ON A PERSONAL NOTE: When I first saw Ronnie Burkett’s work, I knew I had met “my people.” No, not Ronnie & his team of artists, but the puppets he created. I felt each and every one the individual souls made of wood and donned in intricately, fine made, perfectly designed costumes that augmented the already telling spirit on that stage. I witnessed wood walking on wood and BELIEVED that I was intimately associated with these creatures. I understood that they were made to be in the world in the same way we were all made to be in this world: to be held, to connect with others, to accept who we are, and to wholly experience the world as we were meant to experience it…. and then, go out and tell our stories, share what we’ve learned, and make room for the next spirit/creature/person to have a “ seat at the table” and let the circle of life continue on as it will, as it does. The absolute clarity of spirit, form and personality of each of Burkett’s characters make/made me realize at first sight how beautiful it is to be a type, what it means to be FULLY in your own skin, & that I MUST walk with grace and dignity in MY own shoes, so that I can slip on a pair of another and exhibit the care and empathy of a BURKETT puppet. That’s my goal. That is what I seek. That is what I feel.
Ronnie Burkett, OC is a Canadian puppeteer, best known for his original theatrical plays for adults, performed with marionettes Burkett, who hails from Medicine Hat was the puppeteer for Ralph on the TV Ontario series Harriet’s Magic Hats during seasons three and four.
After winning a regional Emmy Award in 1979 for the puppets in "Cinderrabbit" on PBS in the US, Burkett formed his own theatre company in Alberta in 1986. His early works included Fool's Edge, Virtue Falls, The Punch Club and Awful Manors. In 1994, his work Tinka's New Dress was his international breakthrough, winning two Dora Awards, four Elizabeth Sterling Haze Awards and a special citation from the OBIE AWARDS. Performed internationally, Tinka's New Dress was the first part of a trilogy which continued with Street of Blood in 1999 and Happy in 2000. He also won a Chalmers Award in 1996 for Old Friends, a piece commissioned by the Manitoba Theatre for Young People. In 2009, Burkett received the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre for design. In 2015, Burkett was the recipient of the Distinguished Artist Award from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards for his contributions to the arts in Alberta.
His work, Provenance, was performed for the first time in October 2003, premiering at Theatre Network in Edmonton. In November 2007, he finished touring his show 10 Days on Earththat premiered at CanStage in Toronto in April 2006. In October 2008, he premiered his quasi-autobiographical show, Billy Twinkle: Requiem for a Golden Boy, at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton; the show toured several cities in Canada, the UK, and Australia through late 2009. In 2011-12, he did an extensive Canadian tour of his new play, an apocalyptic comedy, Penny Plain. His latest work, The Daisy Theatre, inspired by underground Czech marionette theatre, is part improvisation and part cabaret and includes short vignettes penned by other Canadian playwrights.
Burkett usually writes his own scripts. Appearing onstage throughout each performance, he manipulates and is the voice of every character, from newborn ducks to dying mothers, Christ and Satan and everything in between.