Photo by Chelsey Stuyt
ABOUT THE SHOW
When little Shizu hides in her Otosan’s suitcase and secretly travels to his most dangerous destination The North, her presence is a big surprise and an even bigger nuisance to her gruff, no-nonsense father. Facing snowy owls, white wolves and grizzly bears in the most remote of locations, Otosan and Shizu must learn to tackle challenges together, eventually learning how to communicate their love. Inspired by Co-creator Shizuka Kai’s real-life experience with her father, a wildlife videographer, Otosan is a beautifully told story that uses puppetry, real wildlife projections and an original score to take the audience on an immersive journey.
Otosan is based on Shizuka Kai’s real life experience of trying to connect with her father, a dedicated wildlife documentary videographer. Otosan means “father” in Japanese, but in a gentle and friendly way. It evokes a feeling of nostalgia.
Created with the support of Deaf Consultants, Caroline Hébert and Ladan Sahraei, to include people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
Otosan development support provided by Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, Canada.
Little Onion Puppet Company invites you to come and take a closer look at the puppets after the show!
Photo by Chelsey Stuyt
SHIZUKA KAI | OTOSAN, SET DESIGNER
Shizuka is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on puppetry and set design, with some work in tv/film puppeteering, illustration & graphic design, directing, and jewelry making. She has worked with many theatre companies including Arts Club, Théâtre la Seizième, Carousel Theatre for Young People, Rumble, Neworld, Electric Company, Gateway, and others. Shiz is a five-time Jessie Richardson Award winner with multiple nominations, Ovation Award winner, the recipient of the Earl Klein Memorial Scholarship and Steven B Jung Award, and a graduate of Studio 58.
JUNE FUKUMURA | SHIZU
June Fukumura is a multi-disciplinary JapaneseCanadian theatre artist from Vancouver, BC. She is trained in Grotowski inspired physical theatre, clowning, puppeteering, directing, dramaturgy, devising, and improvisation. Her practice is a blend of experimental contemporary theatre, site-responsive and site-specific art making, embodied performance techniques, and community engaged theatre and education.
JESS AMY SHEAD | SHIZU ASSIST, ANIMALS
Jess is a performer and creator with a focus on site-specific micro-performance, puppetry, theatre for young audiences, ASL/English theatre, collective creation, and musical theatre. She is the co-recipient of two Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance in the Theatre for Young Audiences category for Freddie in the Neighbourhood which she co-created with Randi Edmundson and The Little Onion Puppet Co. She has worked as an actor at The Globe Theatre, Pacific Theatre, Chemainus Theatre, The Gateway Theatre, The Belfry Theatre, and Theatre SKAM, among others and is currently attending the VCC Sign Language Interpreter program.
RANDI EDUMNDSON | OTOSAN ASSIST, ANIMALS
Driven by curiosity, Randi wears many hats in the world of theatre, including producing, directing, performance, and design. Her passion for puppetry has taken her across the country and the globe, including recent research with Papermoon Puppet Theatre in Indonesia. With her Jessie-Richardson Award winning company Little Onion Puppet Co., Randi has toured multiple original puppet works across Western Canada. She holds a BFA in Performance from the University of Victoria and an MFA in Directing from the University of Calgary. Randi is grateful to create as a freelance artist on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory in Vancouver.
STEPHANIE ELGERSMA | UNDERSTUDY, ANIMAL PUPPET BUILDER
Stephanie is an actor, puppeteer, and puppet maker/director working in both Canada and the UK. As a puppet maker, she has worked for Birmingham Rep, Disney Paris, and Nick Barnes Puppets (UK), as well as Ghost River, Carousel Theatre, and the National Arts Centre (CA). As a puppeteer, she has performed for House of Cats Theatre, Alexis Taylor (UK), The Only Animal, UpintheAir Theatre, and Vancouver Int’l Children’s Festival (CA). She is based in Vancouver where she builds and directs puppets for theatre, and teaches puppet design at her alma mater, Studio 58.
DONNA YAMAMOTO | DIRECTOR
Donna Yamamoto is a director, performer, and former Producing Artistic Director of vAct (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre), where she has dedicated much of her career to overseeing all aspects of theatre creation. With a deep passion for the arts, Donna has led the complete artistic lifecycle of numerous productions, from developing plays to touring them nationally and internationally.
SELENA “TWITCH” TOBIN | STAGE MANAGER
Twitch is thrilled to be a part of the Otosan team! Twitch is an emerging Stage Manager based in Vancouver, but they also dabble in most things related to technical theatre. Currently, they are working at the Arts Club Theatre Company as a Stagehand! Twitch would like to thank Randi Edmundson for their ongoing support and encouragement.
JAIME SWEENEY | TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Jamie Sweeney is a Canadian, Vancouver-based, theatre collaborator. She is a technical director, a lighting designer, a performer, a deviser, and an artist. She has a BFA in theatre production and design from Simon Fraser University. Some companies she has worked with include Ballet BC, Bard on the Beach, Vancouver Opera, Arts Club, Rice & Beans Theatre, vAct, and Neworld Theatre.
