bekky O’Neil
Portfolio Personal: www.bekky.ca | Studio: www.cardboardreality.ca
Skills Directing for Stage & Screen, Storyboarding, Traditional and Mixed Media Animation, Puppet & Mask Construction, Armature Construction, Scriptwriting, Photography, Video & Sound Editing, Web Design, Illustration, Textile & Surface Pattern Design, Comics
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, AfterEffects, ProTools, TVPaint Animation Pro, DragonFrame Stop Motion, ToonBoom Harmony, Final Draft, Final Cut Pro, Excel, Quickbooks
Languages English (mother tongue) | Français (fonctionnel)
Education
Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD University), Interdisciplinary Art, Media & Design – MFA Specialization in Animated Documentary & Sustainable Agriculture | 2016 – 2020
Thesis: “What Does a Garden Know? Permaculture Explorations in the Field & Studio”
Concordia University, Major in Film Animation, Bachelor of Fine Arts | Montréal, Québec | 2013-2016
Bread & Puppet Theatre, Glover, Vermont | Volunteer Intern & Performer | 2008-2011
(Including performances at the UNIMA International Puppetry Conference in 2011 at University of Connecticut & Honk! A Festival of Activist Marching Bands in Somerville, MA)
Concordia University, Major in Playwrighting, Bachelor of Fine Arts | 2005-2010
Teaching Experience
Online Workshop Development, Cardboard Reality Farm & Studio, A new series of Covid-19 friendly at-home workshops launching Fall 2020
Workshop Leader, Cardboard Reality Farm & Studio, Cobourg, Ontario, 2018-2020
Subjects of Instruction Include: Silkscreening, Shibori Indigo Dye, Needle Felting, Stop Motion Animation, Papier Maché Mask Construction, Lino Carving / Relief Printing, Papercraft
Private Animation Instructor, Cardboard Reality Farm & Studio, Cobourg, Ontario, 2019-2020
(Worked both with adult artists looking to add an additional medium to their craft, and home schooled children)
Workshop Leader, Critical Mass Port Hope, Intro to Shadow Puppetry, 2019
Teaching Assistant, Concordia University, Technical Aspects of Animated Filmmaking, Professor Jean Théberge, 2014-2015
Volunteer Workshop Leader, Art City St James Town, Giant Puppet Construction, 2011
Visual Arts Instructor, Camp Manitou Sports & Arts Centre, Parry Sound, Ontario, 2004
Grants & Awards
Ontario Arts Council, Grants to Visual Artists, 2020
OCAD University, 3 Minute Thesis Competition, Second Place, 2020
Private Donor, Bailey Scholarship for Canadian Artists, 2018
Concordia University Film Festival, Best Animated Film, 2016
Concordia University, Richter Award for Animated Filmmaking, 2015
Canada Council for the Arts, Grants to Theatre Artists, 2010
Concordia University, Shuffle Entrance Scholarship, 2005
Artist Talks & Lectures
AGN (Art Gallery of Northumberland) Spotlight Series: Cardboard Reality Farm & Studio, 2020
Ah! (Arts & Heritage) Warkworth, Of Wool & Wire: The Stop Motion Worlds of Cardboard Reality, 2018
18th Animation Show of Shows, Last summer, in the garden, Tour speaking about my film at theatres, animation studios and universities in California including: Sony Pictures Animation, Illumination Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Google, Pixar Animation Studios, Industrial Light & Magic, Apple, Tippet Studios, 20th Century Fox Animation, Cogswell College, USC Animation School & UCLA
Filmography (Director & Animator | Cardboard Reality Farm & Studio)
Demo reel available at www.cardboardreality.ca
Gallery / Installation / Concerts
Winter Stories, An Interactive Shadow Puppetry Installation at the Port Hope Candlelight Festival, Critical Mass, 2019
Of Wool & Wire: The Stop Motion Worlds of Cardboard Reality, AH! Arts & Heritage Warkworth, 2018
Course Credit (Group Show), OCAD U Grad Gallery, Toronto, 2017
Humanalia (Group Show), OCAD U Grad Gallery, Toronto, 2016
Philosophical Toys, Concordia University Fine Arts Reading Room, Artist in Residence, 2015
Otherworldly Curiosity (Group Show), VAV Gallery, Concordia University, Montreal, 2013
Paper Moon, NextStage Theatre Festival Courtyard Installation, Factory Theatre, Toronto, 2012
Off The Wall (Group Show), Canadian Sculpture Centre, Toronto, 2012
Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand: A Brief History of the World, Leitmotif, Nuit Blanche Toronto, 2011
Cabinet of Curiosity, Visual Fringe, Toronto Fringe Festival, 2011
Jehovah’s 3D MegaParty, Pop Matters, Les Saints, Pop Montreal Music Festival, 2008
Theatre (Writer, Director & Designer | Quality Slippers Productions)
Complete Theatre C.V. Available Upon Request
Urge for Going: The Joni Mitchell Project, Montreal & Toronto Fringe Festivals, 2014
Exit, pursued by a bear., SummerWorks Festival, 2014
for you, Emmy, Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, 2010
Being the Enthralling Story of Herculine Barbin, International Toy Theatre Festival, NYC, 2010
Feed the Birds Cabaret (Curator), Henson Puppet Slam Network, Various Venues, Toronto, 2010-2012
Arts Administration
Fund Development & Administrative Coordinator | Apathy is Boring | 2013-2014
Gallery Administrator | The Al Green Gallery for the Arts | 2011-2012
Studio Assistant | The Al Green Sculpture Studio School | 2010-2012
Assistant to Chief Operating Officer | Just For Laughs Festival | 2006-2008