Young, Noreen, 1939- : Noreen Isabel Young (born in Ottawa, 1939), is a nationally and internationally recognized Canadian designer, producer, writer and puppeteer.
Young grew up with her two brothers, John and Stephen Brathwaite, in Old Ottawa South and was educated at Hopewell Avenue Public School and Glebe Collegiate. For post-secondary education, she went to the Ontario School of Art (OSA now OCAD) in Toronto and took Drawing and Painting. After her studies at the OSA, Noreen Young quickly developed her unique artistic style and talents as a puppet builder.
Her very first TV program was "Voici Babou", a French production for children produced at CJOH in Ottawa in 1961. The purpose of the show was to teach French to children as a second language. During the same year, Young worked with producer Patrick Watson on his satirical late night show "Nightcap" at CBC Ottawa. Watson used Noreen Young's political puppets in short segments based on current events.
From the late 1960s to the present day, Young has been involved in numerous television productions as a designer, puppeteer and writer, contributing to iconic Canadian children's shows, notably CBC's "Hi Diddle Day" (1967 to 1976), "The Readalong" (1970s), "The Pencil Box" (1976-1979), as well as "Sesame Park" (1970s to 2001). Young would ultimately become a producer, notably with the creation of Noreen Young Productions Inc. in 1979, and contribute to many well-known children's television shows. She is best known for creating "Under the Umbrella Tree", a children's series produced from 1986 to 1993 and broadcast on CBC television, YTV and The Disney Channel from 1987 to 2000. She starred in the series as the puppet character, Gloria Gopher. The series was versioned into French for the Quebec channel Canal Famille. When studio production of the series ended, Noreen Young put together a touring stage show based on the program's characters and performed in various venues in Canada.
Over the course of her career, Noreen Young's distinctive puppet characters have appeared on CBC, CTV, TVOntario, The Disney Channel, BBC USA, Canal Famille and Much Music. Her look-alike caricature puppets include Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and her husband, John Ralston Saul, CBC's Peter Mansbridge, popular TV personality Wayne Rostad, hockey host, Don Cherry, Mike Duffy, prominent politicians, in addition to many local residents and business people in her own community of Almonte, ON.
In 1973 and 1974, Noreen wrote two children's stage plays which were published by Playwright's Co-op: "The Valliant Tailor" (1973) and "Pickles and Puppets (1974). Both were performed at the Ottawa Little Theatre's Theatre for Children as well as other Children's theater companies in Canada. A promoter of education, she has conducted numerous workshops in schools to teach young people the art and enjoyment of puppetry and has encouraged its application to all parts of the curriculum. In 1995, friends and family in her community of Almonte, Ontario, established a bursary in her name to help assist local young artists, notably in the field of puppet making.
As the founder and Artistic Director of the annual Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival, which ran from 2005 to 2016 in Almonte, Ontario, she was instrumental in securing troupes from around the world to showcase their talents to Canadian audiences. These have included visiting troupes from Britain, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, France, Brazil, Mexico, Hungary, Russia, India United States, and from all across Canada.
For her remarkable work as a children's television show producer and innovative puppeteer, she was awarded the Order of Canada in 1994 (invested in 1995). She was also awarded the ACTRA award for Best Children's Program and the UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry. She has also received the Children's Broadcast Institute Achievement Award, CBC's Anik Award and ACTRA's Best Children's Programme award.
Noreen Young resides in Almonte, Ontario, with her husband Bruce Edward Kingsley and continues to foster a tremendous appreciation for the arts through her artistic endeavours and community spirit. Young was also married to Harry (Brig) Young and has two sons, Ian Young and Alec Young.
