Company History

Puppetworks was founded in 2002 by director, actor and principal puppeteer, Phil Arnold.

I have worked in and around live theatre, mostly creating my own work, for 35 years. In that time I worked in both Canada and in the U.K., and in the process I founded three small theatre companies dedicated to producing works of social importance.

Although I enjoyed puppetry as a child, as an adult I had lost touch with its power and flexibility. Then in 2001 I was invited to see a full length puppet production; I had discovered, PuppetMongers of Toronto.
Their production of, "The Pirate Widow Chiang" was the first live puppet show I had seen in many years; not since the Punch and Judy man visited the beach in Swansea when I was a boy. I was enthralled. It was many years since I had seen such unpretentious theatricality and I was hooked.

My next step was to attend a puppet festival. The Detroit Puppeteers Guild was hosting a bi-annual regional festival of the Puppeteers of America. This three day event was held in Detroit at the Hyatt hotel near Greenfield Village and was a real eye opener for me. That weekend nearly 300 puppeteers gathered to share their knowledge and experience, make new friends and renew old friendships (and have a lot of fun in the process). Later that year I started performing with puppets and I haven't looked back.

I joined the Puppeters of America, the Detroit Puppeteers Guild, the Ontario Puppetry Association and I founded Puppetworks for good measure.

In 2006 as a Board Member of the Ontario Puppetry Association I acted as the festival director for the joint bi-annual regional festival of Puppeteers of America and the 50th anniversay of the Ontario Puppetry Association.

In 2007 I was invited to participate in the tri-annual adult puppet festival in Pecs, Hungary. It was a fantastic experience to be present at UNIMA jury meetings of which I understood nothing due to my complete lack of Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, French, and German. English was spoken to say, "good morning". I had a great time.

In 2008 IU was invited to work with Puppetry in Practice in New York, another wonderful experience. I met New York puppeteers, writers, and educators, both professional and amateur.

In 2009 I vacated my position of President of the Ontario Puppetry Association due to a slight heart attack. Puppetworks continued.

In 2010 I received a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to create a mobile puppet theatre. The "PuppetMobile" appeared at the Puppets UP! festival in Almonte, ON., in August 2010, and appeared at various fairs and festivals in Southern Ontario during the summer of 2011. The OPA and I parted ways.

I am only now beginning to understand how much more I have to learn about this ancient art and craft, and how truly powerful it can be.