mat try the idea. She then made an excuse to get off the phone with Mat and continued to mope. She did however keep her promise and submit the grant to the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund.
The grant was, of course, successful and when she found out, she phoned Mat and asked him "if he was sure that he could do all that Shadow Puppet stuff we put in the grant, because now we have to." Mat assured her that he was (more or less) and so Shadow Puppet Theatre was born. Our first production was Macbeth in 2006 and since then we have never looked back. During the process of creating Macbeth Arlene fell in love with Shadows and Shadow Puppets and she has been a much less grumpy and much more enthusiastic participant in the company than on that initial day when she was sitting on the porch with her red wine (at least she is most of the time).
In fact, she is now the Artistic Director / Producer of Shadow Puppet Theatre. Mat has taken on the role of Technical Director and Co-Producer. In 2008, after working with the company for some time, Vic Thepmontry took on the official role of puppet designer and master puppeteer. For more about each of us, keep reading.
Mat F.
Kelly
Technical Director
Mat grew up on a little organic farm between the two small towns of Crysler and Cannamore. There he developed a deep appreciation of nature, the environment and how fast escaped cattle can run. He attended the University of Windsor where he studied directing, technical theatre and first met his co-producer, Arlene.
While at university he and a group of friends decided that they just didn't have enough work and so formed a company called Vagabond Theatre Group. In 2001 that group toured the Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto Fringe Festivals with Mat's play, The First World War: What the hell just happened?. The next year they headed out again and toured the Western Festivals with another one of Mat's pieces Emperor in Rags.
Since then, Mat's plays have been put on in various venues including the Ottawa Little Theatre and as part of the Algonquin College reading series on The NAC's 4th stage. Most recently Mat and Vic's play Theft of the Venetian Nude with the Spider Monkey in the Foreground was short listed at the Scene First Reading Series at Gateway Theatre in Richmond BC. Mat's love affair with puppets goes back to childhood and he is very grateful to Arlene, Vic and those who've worked with Shadow Puppet Theatre for the work he has been able to do.
Mat is Technical Director and puppet builder for Shadow Puppet Theatre.
Mat can be reached at mfkelly@shadowpuppettheatre.com
Arlene Thomas
Artistic Director
Arlene grew up in Elmira Ontario and has been active in the arts community of Waterloo Region for many years. She has a BFA in acting from the University of Windsor. Since graduation she has performed in many productions in and outside Waterloo Region. She has performed in Asphalt Jungle Shorts with Flush INK Productions, as part of the Hysteria Festival in Toronto, at the Halifax Fringe Festival and in numerous productions for Shadow Puppet Theatre. She has also designed and performed in shows at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, The Joseph Schneider Haus and The Cambridge Libraries and Galleries. Arlene is currently the Artistic Director of Shadow Puppet Theatre and is also the General Manager of Nota Bene Period Orchestra. She is a fan of the Ottawa Senators, chocolate and really good books.
Arlene is the Artistic Director of Shadow Puppet Theatre as well as a regular puppeteer and performer with the company.
Arlene can be reached at arthomas@shadowpuppettheatre.com
Vic Thepmontry
Puppet Designer
Vic has been doing theatre in various forms for a number of years. She has studied Vocal Techniques with Choir Master Ken Fleet and has picked up Tai Chi, Fencing, Tae Kwon Do, and Stage Combat. In 2000, Vic returned to school and graduated from Fanshawe College's Theatre Arts Technical Production Program with the Proficiency Award. In 2004 she received her diploma in broadcasting television from Fanshawe, followed by her post-grad in Scriptwriting from Algonquin College in 2005. She has performed in the Hot House Reading Series on the 4th Stage at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and most recently her and Mat's play Theft of the Venetian Nude with the Spider Monkey in the Foreground was short listed at the Scene First Reading Series at Gateway Theatre in Richmond BC.
Vic is a puppet designer and puppeteer for Shadow Puppet Theatre.
Vic can be contacted at vthepmontry@shadowpuppettheatre.com
© Shadow Puppet Theatre 2006 – 2010