Be a part of the world class story behind the Phoenix, currently under construction

Stratford is no stranger to the world stage and here is another opportunity to be present internationally. SpringWorks-PuppetWorks! has undertaken an ambitious project to not only program outstanding puppetry in all forms, but also to conceive and construct a strolling creation to represent Stratford locally and beyond.

The Phoenix is a giant puppet project conceived by artistic director Eileen Smith, who has achieved international awareness for Stratford by hosting the annual World In A Weekend Puppet Festival and other programming. Her organization was recently accepted into AVIAMA, an association of puppet friendly cities around the world. Stratford is the only English-speaking member in North America, a prestigious distinction.

Since 2011, Smith has been programming puppetry performances and each year the capacity has grown. Now there is the annual World In A Weekend festival that offers both free and ticketed events suitable for everyone, plus events throughout the year. SpringWorks has been a huge draw both locally and amongst tourists with the arrival of international performers brought in and the always popular strolling artists.

It is through the evolution of SpringWorks, and the acceptance in AVIAMA, that led to the Phoenix, a one of a kind transforming inspiration that will be a signature asset of value to the organization and Stratford alike. In its first form the giant puppet will have the appearance of a train locomotive, then fantastically transform into the second form, the Phoenix, a vibrant manifestation of change.

“We bring in many puppets over many years now and they are expensive to bring in. We thought, ‘Why don’t we have our own and that will be of value.’ This value is an asset we can bring out over and over as the community finds interesting, but we can also send it out as an ambassador to other festivals. Other companies can hire it the way we hire other puppeteers,” said Smith.

Inspiration for the giant puppet comes from the Festival City’s history, its transformative nature and the interesting intersection between industry and art. The Grand Trunk site, locomotives and old steam engines seemed beautiful and resonated with a whole piece of the city’s industrial history. Then when that shifted, the capacity for the city to reinvent itself with theatre, diversified economies and hospitality was like a rising phoenix, Smith explained.

“The Phoenix is a creature that is a metaphor for the invention and the creating of itself. Most of the puppets we bring in are a singular thing, they are not transforming so we are pushing the envelope with us changing from a singular quality object into a different quality object, which also brings in our theatrical background – and so it will in itself be a piece of theatre,” said Smith.

It will travel along as a giant train in its first form, with internal mechanisms for light and sound so that it can be used at night like a lantern puppet. They are usually made of bamboo and are translucent so it will be like a ghost train with a chimney stack that smoke comes out of. At a moment’s notice it will evolve from the train into the rising phoenix. Currently they are navigating how many operators it will take to operate the Phoenix with a design such that it is accessible to any physical ability.

“It’s super exciting for us and we have lots and lots of expertise and engineering design in function and we’re just beginning building it as we speak. It will debut in the spring but it will reappear in the summer at our (World In A Weekend festival) … We’ll definitely be strolling along there,” said Smith.

Not only will construction be complete for a spring debut, but it will be in time to join the international puppetry festival circuit to begin paying an immediate return on the investment as it embarks on the role of ambassador to the world.

Fundraising for the Phoenix is now underway to gather the resources and materials needed to construct this giant transforming puppet. Their fundraising goal is to raise $40,000 by Dec. 31, and thanks to a generous anonymous donor, funds raised will be matched dollar for dollar. This is an opportunity to be a part of this engineering feat, the story behind its creation, and the life it will take on each time it appears as an ambassador of Stratford locally and around the world.

“Any amount of money is helpful to us and on our website you can link to the Zeffy donation platform which provides tax receipts – and 100 per cent of the proceeds goes to the fundraiser. You’re actually helping buy wire, wood, fabric, glue, light and smoke machines. It helps pay for puppet operators and pay for storage and our workspace and tools. It’s a substantial project so you can have a little hand helping out,” said Smith.

She added that community members with materials or expertise can donate in-kind and a tax receipt will be issued as they are a registered charity. Donations can be made in person at Soup Surreal, where they are hosting a tap and pay machine, or online. Cisit springworksfestival.ca for the link to the donation platform. In-kind donations can be arranged by emailing Eileen Smith at email@springworks.ca.