There is GOLD in Dufferin Grove Park

"Anderson has built on the subversive tradition of puppetry, but pushed it toward a contemporary concern-building community in the midst of urban spaces that are often alienating and alienated."
- The National Post

"I believe theatre can speak to the whole population. The role of theatre is to give the community an image of itself. I think of our task as being a kind of 'thinking in public', and thinking in public works most effectively when the whole public, the hoi polloi, is really there. That's why we do our theatre in parks and on the street. We save the best seats for the groundlings."
- David Anderson

Out amongst the community bake-ovens and lush gardens of Dufferin Grove Park, Clay and Paper Theatre has been changing the world. Completely. Irrevocably. Medieval mystery plays, Punch and Judy shows, African myths, Indonesian shadow puppetry, Native Canadian masks- all these and more have been influencing Clay and Paper Theatre Company since its birth in 1994. This is theatre on the ground, for the groundlings, in the park and on the street. This is theatre of exaggeration, of giant puppetry, of satire and wit gone awry. This is a little theatre company asking big questions with humour and irreverence. This is Clay and Paper Theatre.

Clay and Paper Theatre is built on the accumulative experience of David Anderson- theatre activist, producer of new Canadian work, and defender of public space since 1969. Since 1994 Clay and Paper Theatre has been bringing together seasoned arts professionals, theatre students, local businesses and community members in the co-creation of public theatrical performances and celebrations. Clay and Paper uses its own brand of narrative theatre and larger-than-life puppetry as a means of animating public space- igniting community festivity and celebration for a wide cross-section of the local population. Torontonians have enjoyed Clay and Paper Theatre's giant puppet mummers' play, The Return of the Green Man, yearly at the Kensington Market Festival of Lights and at First Night celebrations. Summer audiences have been introduced to the world's oldest known tale, The Epic of Gilgamesh (1995), an ancient Sumerian story about mortality and loss and The Epic of Mael duin (1996), an Irish tale about the stupidity of revenge.

Clay and Paper's continuing community project: Building Local Stories, represents the company's commitment to developing and performing theatre that is embedded in local histories. This important initiative ensures that the local stories of the diverse communities of Toronto are shared and remembered. In 1996, Clay and Paper Theatre found an ideal home in which to continue developing local stories: Dufferin Grove Park, a 'Great Community Place' known locally and internationally for its neighborhood bake ovens, gardens and unparalleled community programming. In 1997 Clay and Paper Theatre produced The Resurrection of Fornax by Larry Lewis, portraying the Roman Goddess of bake ovens and commemorating her (and the company's) arrival to Dufferin Grove Park. This show ran for one week to the delight of over 1000 local residents. In 1998 Clay and Paper created a new show about the stream that runs under Dufferin Grove Park called The Ballad of Garrison Creek by Larry Lewis. This performance toured the watershed of the old creek, delighting the residents of four communities along the old creek-bed to a combined audience of over 6000.

In 1999 Clay and Paper produced a new Canadian play by Joseph Romain, called Lilith Unfair, a fanciful tale about the supposed first wife of Adam. Lilith Unfair ran in Dufferin Grove Park for a total of 3 weeks and played to a combined audience of 4500. In 2000, Clay and Paper returned to ancient storytelling with The Lost City of Wagadu by Michael Boughn and David Anderson, a story that originates with the Soninke people of Ghana, describing how the vision of the perfect city was lost to vanity and the longing for immortality. The Lost City of Wagadu enjoyed a five week run on Toronto's Center Island and played to an audience of over 6000.

With the support of the Urban Issues Program of the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, Clay and Paper Theatre has reinstated its commitment to community participation and festivity through the creation of the Night of Dread, a community pageant and parade of collective and personal fears. On the Night of Dread, community members become the event- participants become actors for the evening as they suit up in giant puppets and dance through the streets. This year's Night of Dread saw over 150 participants come together to mock, dance and laugh away their fears. The audience spectators have reached upwards of thousands along the 25 city blocks of the parade route. As part of the SSBFF's Urban Issues Program, the Night of Dread is seen as a way of sustaining and encouraging local community development. Thanks to that support, the Night of Dread is now an annual event and continues to involve an increasing cross section of the community and city.

In the summer of 2002, Clay and Paper Theatre played to record audiences for another local story: Gold - The Play. Gold is the Monty Python-esque collaboration of director David Anderson and local writer Larry Lewis that hilariously explores the pitfalls of heroism and greed. Thanks again to the generous support of Human Resources Development Canada and their Summer Student Employment Program, Clay and Paper Theatre employed twelve theatre students to produce and perform Gold, marking the seventh anniversary of the Building Local Stories Initiative.

Summer 2003 brought us another Clay and Paper Troupe and another story. Clay and Paper Theatre created: The Sylliad - My Big Fat Greek War Story. The Sylliad explored our current political environment with laughter, tears and screams, juxtaposing today's turbulance with the epic war-story of Homer's Illiad. Created by David Anderson, acclaimed poet Michael Boughn and designer Mark Keetch, and with an original score by celebrated composer Andrew Timar and choreography by Yvonne Ng ( 2003 recipient of the Chalmers Arts Fellowship).

With each passing year, each performance, each workshop, each parade, Clay and Paper Theatre further weaves itself into the fabric of the local communities it serves.