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about

Puff has a huge fan-base and is adored as a superhero by Deaf and hearing kids alike. Puff is a lovely and colourful character who talks about differences, diversity and acceptance. Through the lens of intersectionality, Puff teaches kids what it means to be Deaf in a positive light with lessons in deafness, sign language, culture and Deaf identity. Puff was originally created by Deaf writer Salla Fagerström in 2013 for Teatteri Totti in Finland, but with the COVID-19 pandemic,  it was adapted into “I Am Puff” series for online dissemination with the support of CCA Digital Originals.

“I Am Puff” was created by 1S1 Theatre, in collaboration with Why Not’s SHARE stream of activities. SHARE projects are partnerships with other independent artists and companies to help produce, present or tour their work. 

For D/deaf and hearing children

“My sister and I always would get up at five or six o’clock in the morning to watch those [Saturday morning] cartoons. And at this time, of course, there was no captioning. But the cartoons that were available were so expressive.  Now, I wouldn’t be able to watch and follow a cartoon without captioning because it’s changed.”

— Dawn Jani Birley, 1S1 Theatre Artistic Director

Read Dawn’s full interview with CBC Arts about the creation of  “I Am Puff”.

watch i am puff

More episodes coming soon!

More episodes coming soon!

Download the PUFF ASL storytelling app!

What our supporters are saying

"Our whole family loves Puff and we look forward to more episodes. It’s so hard to find educational resources for kids who sign but can hear, like our daughter. She loves how cute Puff is and signs along to the episodes. We have also been sharing the episodes with her friends and family so that they can learn to include signs in their communication.”

–Maya Berinzon

team

 “I Am Puff” was made possible by an amazing international Deaf-led team, led by Pavel Sakharov; Marianne Aro; Martin Aro; and Dawn Jani Birley.

Puff | Dawn Jani Birley
Voiceover | Miriam Fernandes
Director | Marianne Aro
Videographer | Martin Aro
Scriptwriting | Marianne Aro, Dawn Jani Birley
3D Animator, Storyboard, Compositing, Supervisor | Pavel Sakharov
Concept Art | Pavel Sakharov, Victoria Zhukova, Nadeznda Mazeina
Character Modelling Texture | Felix Fefilov
3D  Rigging | Dmitry Makukha
Costume | Irma Taivainen
Music, Sound Effects | John Millard
Audio Mixing | Yvonne Lu Trinh, James Ramlal

intermission interview

Dawn Jani Birley joins Intermission Magazine to discuss the importance of intersectionality in theatre and how her new show, “I Am Puff”, is bringing joy and accessibility to children’s theatre.

Featuring 1S1 Theatre‘s Artistic Director, Dawn Jani Birley, and Why Not Theatre’s SHARE Producer, Michelle Yagi. Interview by Jessica Watson. Video editing by Jill Harper. ASL interpretation by Sheila Johnston.

 

Can’t see access the video? Click here to view the interview from Intermission Magazine.

art for everyone by everyone

For media inquiries, please contact:
Yvonne Lu Trinh, Marketing & Communications
[email protected]

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