History of Puppetry
in Canada

Frog Print Theatre

Americans Nikki and Bob Tilroe brought their company Frog Print Theatre to Canada in 1968. Their innovative productions and their training of other puppeteers made them a major influence in Ontario puppetry. Combining their backgrounds in dance and television, the Tilroes became active in stage and television puppetry (often on TV Ontario), until they returned to the United States in the 1980s. Before her death in 2005, Nikki Tilroe gave classes in movement and manipulation across North America, and she and her husband collaborated on several puppetry and movement books. Both Tilroes were active in the Ontario Puppetry Association and Puppeteers of America. Under the direction of Bohuslov Olsina, the company received a UNIMA-USA Citation for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry in 1974, for their production Mimi and Toto.

Adapted from Figuratively Speaking : Puppetry in Ontario by Ken McKay, copyright 1990. Courtesy of the Ontario Puppetry Association and Ken McKay.