JOHN WEBBER | LIGHTING DESIGNER
John is honoured to be a working with such a wonderful group of artists. A long time designer of both Sets and Lighting he has had the privilege of working with some of Canada’s most talented and adventurous artists. Past credits include: Onegin, Kinky Boots, Angels in America Part 1 and 2,for the Arts Club Theatre Company. The Sound of Music, Chelsea Hotel, Wizard of Oz for Western Canada Theatre. Rigoletto and Marriage of Figaro for Vancouver Opera. Next up: Lighting design for the season at TUTS featuring School of Rock and Cats.
LAURA FUKUMOTO | COSTUME DESIGNER
Laura Fukumoto settled in so-called Vancouver fifteen years ago, and is committed to loving and living with this city. Costume designer, theatre artist, and poet, she gets paid to talk sometimes, and has published articles with the Wordworks Magazine the Vancouver Pride Mag. BFA Theatre, UBC, and The Writer’s Studio, SFU. Ask her about Virago Nation, The Writer’s Studio Vancouver Mycological Society, or 221A.
CINDY MOCHIZUKI | ANIMATION DESIGNER
Cindy Mochizuki creates multi-media installation, audio fiction, performance, animation, drawings and community-engaged projects. She has exhibited, performed and screened her work in Canada, US, Australia, and Japan. She is the recipient of the Vancouver’s Mayor’s Arts Award in New Media and Film (2015) and the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts VIVA Award (2020). She has designed scenography, animation and illustrate for theatre and dance companies including Theatre Replacement, Arts Club Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Rumble Theatre/Veronique West, Lisa Mariko Gelley, and Dreamwalker Dance Company.
VANKA SALIM | PROJECTION DESIGNER
Vanka Chaitra Salim (she/her) is a muslim Indonesian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist grateful to be living and creating on the stolen lands of xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíxw (Squamish), and səlilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories, colonially known as Vancouver. She explores different mediums of storytelling through lighting, projection and set design in theater, dance, opera and new media installations. Vanka is an artistic member of Chimerik Collective 似不像 and Aenigma Theatre. She currently studies 3D environment art and is keen to integrate her background and her current study to create more accessible spaces for the community and uplift marginalized voices.
MALCOLM DOW | SOUND DESIGNER, COMPOSER
Malcolm is an award-winning composer and sound designer specializing in emotive compositions, unique world building, and immersive sound design. His work is rooted in storytelling and collaboration with an emphasis on technical integration. In his time away from theatre Malcolm works on indie and commercial film productions, records podcasts and comedy specials and teaches at Studio 58.
Malcolm has produced scores and sound designs for and in partnership with companies all over Canada including - The Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, Theatre la Seizieme, The Belfry, Vertigo, Persephone, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Neptune, Solo Collective, Studio 58 and many more.
MONICA EMME | PROPS BUILDER
Monica Emme (she/her) is a set designer, props and puppet creator, and general maker currently based in Vancouver.
Some favourite recent credits include: Set design for Snow White (Carousel Theatre for Young People); Production design for Jasper in Deadland, & The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Arts Umbrella); Props for Peace Country (Rice & Beans Theatre), My Little Tomato (vAct & Zee Zee), In My Day (Zee Zee Theatre), Messiah (Pacific Theatre), and Oz (Carousel Theatre for Young People).
LANDAN SAHRAEI | DEAF THEATRE CONSULTANT
Ladan Sahraei is an Iranian-Canadian deaf female filmmaker, who came to Canada in July 2014. She is the first deaf filmmaker in Iran, where she has made several short films and two feature documentaries made in Canada. She has received awards and honors for her work. Ladan has been actively involved on the boards of a few non-profit organizations; Greater Vancouver Association of the Deaf (GVAD), Vancouver Community College, Pride In Art Society, Queer Arts Festival and Kickstart Disability. She enjoys traveling around the world and meeting people from different cultures.
WENDY GORLING | PUPPET COACH
Wendy is an actor, choreographer and teacher, garnering six Vancouver Jessie Awards. She co-created, with Morris Panych, The Overcoat, which toured internationally. She has choreographed movement for Moby Dick, Trojan Women, (Stratford Festival), Equus (Vancouver Playhouse), Verdi’s Macbeth (Pacific Opera and Opera Quebec), Susannah, Sweeney Todd, The Overcoat – A Musical Tailoring (Vancouver Opera), Pericles, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter’s Tale (Bard on the Beach), The Waiting Room (Arts Club), Peter Pan (Carousel)and One of a Kind (Children’s Festival). A graduate of Ecole Lecoq, she was inducted into British Columbia’s Entertainment Hall of Fame was featured in the book, Theatre Without Borders. Most recently, she was the movement choreographer for Stratford Festival’s Frankenstein Revived. She has taught acting and physical theatre at Langara College’s Studio 58 for over 40 years.
