i am puff
episodes and productions
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.
"My sister and I always would get up at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning to watch Saturday morning cartoons. And at that time, in the 1980s, of course there was no captioning. But the cartoons that were available then were so expressive that we could follow along. Today, I wouldn't be able to watch and follow a cartoon without captioning because the format and approach has completely changed. With Puff, we are have created an expressive character, and grounded the series in the richness of ASL.”
Dawn Jani Birley, Artistic Director
Puff and the Magic Binoculars
1S1 Theatre is proud to bring you an interactive bilingual & storytelling app based on the ASL web series for children,
I Am Puff! Developed with the support of Gallaudet University
and the Motion Light Lab. The app is available for purchase on
the Apple Store for iPad only.
Puff Episodes
Puff Episodes
I Am Puff (Episode 1) - Puff and the Magic Binoculars
I Am Puff (Episode 3) - Puff Teaches Colours
I Am Puff (Episode 2) - Puff Teaches the ABCs
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.
CAST & CREATIVE
I Am Puff episodes were made possible by an amazing international Deaf-led team, led by Pavel Sakharov, Marianne Aro, Martin Aro, and Dawn Jani Birley.
Director
Scriptwriting
Puff
Voiceover
3D Animator, Storyboard,
Compositing, Supervisor
Concept Art
Character Modelling Texture
3D Rigging
Videographer
Costume
Music, Sound Effects
Audio Mixing
Marianne Aro
Marianne Aro & Dawn Jani Birley
Dawn Jani Birley
Miriam Fernandes
Pavel Sakharov
Pavel Sakharov, Victoria Zhukova,
Nadeznda Mazeina
Felix Fefilov
Dmitry Makukha
Martin Aro
Irma Taivainen
John Millard
Yvonne Lu Trinh, James Ramlal
Bilingual App
Project Director
Story by
Copy Editor
Illustrator
Puff
Editor
Costume Designer
Videographer
App Production
Puff character &
original story creator
Dawn Jani Birley
Marianne Aro & Dawn Jani Birley
Adam Pottle
Pavel Sakharov
Dawn Jani Birley
Pavel Rodionov
Giedrius Šarkauskas
Monika Kumžaitė
Pavel Rodionov & Conrad Baer
Salla Fagerström
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.
What our supporters are saying
Our whole family loves Puff and we look forward to more episodes. It is 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
Partners
I Am Puff was made possible by support from the Digital Originals grant, an initiative of the Canada Council for the Arts.