I said goodnight to summer as I walked through Stanley Park here in Vancouver. Tomorrow I’ll wake up and it will still be summer for a few more weeks, but days are getting shorter and soon kids will be back in school. There so much planning happening as we move into fall time! 

Back to school touring of our two musical shows A Birdy Told Me So and A Space To Play is about to happen, so rehearsals are booked so we can fine-tune the shows. There is always fine-tuning happening to keep things fresh and I never know what my puppets will add to the existing show, with a quip or a comment that comes through improvisation. I’m serious!

We are also preparing for puppetry workshops, so materials such as felt, googly eyes, miniature pompoms, and Styrofoam eyeballs are being sorted on our table. Holiday props are being looked at and worked on while we book for the upcoming November and December season. It’s organized chaos here at Puppet Central and I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

My dad used to say that he didn’t know what he wanted to do when he grew up. When I was a kid, I told my dad I already knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I still think of him taking me from fair to fair as a kid as I was learning through experience how to be a professional ventriloquist. Performing at fairs and festivals and in school gyms today – like I did as a kid a long time ago – really makes me happy and nostalgic.

In between my performances and workshopping, I teach ventriloquism. I’m taking on new students in the art of ventriloquism and hand puppetry via Zoom. Currently I’m teaching two adults and a child in the UK and several others from the US and Canada. I customize each lesson for the individual student and let my students know that they can come to me weekly or only when they want to get ready for a show or get tuned up. I love my job as a teacher because my students’ questions prompt me to research so many things. There is always more to learn as a professional. If you’d like to try out a lesson first and see if it works for you send me an e mail.

We are thrilled to be doing a 35-show tour for Central Okanagan Public Schools as well as other schools in BC through ArtStarts in Schools. Teachers plan well ahead for their students, and I applaud the educators who put so much care and effort into their work! I still think of my grade 6 teacher Maureen O’Neil encouraging me to come back to my primary school and perform at the annual school talent show. I would bring out Magrau the bird and end my act with playing the Boogie Woogie on the piano as I laid Magrau on the top of the piano in a dramatic way. Those moments at Winger School Elementary in Wainfleet Ontario don’t seem so long ago. I’m just kidding. It does seem like a long time ago. 

So…happy fall everyone! Hope you can check out our September shows! On Sept 9 we will be doing a show for Neighbours Day at West Brook Place UBC in Vancouver at 11am. On Sept 23 we will be performing for the Vancouver Family Carnival 2023, performance time TBA! Later, we will be doing our show at World Rivers Day at Burnaby Village Museum Sept 24 at 2:30pm. Magrau the bird and Kamilla the frog want to celebrate the rivers from their perspective as wild creatures. I mean, frogs and birds can teach us a lot about the natural world, right?

Take good care and hope to see you at a show! Follow me @kelliehaines on Instagram or on Facebook Kellie Haines Ventriloquist for videos, behind the scene pics and upcoming shows.