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Hi! My name is Caitlin Whelan, and I am a puppeteer, puppet maker, performer, and multidisciplinary artist from Newfoundland, Canada, currently based in London, UK. I hold a degree in Folklore from Memorial University and am currently completing my MA in Puppetry at Wimbledon College of Arts, University of the Arts London.
I work with puppets in many different capacities, including live performance, theatre, film, installation, craft education, and community arts programming. Alongside my artistic practice, I have spent several years teaching traditional hand-carving and craft practices through workshops, residencies, and educational programming across Canada and the United States. I have taught carving at internationally recognized craft schools and residency programs throughout the United States. Growing up in Newfoundland, with its strong storytelling traditions and culture of making, deeply shaped both my creative practice and my relationship to puppetry. Much of my work is driven by a desire to help grow puppetry knowledge, skills, and opportunities within Atlantic Canada while connecting the art form to local storytelling traditions, craft practices, and cultural heritage. In Canada, I have worked on puppetry projects for theatre, film, festivals, and installations, and have collaborated with organizations to help develop puppetry and storytelling projects connected to local history, traditional knowledge, and craft practices. In the UK, I continue to expand my practice through performance, collaboration, and research. I enjoy working across different areas of puppetry and visual performance and am always eager to keep learning, making, and sharing knowledge with others. Whether in a rehearsal room, workshop, theatre, or studio, working with puppets continues to bring me enormous joy. If you would like to collaborate, connect, or simply talk puppets, please feel free to reach out! |