All About PuppetVision

PuppetVision is a platform for discovering, sharing and creating puppetry across the web and around the world.

PuppetVision began a series of small, informal series of screenings of independently produced puppet short films at various locations in Toronto, Canada in the early 2000s. The PuppetVision Blog was launched in 2004 to share all of the great puppetry work that was emerging on the web from speaking artists all over the world.

Notwithstanding a few periods of extended hiatus, the site has been regularly updated for almost twenty years, making it one of the oldest and most extensive puppetry web sites in the world. The archives are fairly extensive, made up of hundreds of posts covering just about every style of puppetry imaginable. Posts are generally categorized by media type (TV shows, feature films, web series, etc.) and tagged according to the style of puppetry used and various other factors. You can browse through the site’s categories and its most popular tags under “Blog” in the main menu.

In 2011, work on a feature length documentary about puppeteers and the art of puppetry around the world called PuppetVision: The Movie. Over one hundred hours of performances and interviews featuring dozens of leading and emerging international puppetry artists was filmed between 2011 and 2015. Eventually, the project encountered an extended series of delays and setbacks that culminated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As the result, the project was re-envisioned, and much of the material from it is now being incorporated in to the PuppetVision YouTube Channel, which will be relaunched in 2024 in conjunction with the site’s 20th anniversary.

About the Author

I’m a independent filmmaker, puppeteer, and character designer/fabricator. I began my career in my teens, performing probably close to 1,000 black light puppetry shows throughout Canada and overseas. Since then I’ve been extremely lucky to have the opportunity to design, direct and perform throughout North America, as well as in far-flung places like Chile, Japan, Taiwan, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Most recently, in addition to my work on PuppetVision, I’ve served as a Special FX Supervisor and Character Designer/Fabricator on an eclectic range of projects. I’ve made tortillas dance in TV commercials, built enormous puppets out of LEGO and helped create mascots that entertain the fans of some of North America’s most popular NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball teams. I also occasionally give workshops and lecture about puppetry at schools, libraries, and festivals internationally.