WeeFestival Commissions

Coo

Created by Xin Wang, performed with Michael Murphy
Integrating the music of Aperghis, Berio, and Canada’s own acclaimed composer Ana Sokolovic, Coo is performed in an intimate setting with an array of percussion and vocal sounds recalling the bells of a monastery, a street call from southern China, rhythmic repetitions, and “I love you” sung in multiple languages.
For children 6 months – 24 months
Workshop performances were presented as part of the 2024 WeeFestival

Capoeira Criança

Created and performed by Mestre Sérgio Xocolate and Suzanne Roberts Smith
This participatory experience uses traditional percussion instruments, music, movements and ancient dances as well as call and response chants. Additional original songs by Mestre Sérgio Xocolat. 
For children 6 months – 24 months
Workshop performances were presented as part of the 2024 WeeFestival

Quest for the Moon

Created 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.
Quest for the Moon was originally created for Theatre SKAM (Victoria B.C.) at the height of the COVID pandemic. The production toured outdoors as a shadow puppet performance for two puppeteers with voiced narration. In 2023, WeeFestival invited Olivia to develop the piece to include theatre and shadow puppetry for 3 actors and puppeteers. This iteration of the work includes an original song, costume and additional production design by Carolin Lindner, and staging by Associate Director Robert Morrison.
The production toured to schools, community centres, and arts venues in March 2024 with support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and received its international premiere as part of the 2024 WeeFestival.
For Children 2.5 years +
Premiered in March 2024

Parvaneh

By Afsaneh Zamani
Parvaneh means Butterfly in Farsi and in this sweet outdoor performance for daycares, children follow a little caterpillar’s slow and careful crawling on the playground swing or slide and then witness its metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly! Performed with live musical accompaniment, this show was commissioned to visit the outdoor spaces of childcare and community centres.

Cocoon

By Derek Kwan and Heather Marie Annis
A clown/physical theatre-based performance piece for very young audiences which follows the story of two emerging butterflies learning about change, anxiety/fear, movement and friendship. Cocoon was shown as part of the 2023 WeeFestival professional conference.
For children 2.5 years +

Yassama and the Beaded Calabash

Created and performed by Lua Shayenne with musical accompaniment by Cécé Haba
A vibrant dance and music with engaging storytelling in an interactive performance rooted in African oral tradition, Yassama and the Beaded Calabash is the story of a young girl who, with the help of the old Baobab tree, saves her village from drought and delivers a powerful lesson about the importance of respecting and honouring Mother Earth.
For Children 3 years
Commissioned, developed, and premiered in partnership with the Théâtre français de Toronto (TfT)

The Friendship Star

Written and performed by Cheri Maracle
In The Friendship Star, actor, singer, and songwriter Cheri Maracle shares a tale about the importance of friendship with storytelling and song. Two children, Karawakwa and Piquot, little souls gazing into the possibility of a dark night sky and trusting their wishes for friendship are being heard by the Great Mystery that is The Creator. When their wishes are granted, their new friendship blooms but is soon put to the test.
For children 3 years +
Presented as part of the 2022 WeeFestival.

HauNodi 河 নদী

Written and performed by Rubena Sinha and Diana Tso
Diana Tso and Ruben Sinha invite children on a journey on a river of words, music, and movement with stories inspired by their respective cultures – from the birth of the Ganges to a magic paintbrush wielded by a brave young girl. The title HauNodi (pronounced haw-no-thi), combines the Cantonese and Bengali words for river.
For children 3 years +
Presented as part of the 2022 WeeFestival.

Flying Hearts

Directed by Lynda Hill, Choreography by Michelle Silagy
Flying Hearts combines dance, theatre and live music in an immersive and stimulating performance conceived as an inclusive and fully Relaxed Performancewith two versions, one for infants/toddlers 6 – 36 months and one for children with ASD, Developmental Disabilities, Mild Intellectual Disabilities.
Premiered as part of the  2018 WeeFestival. 

Tweet Tweet!

by Femmes du Feu, Lindsay Goodtimes and Holly Treddenick
Two little birds asleep in their nests high in a magical tree awake and discover each other and a wondrous world around them. An aerial arts and circus creation for young children performed in an intimate forest-like setting.
Premiered at the 2018 WeeFestival

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Lost and Found

By Snack Music Collective (Ginette Mohr, Andrew G. Young, Ingrid Hansen, and Eliot Loren)
This show uses live music, found object puppetry and inventive storytelling and is further supported by post-show workshops led by the artists.
Three artists spin stories inspired by items they discover in the lost and found box. A children’s mitten becomes a fish, a wooly wrap becomes the mouth of a whale, a winter hat becomes a hungry beaver, and a flowing scarf becomes a mischievous grandmother who loves stories and urges the performers on!
For children 3.5 years +
Lost and Found toured schools in the 2017/2018 season and was remounted in 2023 for school touring.

Tabletop Tales

By Snack Music Collective (Ginette Mohr, Andrew G. Young, Ingrid Hansen, and Eliot Loren)
This show uses live music and tabletop puppetry using found objects to tell stories of friendship, adventure, and personal courage. Children in the audience are then invited to contribute a story which is then brought to life by the ensemble.
For children 3 years + and their families

Old Man and the River

By Lynda Hill and Thomas Morgan Jones
Original Design by Kelly Wolf
Original Music by Nicky Philips | Lighting by Jennifer Lennon
Puppetry by Mike Petersen and Eric Woolfe
This beautifully designed puppetry work performed without words to an enchanting musical score, reveals a storybook world where rivers sing, trees laugh, and curious dragonflies come to visit. Here lives a grumpy little old man in his little house in the woods by the river. Every day is the same and he likes it this way-until one day, a magical creature leaps into his world and everything changes!
For children 3 years +
Premiered at the 2014 WeeFestival