White Whale - The Digital Program
Thank you for supporting my art by attending “White Whale” at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.
Please enjoy learning a little more about the show.
Get to know the Performer and Production Companies of White Whale
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Sean P. Mette
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Sean P. Mette is a writer, actor, and puppeteer. Sean started his professional theatrical career as a touring puppeteer and actor for Madcap Puppets. Since then, he has performed for several organizations including the Know Theatre of Cincinnati, the Carnegie and OTRimprov, where he is one of the founding members.
As a writer, Sean has had several of his plays produced in the Greater Cincinnati. Among his favorites are “Furlesque,” “Martha,” “Silent Scream,” “Krampus Claus,” and “The Haunting of William Howard Taft.” Sean’s digital puppet show, “Unintentional Significance: A Puppet Show about Everything and Nothing” won the 2022 Show of the Year Award from the Young-Howze Theatre Journal.
When he is not busy working with puppets, he often can be found in the woods hiking, fossil hunting and creating craft s’mores recipes. -
Autumn Kaleidoscope
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Autumn Kaleidoscope creates theatrical performances that aim to be high in quality, well researched, and feature elements of both the familiar and the absurd. Founded by Sean P. Mette to tell the story of a girl wanting to dance in a Burlesque show for furries (“Furlesque”), Autumn Kaleidoscope has been creating art in Cincinnati for seven years. Autumn Kaleidoscope’s newest productions often premiere at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.
Productions History:“Furlesque “(2016 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)
”My Darling Dilophosaurus” (2017 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)
”Billy: The Haunting of William Howard Taft” (2018 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)
”Martha” (2019 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)
”The Bassoonist” (2020 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)
”Unintentional Significance: A Puppet Show About Everything and Nothing” ( 2021 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, 2021 KeyBank, Rochester Fringe Festival, 2022 PittsburghFringe Festival) ”“Banned from Heaven, Barred from Hell” (2022 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)
“Trolls, Trolls, Trolls” (2023 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)*
“The Emu that Ate Cincinnati” (2024 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)*
“White Whale” (2026 Cincinnati Fringe Festival)*
*co-produced with Mette Puppets -
Mette Puppets
Mette Puppets strives to create new and exciting programs that entertain, educate and inspire all audiences - from the young to the young at heart!
Mette Puppets was founded in 2024 by Sean P. Mette in an effort to more cohesively collect and produce his puppetry performances, education and experimental puppetry (both on the stage and screen) under one banner.
The Projections of White Whale
During the course of the show, several projections are shown of historical and/or artistic interpretations of events and people both in1877 and 1912. Due to the nature of the performance space, not every image is the easiest to interpret. We have compiled a page with every image with a short description for you to see what you are looking at.
A Note from the Producer
“You Better Not Kill That Whale!”
The first time that I publicly told the story of “The White Whales of Cincinnati” was in the crowded basement performance venue at Dead Low Brewery. The story was more “bare bones” than the show you are about to see. As I approached the the conclusion of the third whale story, a woman stood up in the darkness and yelled “You Better Not Kill That Whale!” I responded with “Lady, do I have some bad news for you. There’s a reason that this story was lost.”
I was first made aware of the story of Cincinnati’s White Whales a few years ago from an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer by Jeff Seuss. I knew immediately that there was something special about this story. How had a story so spectacular escaped my knowledge for so long. I then spent the next several years researching and trying to figure out how to bring this “whale of a tale” to the stage. Each trip to the Library of Congress or the archives of the Cincinnati Public Library provided some new and interesting trail to follow; expanding the full scope of this lost story.
I love history. Moreover, I love the synchronism of history. The connected dots of history, as it were, lining up all the events to see what was happening all at the same time. However, what I love most, is forgotten history. The history that falls through the cracks of time. The stories and events that had big significance to one person or people that was quickly forgotten. In the history of the planet, most history is forgotten history. We are presented everyday with amazing wonders that we take for granted.
I invite you, to take an hour to learn about one of these forgotten stories from our collective past. And then to go out and experience something wonderful. Amazing things are happening around us. Go and experience it.
Sean P. Mette
A Special Note about this Production
On May 11th, I underwent surgery to begin fixing an injury that was sustained weeks earlier and a problem that had been developing for years. Although, the recovery has been very successful, it has also been very slow. This unfortunate timing was not ideal for producing a fringe production.
I am asking for your patience and understanding if any errors occur during the production. It is my intent to put on the finest production that you and this story deserves.
Additionally, I want to specially thank my parents, Mary Ann and Brian Mette, for helping me through this process. I would not be here today, without their unwavering encouragement, love and support. I love you both so deeply.
Autumn Kaleidoscope & Mette Puppets would like to extend a special thanks to the following:
Mary Ann and Brian Mette
Tamara Winters
Amber Lutes
Karen Brinkman
Joe Mock
Alison Strickland Rampa
The Know Theatre of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Fringe Festival Staff
The countless supporters who have helped, guided and supported me over the past several years
And Trey Tatum, who was the first person I told this story to years ago and has been kind enough to listen to me as I continued to research
Mette Puppets on YouTube Needs Your Help!
Want to learn and watch more interesting puppetry? We just launched a new YouTube Channel to help highlight our interesting puppet builds, puppet history and puppet performances. If you are so inclined, we would love if you subscribed. We have a lot of exciting projects we can’t wait to share with you! There is already a short video from our production of Unintentional Significance already uploaded.
Stay tuned after Fringe for the puppetry content to begin on a much more regular upload schedule.
Looking for a Recommendation on What to See Next?
Want to see more Fringe, but not sure what to see next? There is really no bad answer when choosing what fringe show you should see next. Each show is new and your tickets directly supports the artists. Here are some of our puppetry focused recommendations!
Antonym by Solasta Theatre Lab (Cincinnati, OH)
DMLRR: The Saints by Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue/Debra McWilliams (Baltimore, MD)
Early Bird by Jack Fogle (Cincinnati, OH)
Momento Holly by Zoe Peterson (Cincinnati, OH)
Transcendent by Cincinnati City Queers (Cincinnati, OH)