Professional Speaker & Puppeteer - Michelle Warkentin

Michelle is a professional puppeteer, playwright, conference speaker, workshop leader, actor and voice-over artist with credits in stage and film.

Michelle has written and performed diverse projects, most recent her one woman puppet musical, “Mii Other Woman”, and the play, “Family Tear”, which toured January 2018. Michelle is the playwright along with producing and performing. Michelle has written and performed puppet musicals for children with disabilities. She has inspired children at Renfrew Education Services and has co-produced, written and performed new programs for the Block Parent Program and Vivo Recreation Center performing for thousands of children.

Michelle is an engaging professional speaker, laughing yoga leader and certified Spiritual Director.

Michelle’s personal mission is for her inner child to hold hands with the humanity of your inner child and together create a life empowered to be all we have ever dreamed to be!

Michelle is happy to work with other disciplines and is open to new creativity and imagination.

With shows cancelled and the Calgary fringe 2020 hopefully 2021 will see the “The Rumble Follies”, a new one woman puppet musical…more to come!!

Upcoming events: As of May 16 2020 and a overwhelming response for video requests I will be suspending videos until further notice so I am able to reply to requests already received stay safe and well.

“Mii Other Woman” is a One Woman Puppet Musical with original music! Composition for songs by Jocelyn Johnson, Instrumentals by King Aurous and lyrics by Michelle Warkentin. “Mii Other Woman”, takes the audience on one woman’s journey of discovery when she is faced with the challenges of dementia. Maybe those parts of us that seem lost or unseen exist behind the veil where dreams can still happen and memories survive. A fun uplifting and interactive musical show which launches at the Calgary Fringe Festival. https://www.showclix.com/event/mii-other-woman

Testimonials:

We invited Michelle to be part of our Wellness Week this year. while a one-woman show is not the typical learning session that we have for our employees, Michelle and her puppet friends captured the hearts of our group. The gentle delivery of her message around dementia, and her wonderful ability to engage the audience made this session a big hit with some great laughs! We hope to have her back in the future!

Repsol O&G Wellness Committee

Last week while attending the Fringe Festival I went to see a play called Mii Other Woman-it was a monologue beautifully written and performed by Michelle Warkentin along side with her charming comrades. The lifelike puppets took over the show as Michelle magically connected with their characters. The theme of the story was on Dementia, a very sensitive topic yet quite prominent health concern among our elderly. While interacting with the audience Michell with the assistance of Mii her delightful puppet, brilliantly captured the thoughts, feelings and perceptions that someone with memory loss may experience. It was an amazing show with elements of awareness, understanding, sadness and mainly laughter which brings a simple sense of joy and happiness to the lives and families of those dealing with Dementia.

Peggy Crowe

Mii Other Woman gives us a unique look at dementia. The playwright and puppeteer, Michelle Warkentin uses music, laughter and audience participation to look in to the day of the life of a woman with the onset of this terrible disease. Michelle uses two puppets, one a young girl and the other a grandmother figure to show us the inner thoughts of the character if she could be set free. It is clear that Michelle is very comfortable with all audiences as she can cleverly adapt her play to include the spectators in her theatre, and always brings a roaring laughter from the seats, she is a master at this. The lyrics for the music in the play were written by Michelle highlighting her musical talents. This play is a must see and suitable for all ages.

Susan Tripp

I so applaud Michelle on her latest one woman show. It was not only superbly acted, written and performed but gave us insight into dementia. She engaged the audience and yes even with some humor. we gave her a standing ovation! thank you Michelle for helping us understand a complicated illness. Well done!

Susan Endersby

Testimonials

“Michelle took the lead on helping design puppets, bring the characters to life and create curriculum in alignment with Vivo’s values and educational objectives. Michelle is masterful at connecting kids and families with healthy messages of self esteem, positive body image, physical vitality and healthy eating. Co-creating with Michelle is a joy-full effort”.

Cynthia Watson, Chief Evolution Officer for Vivo for Healthier Generations

“Attending, “Family Tear”, was heart opening. Michelle’s writing and the ability of the puppet to capture the mystery of Alzheimer’s was remarkable. The capacity with which the play introduced and connected me to grief, family struggle and the mysterious experience of how one might actually experience being trapped in the body mind of dementia offered us a glimpse into the depth of both the producer and writer’s experience of human suffering. The simplicity of the set structure opened up space for the imagination. A remarkable event.”

Karen Daniels – Expressive Arts Workshop Leader – Life Skills Consultant, Group Therapist

“Laughter is certainly the best medicine and Michelle knows how to play doctor. Michelle and her puppet friends had our Roaring Women Calgary members laughing so hard that our stomachs and jaws ached, a good ache! She had us remembering our playful childhood days and brought us all back to that warm place in our hearts and souls!”

Diane Dumont – Director of Roaring Women Calgary