The arts performance company Shadowland (legal name, Shadowland Repertory Company) was founded[1] in 1982 by Whitney Smith and Victor Coleman with a mandate of producing musicals using shadow puppetry and other alternative theatrical media.

Welfare State principals Boris and Maggie Howarth were hired to assist and the result was Island Follies, a historical fantasia.

[3] In 1985, Smith and Coleman handed over the company to the key group of Toronto Island artists who worked on the show – Kathleen Doody, Leida Englar, Jerry Englar, Brad Harley and Sarah Miller.

Other major influences are Bread and Puppet Theater, Peter Minshall and Trinidad Carnival (leading to many years of involvement in Caribana parades) and ongoing working relationships with many Caribbean artists.

These influences have contributed to Shadowland's bold and visually distinctive form of theatre and performance events.