Pityu Kenderes is one of the founding co-artistic directors of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. He’s a designer, a sculptor, painter, puppeteer, and director in live theatre, opera, and film. Pityu is an innovator in the research and development stage of productions and is committed to the reimagining of the art of puppetry. He works in a multitude of combined media and has a vibrant and active personal art practice. Pityu is also a published children’s book illustrator. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design, and a Graduate degree in Fine Arts from the University of Calgary. When not on tour, or at work at the Old Trout Puppet Workshop in Calgary, he can be found renovating his old Victorian house and studio overlooking the sea in a town called Pictou, Nova Scotia, with his partner Jen, many dogs and cats and stray animals, plants, and moss. Pityu also can’t think of any words that can express his gratitude for the love of his family, so Pete’s not special just because he turned in his bio first.

Peter Balkwill is a co-artistic director and founding member of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. He is also the founder and co-education/artistic director of the Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry (CAMP), and an associate professor of drama in the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), at the University of Calgary. Currently, Peter is on research leave from the SCPA which is giving him the time to get his hands even dirtier in the craft of puppetry, to be able to bring this experience to bear when he goes back, pushing the next wave of artists into the ever-expanding community of puppeteers in this city. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has given Peter the opportunity to work in new collaborative ways, and in particular he wishes to thank the writing cohort for their tenacity in pushing through pandemics, government shifts, economic tomfoolery and constant climatic uncertainty; if nothing else at least there was always the writing room on zoom. He’d also like to say a great thank you to ATP and the Banff Centre for making this project happen. It would be impossible for him to even consider the life of an artist without the support of his wife and kids, Nan, Walker and Juno. There are no words that can be written to express his gratitude for the love of his family.

Judd Palmer is one of the founding co-artistic directors of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Over the past 25 years with the Old Trouts, Judd has directed, designed, written or co-written and/or performed in many shows. He has also written and illustrated nine children’s books (three of which have been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award), and is an erstwhile filmmaker of sorts; he wrote, directed, and narrated the award-winning Old Trout Christmas special (produced by the National Film Board), and is currently hard at work on the Old Trout Hallowe’en special, which might be released next year. He is also the general manager of Puente Theatre, a company based in Victoria dedicated to building bridges between cultures. In his misspent youth he was the slide banjo player in the stomp & holler trance blues band The Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir.  Judd just discovered that he can apply to have “UE” after his name because he’s a descendant of United Empire Loyalists, namely Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle, refugees from the American Revolution who settled in the unfortunately-named town of Pugwash, Nova Scotia in fear of the ravenous mob down south. In an irony of history he is also distantly related to the Swamp Fox, the American partisan fighter played by Mel Gibson in The Patriot. He lives in a moat with his beloved wife Mercedes and two children Max and Sofía and Judd is even MORE grateful for the love of his family than Pete and Pityu. So there.

Craig is an Alberta-based theatre director with over 25 years of experience in the performing arts. From 2012 to 2022, he served as the artistic director of Vertigo Theatre in Calgary, where he was known for his innovative productions and for evolving the company’s mystery mandate. In January 2025, Craig became the artistic director of Rosebud Theatre & School of the Arts, aiming to build upon its rich legacy of fostering new artists. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades for direction, design and innovation.

Andrew Blizzard is a composer and sound designer who is often loud and sometimes quiet. He is very excited to have the opportunity to add some music and noise to this incredible project. Selected credits include Sound Design and Original Composition for Meteor Shower, Iceland, Blow Wind High Water (Theatre Calgary), Hamlet (Shakespeare by the Bow); The Woman in Black, Clue, Murder on the Orient Express, Dracula: The Bloody Truth, Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem, Nine Dragons, The Haunting, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Travels with my Aunt, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Noirville (Vertigo Mystery Theatre); Macbeth (The Shakespeare Company/Hit & Myth/Vertigo); In On It, The Surrogate (Lunchbox); The After, aWay (ANCHOR|RED Theatre); Shakespeare’s Dog (Alberta Theatre Projects); Lieutenant of Inishmore (Ground Zero Theatre/Hit & Myth); Blood: A Scientific Romance (Sage Theatre); Le Gros Spectacle (The Wind-up Dames/ATP playRites 2006); PARANOiA (The Wind-up Dames/Ground Zero Theatre). He has received three Betty Mitchell awards and was a nominee for an AMPIA award for the short film The Money Tree. Andrew wishes to thank his darling wife, Brieanna, and his most amazing designs ever, Sebastian and Rowan. Nose kiss.

Jah’kota is an Afro-Indigenous artist and entrepreneur. His father is from Kingston Jamaica and his mother is Nakota Assiniboine, signatories to Treaty 4. He was born and raised in Winnipeg and now lives full time on Ocean Man First Nation in Saskatchewan.

Jah'kota has had two songs reach number one on the Indigenous music countdown and has been nominated for multiple awards including the Indigenous Music Awards 2019, the Native American Music Awards 2024, and the SaskMusic Awards 2025.

Justin “Jahkota” Holness uses music as a way to amplify the message of self-determination and to empower the welfare of people and the planet. 

Alice Wordsworth is a mixed-race actor and producer based in Moh’kinsstis (Calgary), and a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting Program.

Though classically trained for the stage, Alice quickly transitioned to the screen, earning a Rosie Award nomination for their debut lead role in the feature film A Cowboy Against Thunder. Their performance as Clara in Avalon Fast’s CAMP marks one of their first international appearances, with the film set to screen at genre festivals including Fantastic Fest, Sitges, Brooklyn Horror and SXSW Sydney. Coming up, they star in the new TV series Eyes in the Woods, premiering on OUTtv in October 2025.

Select theatre credits: Charlotte’s Web (ATP) The Tempest, Love'sHeavy Burden (The Shakespeare Company), The Immaculate Perfection… (BodyCube Arts)

She would like to extend her gratitude to her friends, family, and Jude for their love and support.