Pôle International de la Marionnette

“Auteurs en tandem marionnette & théâtre”: 1st edition!

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To take part, send in your application by 16 June!

ARTCENA, the Pôle International de la Marionnette, La Chartreuse – Centre national des écritures du spectacle, La NEF – Lieu de création dédié aux arts de la marionnette et aux écritures contemporaines, the Théâtre de la Halle Roublot / Cie Espace Blanc, Le Manège, Scène nationale de Reims, Le Tas de Sable – Ches Panses Vertes – Centre national de la marionnette à Amiens, the TJP – Centre dramatique national de Strasbourg, La Comète – Scène nationale de Châlons-en-Champagne, L’Arc – Scène Nationale du Creusot and the Théâtre de Châtillon have joined forces, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture, to launch the ‘Auteurs en tandem marionnette & théâtre’ (Authors in tandem Puppet & Theatre) scheme, designed to encourage dialogue between the various types of writing.

This scheme invites an author who has been awarded the Aide nationale à la création de textes dramatiques and a puppet artist to meet, share their imaginations and work together on a cross-disciplinary writing project.

The aim of this support programme is to encourage experimentation so that artists can enrich and distinguish their approach through dialogue with other visions, languages and skills. It aims to contribute to the cross-disciplinary nature (of the arts, sectors and networks) and vitality of contemporary writing.

This scheme is for tandems made up of :

  • An author who has been awarded the Aide nationale à la création de textes dramatiques – ARTCENA (national support for the creation of dramatic texts)
  • And a puppet artist, engaged in a creative process.

Auteurs en tandem supports a cross-writing research laboratory between two authors in the context of an unprecedented encounter (outside the framework of a production in progress). The scheme does not involve the production of a show, but it does nurture a collaboration that may or may not continue, possibly in the form of a new work.

The Auteurs en tandem project must be produced by the structured company of one of the authors or by a delegated structure. The company will contact each partner venue to prepare the administrative, logistical and technical organisation of the residencies and the performance, in accordance with the conditions of the partners.

The tandems must make themselves available for each period of residency. Thanks to the scheme’s partners, each winning tandem will benefit from a total financial contribution of €12,000 to €14,000 (confirmation pending), writing residencies and work on the stage over the 2025/2026 season, with the costs of accommodation covered.

Financial contributions and support for hosting costs are calculated for the two people making up the tandem only.

Each tandem will present a thirty-minute laboratory performance at the Temps d’M puppetry festival in Charleville-Mézières on 19 September 2026.

The applications will be reviewed by the scheme’s partners, who will be interested in the authors’ profiles, the issues involved in the encounter and the tandem’s project as part of the search for cross-disciplinary writing. The two winning tandems will be selected in early July and announced at the World Puppet Theatre Festival in September 2025.

DATES FOR RESIDENCIES 2025-2026

Route A (1 week’s residency per venue)
La Chartreuse, Villeneuve lez Avignon: autumn 2025 (dates to be confirmed)
La Halle Roublot, Fontenay sous bois: 06 to 10 October 2025 or 13 to 17 October 2025
Le Manège, Reims: 16 to 27 February 2026
Le Tas de Sable – Ches Panses Vertes, Amiens: March 2026 (dates to be confirmed)
Le TJP, Strasbourg: between early June and mid-July 2026 (dates to be specified)
Le Pôle International de la Marionnette, Charleville-Mézières: 14 to 18 September 2026

Route B (1 week’s residency per venue)
La Chartreuse, Villeneuve lez Avignon: autumn 2025 (dates to be confirmed)
La NEF, Pantin: 13 to 17 October or 01 to 05 December 2025
Théâtre de Châtillon: 23-28 February 2026
La Comète, Châlons-en-Champagne: 13 to 17 April 2026
L’Arc, Le Creusot: from 11 to 16 May 2026
Le Pôle International de la Marionnette, Charleville-Mézières: from 14 to 18 September 2026

APPLICATIONS

To apply, send us your complete application to contact@marionnette.com by 16 June, including :

  • A statement of intent (meeting themes, research themes, projections for the residency process, etc.)
  • A biography of each of the two artists
  • A letter of availability for each residency period
  • A certificate identifying the organisation producing the project

FIND YOUR PAIR!

If you are interested in the scheme and are looking for a partner to form your tandem, you can be put in touch with a winning author or a puppet artist.
Contact us at contact@marionnette.com!