Awards
2018 Drammy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Puppetry
Codirector, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show by Oregon Children’s Theatre. (Portland, OR)
2018 Big Easy Award for Costume Design
Mask Designer, The Spider Queen by the NOLA Project. (New Orleans, LA)
2012 Best Performance Mask
MASKIBITION 2012, Ink People Center for the Arts. (Eureka, CA)
2009 UNIMA Citation for Excellence in Art of Puppetry
Puppeteer, Pinocchio by Tears of Joy Theatre. (Portland, OR)
Articles and Reviews
REVEAL/CONCEAL and A UNIVERSAL FEELING at Chehalem Cultural Center
“…it took a village to fill the Chehalem Cultural Center with masks, and it’s one of the most impressive shows I’ve seen there, absolutely worth a visitor’s time. ” —David Bates for Oregon ArtsWatch
Review of ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Nomadic Theatre Co)
“The most interesting aspect of the production is director Michael O’Neill’s decision to mask all the characters in Wonderland. The masks are of the Venice carnival variety, covering only the top half of the face, and each is cleverly fashioned to reinforce the personalities of the characters who wear them. The best, with its deep creases that betray a lifetime of fretting, belongs to Caterpillar, a well-defined character overall with his morose slouchy posture, shuffley gait, and pessimistic outlook.
Another captivating character is the white-gloved Mad Hatter, whose manic physical movements include repeatedly leaping onto a china-filled tea table. Credit for all three—the masks and the characters of Caterpillar and Mad Hatter—goes to Tony Fuemmeler, who insists upon embracing the silliness of the play’s original story and thus provides its most fun and entertaining moments.” —Carol Wells for Oregon ArtsWatch
Review of THE STORM IN THE BARN (Oregon Children’s Theatre)
“The large-scale Storm King, an embodiment of the stingy rain that refuses to fall. In the capable hands of actor Damon Kupper (who also plays Pa and is a member of Third Rail) it’s disconcertingly humanoid and looming.” —Anne Adams for The Portland Monthly
Review of THE ADDING MACHINE (Theatre Vertigo)
“The Adding Machine is expertly directed and designed, down to the subtly grotesque masks worn by most of the cast. Director Jane Geesman has a clear vision, a great script, and the cast and crew to pull it off. Pull it off they do.” —Alison Hallett for The Portland Mercury
Reviews of THE SPIDER QUEEN (The NOLA Project)
“Most of the cast wear elaborate masks—designed by Tony Fuemmeler—or exquisite costumes—by Hope Bennet—to transport the audience into a fantasy realm. Hebert Benjamin, who plays two fantasy characters, said this performance allows actors to “just losing yourself and becoming something bigger.”” —Claire Byun for The Mid-City Messenger
“The Spider Queen is a visually effective endeavor…[director Jon Greene] perceived The Spider Queen as epic, Renaissance storytelling, which lent itself to puppetry and masks. Greene engaged Portland, Oregon mask-maker Tony Fuemmeler who previously had created masks for theater. ‘Wearing a mask changes the way you move your body,’ Fuemmeler says. ‘A mask must allow an actor to show emotion, breathe or do combat.’” —Mary Rickard for The Gambit