Sault’s most famous puppeteer up for major theatre award

Adam Francis Proulx is continuing to impress audiences and critics on the Canadian theatre scene.

The Sault native and Toronto-based puppet theatre performer has been nominated for the Outstanding Performance by an Individual award (Theatre for Young Audiences Division) for his work entitled Emilio's A Million Chameleons at the 44th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards to be held in Toronto on June 24.

The Dora Mavor Moore Awards — also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras — are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts  (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Dora Mavor Moore helped establish Canadian professional theatre.

“This has been such a goal for me for so long. As far as I’m concerned it’s the most prestigious theatre award in Canada so it’s really quite a big honour to be nominated,” Proulx said in a phone interview with SooToday.

Proulx, 35, is an experienced theatre performer who writes and performs in his own puppet theatre productions for adults and children. His shows are solo shows with multiple puppets.

He constructs his own puppets and is known for The Family Crow: A Murder Mystery and Baker’s Dozen: 12 Angry Puppets. 

His puppetry work can also be seen on The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy that airs on the Family Jr. TV channel.

“The show is about a chameleon circus,” Proulx said of his Dora-nominated piece.

“The father Emilio Sr. invented the show and Emilio Jr. is trying to keep the show going the way he did it. Emilio Jr. is not very good at doing the circus so when it all falls apart he and his chameleon best friend figure it would be better if they are true to themselves. It’s about being true to yourself and letting your inner sparkle shine.”

“My dad Brien is a drummer and he would drum in the orchestra pit for community theatre productions,” Proulx said, reflecting on how his career started.

“I would go with him sometimes and that’s how I got interested in community theatre. I started doing community theatre when I was about six or seven.”

Crediting well-respected local teacher and director Sue Barber as a great mentor to him, Proulx earned a degree in business and arts from the University of Waterloo.

He worked at theme parks — including Walt Disney World — before settling in Toronto in 2011, though Proulx spends much of his time on the road giving performances.

He has been a puppeteer for the last decade.

“I’m kind of shy which people have trouble believing because I spend my life up on stage. That’s one of the reasons I started writing with puppets. As time has progressed it’s become an art form that I care about and like very much,” Proulx said.

“It just kept happening. The puppets became more and more a part of my life. It’s become the backbone of my career. It’s certainly a niche I have and it’s allowed me to work with some great theatre companies in Canada where they need somebody with a certain type of expertise to come in. The writing, the performing of it, the making of the puppets, it’s so diverse. I like the creation and design aspect of it. That’s a fun artistic element to have control over.”

Proulx has travelled and performed widely, having recently returned from the Orlando Fringe Festival.

Proulx returns to the Sault to visit and perform often, having performed three shows over the course of six months in 2023.

“I really like working up there. That’s where I learned to do theatre so it feels very comfortable. There’s so much talent and so much support there. I try to come home as much as I can without wearing out my welcome,” Proulx said with a chuckle.