Noreen Young

Noreen Young is a puppeteer, puppet builder, and producer who performed Dodi on the Canadian co-production of Sesame Street, Sesame Park (replacing Robert Mills). It's a pity she never did any other characters on the show (at least I don't think she has). Noreen could have done other Canadian Henson projects, like Fraggle Rock which featured her performing partner Bob Stutt. Young should have been with the Muppets when she had the chance. Despite her limited Muppet work, she did more well known work outside of Sesame Park. Perhaps her best known work was performing and building the puppets for Readalong and Under the Umbrella Tree (as Gloria Gopher and others). Noreen Young also built puppets for The Noddy Shop (which she also performed on), The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon, and Today's Special, to name a few. In fact she has her own company where she built and performed the puppets for those shows called Noreen Young Productions, under her own name. Puppeteering is not the only thing she has done in Canada for she has also been a member of the Order of Canada since 1995. It's amazing how one puppeteer from one country can be a part of an important area. Noreen has worked with many performers, most notably her brother Stephen Brathwaite. Young should have one of her friends invite a Muppet performer up to Canada to see her puppets. From 2005-2016, she was also an artistic director of the Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival in her home. In recent years, she reprised the role of Gloria Gopher in a video called What Makes Canada Awesome?, as for most of her puppets, they are now on display in a museum. Noreen Young, you've done wonderful on Under the Umbrella Tree as well as those other projects which you made puppets. You even did an international co-production of Sesame Street. You should be proud of yourself to make a huge difference in Canada and maybe even the world. Until then, your puppets will be in our hearts Noreen. Great job Young!