Quest for the Moon
Created and Directed by Olivia Wheeler
A heartwarming and engaging story about the friendship between a young fox and the Moon told with the magic of shadow puppetry, music, and theatre in a sensory-rich and intimate setting.
Cautious and fearful of venturing far from his home in the woods, the fox is happy to bask in the moon’s stories about far off places that she has seen on her path across the sky. One night, the Moon goes missing so the fox must summon the courage to go in search of his friend. Along the way he discovers a newfound independence and the wonder of the world beyond his den.
Created and Directed by Olivia Wheeler
Performed by Shaharah Gaznabbi, Michelle Urbano, Hilary Wheeler
Costume and Additional Design by Carolin Lindner
Lighting design by Sarah Mansikka
Associate Director | Robert Morrison
Education Consultant | Dr. Jacqueline Karsemeyer
Your enchanting performance captivated our families and guests, creating cherished memories for all. Your creativity and talent truly enhance our programming, and we would be honored to work together on more magical experiences.
Eleonora Sermoneta, Director of Education Aga Khan Museum
Tickets & Info
Style: Theatre and shadow Puppetry
Age: For Children 2.5 yrs + and their families
Duration: 40 minutes (+ meet the artists)
Dates & Times
March 11: 10h00 and 13h00
March 12: 10h00 and 13h00
March 13: 10h00 and 13h00
Location : VideoCabaret – Deanne Taylor Theatre – Leslieville (10 Busy Street M4M 1N8)
Venue Information: The venue is accessible with a no-rise entry and wheelchair accessible bathrooms.
Seating Style: Bench style with cushions and chairs available in upper rows for adults who require this.
Age Recommendation: Please consider the following when booking your tickets, especially if you wish to bring a child younger than the suggested age:
- While the audience and stage will never be in complete darkness, shadow theatre requires a darker space for maximum effect.
- There is a segment near the beginning of the story in which the Fox becomes lost in the forest, the music and narration becomes more suspenseful. Shortly after, the Fox finds his way back to his home.
A Social Story is available to support your child’s preparation for their trip to the theatre.
Download our Study guide
Quest for the Moon Gallery (photos by Robert Morrison-featuring Annie Luján, Michelle Urbano, and Hilary Wheeler)
What Audiences Have Said:
- My child and I were both so moved, we’re coming back for the second show!
- My children were mesmerized!
- I feel like I just came from the spa, the show was so calm and relaxing.
- They found it calming, engaging and magical.
- My students were deeply engaged in the performance and particularly loved the fox character/puppet. They immediately asked to make puppets like they saw in the show in our own classroom after the performance.
- Majority of students were engaged and continued to talk about the story days after watching the performance.
- My students were taken away by the beauty of the production. It was a one of a kind show that grasped their attention.
Meet the Artists
Olivia Wheeler | Creator, Director, Designer | Quest for the Moon
Olivia Wheeler is a mixed-race, Chinese Canadian sound designer, composer and interdisciplinary artist. Her artistic work spans across the country with companies from coast to coast. Recent Theatre Credits include: Sound Design for The Secret to Good Tea (Grand/NAC), Cymbeline (Stratford), The Bidding War (Crow’s), Playing Shylock (Canadian Stage), Infinite Life (Coal Mine), Mad Madge (Nightwood), The Fixing Girl (YPT), Alligator Pie, De Profundis (Soulpepper), Here Lies Henry, Armadillos (Factory Theatre), and Between a Wok and a Hot Pot (Cahoots). She has been workshopping her play Hey Girl to explore the use of object puppetry with family stories. More at: www.oliviagwheeler.com
Shaharah Gaznabbi | Performer | Quest for the Moon
Shaharah Gaznabbi (They/Them) lives in the realm of multi-disciplinary. An ACTRA Actor, Playwright, Comedian, & Puppeteer, they are currently an Artist-In-Residence at Tarragon Theatre as a recipient of the Ellen Ross Stuart Award. They were also part of Tarragon Theatre’s Young Playwrights Unit and Nightwood Theatre’s Innovators Program this past year. Shaharah received The Neurodiverse Review’s Birds of Paradise Emerging Talent Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023, where they presented their solo-show “What Can Indian Look Like? Can It Look Caribbean?”. They are pursuing a BFA in Playwriting & Devised Theatre in York University’s Theatre program, and have graduated from Second City Training Centre’s Conservatory Program. Shaharah’s recent Credits include making their TV debut playing the character of Noor in Season 3 of CBC’s run The Burbs, and performing & singing in two Equity Productions in 2024: a 5 city tour of Kidoons Productions “Jungle book”, and The Devi Triptych by Red Beti Theatre.
