A Tomte is a Swedish gnome, a quiet and unseen caretaker who watches over the lives of humans and animals.  On a cold winter night on a snow covered farm, Tomte teaches us about the importance of kindness and looking after living things.

Tomte is an intimate shadow puppet performance adapted from “The Tomten” by Astrid Lindgren and the poem by Victor Rydberg. The first part performance is created using live feed video of shadow puppets filmed through an overhead video camera and projected onto a transforming shadow screen. Puppetry, animal sounds and scenic transitions are all performed by Tom Lee with narration by storyteller Lisa Gonzales.  Following the shadow portion of the piece, Tomte emerges from the screen to interact with the audience.  During this portion, Tomte is presented as a kuruma ningyō (cart puppet) style figure inspired by Japanese traditions.  The entire performance is 30 minutes long.

Following the performance, puppeteer Tom Lee greets the audience and reveals the technology and traditions behind the performance and the kuruma ningyō style. During select presentations of the piece, Mr. Lee conducts puppet workshops where viewers can make their own simple shadow puppets and try them out on the screen.  The performance is intended for all ages.

Tomte trailer 2019:
https://youtu.be/drhroYGxqyc