Mind of a Snail is a shadow puppetry duo currently based out of Vancouver BC. Since 2003, Chloé Ziner and Jessica Gabriel have been developing a multilayered style of visual storytelling using overhead projectors as their main light source. Their performances play at the intersection of puppetry, visual arts, clowning & music.
They have designed and created original work for Vancouver Art Gallery, Science World, Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and numerous others. They have performed in theatre & arts festivals across Canada such as Wildside Festival (Montreal), Revolver Festival (Vancouver), Summerworks (Toronto), Casteliers International Puppetry Festival (Montreal), Festival International des Arts de la Marionnette à Saguenay, Festival of Animated Objects (Calgary). International highlights include a tour of Taiwan 2017, performing on the Mainstage of the Puppeteers of America Festival in 2019 & Festival Internacional de Teatro de Sombras São Paulo, Brazil 2023.
Their show Multiple Organism won Critic’s Choice Innovation Award at the 2018 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards. They were nominated for Outstanding Projection Design for Persephone Theatre’s production of Matchstick at the 2015 SATAwards in Saskatoon. Their shows Multiple Organism, Curious Contagious, Caws & Effect, and Against Gravity have won dozens of awards at Fringe Theatre festivals across Canada and the USA.
