“Why do you volunteer?” we asked Elaine McCausland, Technical Director for Puppets Up!
“There are so many reasons I’m involved, it’s hard to narrow it down.” Elaine smiled in reply.
There’s so much to say about how our volunteers shine in this creative community. Picture it: summer days, puppeteers, puppets, and stages – sometimes six of them or more! All wonderful, all magic but…it’s all got to be connected.
Before and during the festival, Elaine oversees a team of technical volunteers who work behind the scenes to make sure that all the puppets and performers have the best environment to deliver a high-quality show to festival guests.
Having moved to Almonte in 2019, this military veteran brought a lifetime of experience with musical bands and community theatre in Ottawa including the Orpheus Musical Theatre and being a co-founder of Suzart Productions with Sue Fowler who, by-the-by, is another stellar Puppets Up! volunteer.
Along came the pandemic and soon Puppets Up! threw out the net looking for talented volunteers to support the rebirth of this great community festival in 2022. It only took one Zoom call and Elaine was gleefully brought on board and today, “the best thing about my role is that I get to share my technical knowledge and work with fellow techies.”
Look for Elaine to be doing just that for Puppets Up! this summer. In fact, you may already know her through the Carleton Place and District Community Band or through DFT Productions, her very own theatre company which presented Songs of the War Years at the Almonte Old Town Hall last year and Forever Plaid now in the works for later in 2026.
Impressed?
If you answered with a resounding “yes!”, then you should join our volunteer team. If you have sound and light skills, or want to learn, we would love to have you on board. Email techdirector@puppetsup.com – yep, that’s Elaine – and explore all the tech possibilities Puppets Up! has to offer.
If you think you might be interested in other Puppets Up! volunteer opportunties, click here to read more and register.
