Marie GARRÉ-NICOARA

Dr. Marie GARRÉ-NICOARA serves as a Lecturer in Performing Arts at the University of Artois, France, within the Faculty of Letters and Arts. Her academic career spans over a decade of dedicated research and teaching in puppetry arts, scenography, and contemporary dramatic writing, with special attention to performances for young audiences. She has established herself as a leading researcher through extensive publications, conference organization, and academic leadership within the European performing arts community.

• 2013: Doctor of Performing Arts, Texts and Cultures Research Team (EA 4028), University of Artois, Arras
• 2014: Qualified for the position of lecturer (MCF) in section 18
• 2015: Elected MCF (section 18) at the University of Artois

Dr. GARRÉ-NICOARA's research centers on spatial issues in contemporary puppetry, exploring the dramaturgical and scenographic dimensions of theater and gesture arts. Her doctoral thesis focused on 'The puppet space, a place for the theatricalization of the imagination,' examining scenographic renewals and spectator placement in contemporary puppetry. She investigates the puppet as a space for theatricalizing imagination, examining the artificial body on spectacular stages, dramaturgies of illusion, imaginaries of the body, and audience reception. Her work bridges aesthetics with creative process studies through three main research axes: puppetry arts, scenography, and contemporary dramatic and scenic writing.

Her scholarly output reveals consistent engagement with theoretical and practical dimensions of puppetry. Recent publications show increasing attention to spatial dynamics, audience-performer relationships, and intersections between traditional puppetry with contemporary theatrical innovations. Her work demonstrates how puppetry serves as a laboratory for exploring human-nonhuman relationships, spatial perception, and the boundaries of theatrical representation, particularly in urban spaces and for young audiences.

Dr. GARRÉ-NICOARA has made significant contributions to academic service through committee work and expertise. From 2019-2022, she served on the Hauts-de-France Advisory Committee evaluating creation projects. In 2020, she served as an expert for doctoral candidate evaluations at Cergy Paris Université. She has provided editorial expertise for academic journals including Percées, Demeter, and Jeunesse, and has reviewed manuscripts for Artois Presses Universitaires and other academic publishers.

• 2024-2025: Co-organizing international colloquium 'Gestes et processus dans les arts de la marionnette' in three parts at Universities of Artois, Strasbourg, and Poitiers
• 2019-2022: Coordination of research cycle 'Figurez-vous!' with Julie Postel
• 2022: Participation in thesis committees for Anne Lempicki and Claude-Léon Chiche

As an educator, Dr. GARRÉ-NICOARA teaches across eight thematic axes including puppetry aesthetics, contemporary creation analysis, scenography, dramaturgy, youth theater, ecological questions in performance, theater history, and research methodology. She has served in various administrative roles including program director for the Bachelor's degree since 2019-2020 and co-director of the Master's program in Performing Arts and Live Performance. Her teaching emphasizes collaboration with regional performance venues, providing students with direct engagement with contemporary theatrical practices.