Michelle Urbano is a Toronto theatre creator, puppeteer, storyteller, and producer, recognized in 2017 by Cahoots Theatre as one of their “30 for 30” – 30 artists shaping the next 30 years of Toronto theatre.  Her background is in devised theatre and new play creation, and as such, she feels most at home working with a team on creative projects.  Michelle was the Producer for SiA’s otîhêw last summer. She lives just on the other side of the Humber River, and is thrilled to be connecting more deeply with the Weston community through her new position as Artistic Director.

Michelle was the co-Artistic Director and Producer for the award-winning found-object puppetry company, Artichoke Heart and recently Produced the Toronto International Storytelling Festival, leading the project in its 43rd (2022) and 44th (2023) edition.  She recently completed a tour of Quest for the Moon, and Old Man and the River with the Wee Festival.  She was an artist-in-residence at Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, and completed three tours with the company (Canada, USA, China). She has performed and worked in a variety of capacities with the CBC, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Theatre by the Bay, Pandemic Theatre, Eldritch Theatre, the Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and more.

Photo by Dahlia Katz