FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Almonte (Town of Mississippi Mills) Ontario, July 21, 2011 — Two students from Sheridan College’s Advanced Special Effects, Makeup, Prosthetics and Props program have arrived in Almonte for a two-week field placement under the supervision of the Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival.

This special course is one of a few of its kind in North America and the only one in the Ontario college system. Through intensive lab experiences, students gain a solid knowledge of casting, molding, sculpting and developing prosthetics, props, puppets and animatronics.

Liz Heaslip (left) and Katherine Theriault (right) painting windows for Puppets Up!

Students Katherine Theriault and Liz Heaslip are in their final semester of the one-year Sheridan post-diploma program and must complete 100 hours of unpaid work experience with a host institution in order to graduate.  This field placement will allow them to apply the knowledge they have gained in the classroom to a work place setting.

Partnerships of this kind are recognized as an invaluable opportunity for Sheridan students engaged in this sector to further develop and apply recognized professional industry practices. “This program’s success would not be possible without the support of our community partners, ” says Nisha Lett, Sheridan’s Faculty Supervisor for the course.

The students are working in a beautiful studio space generously provided by Stephen Brathwaite in the Thoburn Mills.  Under the watchful eye of the festival’s Artistic Director, Noreen Young, they are tackling a whole range of projects that will contribute to the success of the festival which is only weeks away.

Drop by the studio and say hello to them!

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Media Contact:

Susan Wright: (613) 730-2020, (613) 314-2021 (cell)
e-mail: susan@suzwright.com