AN INDEPENDENT THEATRE COMPANY HAS SURVIVED THE ECONOMIC HARDSHIP OF COVID AND SUCCEEDS IN PRODUCING AN ONLINE PUPPETRY FESTIVAL
Last year, on March 13th 2020, Crane Creations launched the first ever Bridges Festival, right as COVID shut down the world. They had three days of puppetry shows and activities planned for Mississauga audiences, but were forced to shut down after only one of those days. Despite this challenging set back, they have managed to maintain their course and present the second annual festival this March 13th-15th. Bridges Festival is an International puppetry and animation festival that takes place in Mississauga. Each year Crane Creations Theatre Company selects shows and activities that you and your kids will enjoy, and bring world renown artists right to theatres in Mississauga. This year, the festival is taking place online, and all activities are free. Crane Creations is excited to keep bringing live, puppetry, activities, workshops and stop-motion animation right to your home. The program this year has: – Live Puppet Shows: Checkout 606, by La Fille du Laitier (Monday March 15th at 1:30pm) live streamed from Montreal, and Applefun Puppetry brings us daily interactive puppetry activities for Kids during the festival. EVENT: Crane Creations Theatre Company Presents Bridges Puppetry Festival LOCATION: Mississauga, Ontario DATE: March 13th-15th 2021 – Pre-recorded videos: Including The Old Man and the River (By Wee Festival productions) and award winning animated shorts (Freeze Frame by Soetkin Verstegen, Serial Parallels by Max Hattler, Minimal Minute by Colin St-Cyr Duhamel and more). All of these are free to access online, and on a projection screen displayed in Mississauga, any time during the whole week-end of the festival. – Industry events: There are industry events for puppeteers and animators, including a Panel of Industry Leading Professional Animators from Jamaica, England and Canada (Monday March 15th 11am), Ontario Puppetry Presenters Round Table (Saturday March 13th 2pm), an Industry Exploration for emerging Canadian theatre artists to better understand the job market they are entering (Saturday March 13th, 10am), and a Puppeteers Meet Up for puppeteers to connect and share their triumphs and tribulations during the past year (March 15th, 2:30). Check out the full program on Crane Creations Theatre Company’s website (https:// www.cranecreations.ca/bridges-festival-march-break/). The team is available for interviews and can provide more information by calling 514-926-8781. FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES OR UPDATES, PLEASE FOLLOW CRANE CREATIONS THEATRE COMPANY on Facebook and Instagram