Old Trout Puppet Workshop from Calgary among finalists for $100K Siminovitch theatre prize

The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, a Calgary-based collective known for intricately carved wooden puppets, has been named a finalist for the Siminovitch Prize, Canada's richest theatre award at $100,000. The announcement Thursday marks the second time in three years the Trouts have reached the finalist stage.

The workshop has toured its work internationally, including the acclaimed "Famous Puppet Death Scenes," and designed productions for other theatre companies. In 2016, they created puppets for a production of "Twelfth Night" at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

They compete against three other finalists: Sherry J. Yoon and Jay Dodge, artistic directors of Vancouver's Boca del Lupo, a company known for staging performances in unexpected locations like public parks and shipping containers; Catherine Bourgeois, a Montreal-based director and set designer who co-founded the theatre company Joe Jack et John; and Olivier Kemeid, a Montreal playwright, novelist, director and actor who has been a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards four times.

The prize goes to a mid-career theatre artist or ensemble. The winner will be announced on November 30 and will be invited to choose a protégé who receives $25,000.