Michelle Urbano | Performer | Quest for the Moon
Michelle Urbano is a Toronto puppeteer, theatre creator, and producer. She is the new Artistic Director of Crossroads Theatre, was recognized in 2017 by Cahoots Theatre as one of their “30 for 30” – 30 artists shaping the next 30 years of Toronto theatre, and completed a 2024 TAPA RBC Emerging Artist Mentorship in Artistic Direction with Allan MacInnis. This is her third project with the WeeFestival, with Lost and Found, and Old Man and the River. She was the co-Artistic Director and Producer for the found-object puppetry company, Artichoke Heart. She was an artist-in-residence at Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, where she also completed three tours with the company. She recently developed a new work with Eldritch Theatre entitled Phantasmagoria 3D, and has performed and worked in a variety of capacities with the CBC, Theatre Passe Muraille, Theatre by the Bay, Pandemic Theatre, the Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and was a part of award winning puppetry productions in the Toronto Fringe and Summerworks.
Hilary Wheeler | Performer | Quest for the Moon
Hilary is a queer Chinese-Canadian actor, musician, and playwright. She is a recent graduate from the Acting program at the National Theatre School of Canada, select show credits including My Family and Other Endangered Species, Everybody, Bonus Points if You Have Air Conditioning,To Those Who Wait in Fear. Other show credits include Transhumance (Corpus Dance Projects), Retrograde (Dead Racoon Theatre), Selfie, The Paperbag Princess (Geordie Theatre), Macbeth, Love Labour’s Lost, Pericles, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Julius Caesar (The Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival). Recent nominations include ‘Outstanding Ensemble’ for The Paper Bag Princess at the 2021-2022 METAs. Her playwriting projects in development include The List, supported by the Canada Council of the Arts, and Ye Xian: A Musical Retelling, created in collaboration with Heeyun Park and supported by the Canada Council of the Art, Ontario Arts Council, and Bad Hats Theatre.
Carolin Lindner | Associate Designer & Education Artist | Quest for the Moon
Born and raised near Berlin, Germany, Carolin Lindner is a multi-facetted visual and theatre artist with a degree in drama pedagogics and graphic design. Carolin was the co-artistic director of the international theatre festivals at.tension and part of the artistic theatre team for Fusion-Festival, both located in Germany. She was also the co-founder of a European Youth art camp in Germany and has led theatre workshops with young people and seniors internationally, both in person and recently online for schools.
She has been collaborating as an artist with CORPUS on numerous projects and in various roles, as co-director for Camping Royale and La bulle, as costume designer for House Guests and Divine Interventions, as an overall graphic designer for CORPUS’ promotional material and as an artistic adviser for several CORPUS creations.
Robert Morrison | Associate Director | Quest for the Moon
Originally hailing from Alberta’s foothills, Robert Morrison (he/him) is a director, actor, writer for theatre and film and the artistic director of A FRONT COMPANY (@a.front.company). His recent directing work includes ECHO at Toronto’s NextStage Festival and SKYSCRAPER at the Paprika Festival, both he’s developed with his best friend and roommate, Kole Durnford. He is also the creator and co-curator of POOL PARTY, a party series celebrating liveness. Other Directing credits for the stage include: No Exit, Any Night (Cannonball) Unity 1918 (CYPT, asst. Jamie Dunsdon) Seven Stages (Verb + Bluelight Fest.) The Zoo Story (A FRONT COMPANY) and for screen: How To Be Not Alone (nominated best documentary QUIFF) and Hatch (First Prize, Utah Dance Film Festival). As a performer has appeared on stage with companies from west to east including Theatre Calgary, Verb Theatre, The Shakespeare Company, The High-Performance Rodeo, Hit and Myth, Storybook, Hoodlum Theatre and Seven Starving Artists & 4th Line. @robertmorrison
Quest for the Moon Acknowledgments
Olivia Wheeler would like to thank Theatre SKAM for supporting the initial development of the piece and first production. We wouldn’t have the show today without their trust and support in this piece. Thank you to the following artists for their contribution to the initial development of the piece -Hannah Mariko Bell, Kendra Bidwell, Lynnéa Chan, Matthew Payne, Logan Swain, Anne Taylor; and the first production Brayden Lord, Susannah Rebar, and Andrew G. Young, and Aidan Sparks for the first version of the set and workshopping the first production puppets.