IIn 2021, during the Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes (FMTM) in Charleville-Mézières, the Enfants Sauvages, together with their French-speaking partners spread across three continents, launched the first edition of Autre chose est possible (“Something Else Is Possible”), a call for texts written for puppetry.
The project unfolds over two seasons: the first is devoted to receiving, selecting, and promoting submitted texts; the second launches the production of the winning text.
During the first season, the initial committee — made up of thirty readers divided into ten reading groups — selects a Top 10 from the fifty texts received. This Top 10 is then presented to the professional committee at the Fête des Possibles (Festival of Possibilities). This second committee is made up of well-known figures from the world of puppetry and contemporary writing. For the second edition, launched at FMTM 2023, professionals from France, Belgium, Switzerland, as well as Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were represented on our professional committee.
It is this professional committee that has the responsibility of choosing the winner!
From the very first edition, the Théâtre Halle Roublot partnered with the Enfants Sauvages to promote the texts submitted as part of the call. This gave rise to the Apéros des Possibles: a series of puppet readings. Once a month, from January to June, six puppetry directors are invited to create a staged puppet reading based on the Top 10 texts, working with three actors of their choice.
In 2022, the Jardin Parallèle joined Autre chose est possible and began hosting our puppet readings.
In 2023, the second edition of Autre chose est possible was launched, once again from the FMTM; this time, the Centre de la Marionnette de la FWB became its epicentre. With this new partnership, the Network took shape and created the Tournées des Possibles (Tours of Possibilities), to celebrate cross-border puppetry connections.
The winning text of the first edition of Autre chose est possible is Orange au pays des Angles by Canadian author David Baudemont. It is produced by the Enfants Sauvages and directed by Angélique Friant, co-director of the Jardin Parallèle.
The show is touring at each of the Réseau des Possibles’ partner venues.
The Réseau des Possibles programme is 100% funded by the Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen programme.
