NO STRINGS ATTACHED Jane Ohland Cameron’s Muppet-like puppets set loose the creative imagination of kids and adults with developmental disabilities. BY TONY REYNOLDS
PHOTOGR APHY BY PE TE PATERSON
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he upstairs room at Community Living Dufferin was creative chaos. Just inside the door, a table vibrated with colours and shapes: wigs of bright yarn, blue and pink eyebrows and eyelashes, a display of little round noses in various hues. All makings for the puppets on the next table. On the racks beside them was a wardrobe of toddler-sized dresses and jackets, vests and shirts, as busy as the imagination. Adding a layer to the hubbub were the voices of people having fun. Only 10 people were in the room, but the volume of talk and laughter sounded like more. That get-together was in early October, the third weekly session of Pioneering with Puppets, a program that playwright and director Jane Ohland Cameron has brought to Community Living Dufferin, an organization that supports children and adults with developmental disabilities. The idea of creating puppets and developing plays they could perform was a hit from the start. “We thought the people we support would really enjoy it,” says Carly Reid, a direct support professional at CLD. “The idea was appealing because we have so many people at CLD who have been involved in different theatrical programs … and this was such a different way of exploring, creating and performing. People get to create a character down to the smallest details, and they’re learning how to use puppets.” C O N T I N U E D O N N E X T PA G E
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