Guiding figures: an investigation into the educational heritage of puppetry at ESNAM
Aurélie Hubeau (France) will be in residence of research from 5 to 9 January, then from 23 to 27 March 2026 to document her teaching. She is interested in the tutelary figures and pedagogical heritage of puppetry at ESNAM.
This residency project proposes artistic and documentary research on the matriarchal heritage of puppetry, through a targeted survey of female teachers at ESNAM (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette) since its creation. The aim is to highlight the women who have contributed to the transmission of knowledge at this iconic school, examining their contribution, influence and place in the history of contemporary puppetry. The residency will enable her to combine documentary research, artistic creation and feminist reflection in an environment conducive to experimentation.
This initial phase of research could lead to a hybrid presentation – combining installation, animated objects, interview excerpts and constructed figures – and lay the foundations for a future stage project based on the matrimoine of puppetry.
Aurélie Hubeau (France) is an actress, puppeteer and director.
She studied theatre at Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Performing Arts (1996-2002). She conducted research on Maeterlinck’s theatre under the supervision of playwright Daniel Lemahieu.
Enriched by the education and training she received at ESNAM (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette) from 2002 to 2005, she experimented on stage and discovered her taste for directing, staging Maeterlinck’s L’Intruse, which began a cycle of work on light and shadow that she continues to develop today.
In 2014, Aurélie Hubeau founded her puppet theatre company, Cie Méandres, in Charleville-Mézières in the Ardennes region.
Her encounter with visual artist Julie Faure Brac and her world of animal drawings led to the creation of a children’s show about death, Nos petits enterrements , in 2021. They are continuing their collaboration with the creation of Alice et le miroir in 2024. This interdisciplinary show combines puppetry, music and singing, featuring students from the 13th graduating class of ESNAM, as part of their third year of study, in collaboration with L’Ensemble Intercontemporain and La Philharmonie de Paris.
Since 2024, she has been teaching practical classes on the fundamentals of manipulation to the 14th class of ESNAM.