#relating forests - Workshop in Frankreich - resumee

When masks bring the forest to life

Our international workshop in the French Alps for relating forests
A transformative encounter between art, nature and community

Rediscovering the magic of the forest

From 21 to 23 May 2025, an extraordinary artistic journey took us to the breathtaking forests around Embrun in the French Southern Alps. As part of the international project ‘relating forests, we – Luzie Ackers and Marianne Cornil from TheatreFragile – worked together with Rebekka Saeter from Norway and Anne-Clare Dromzée and Anne Bouchon from France to explore new ways in which theatre and mask work can transform our relationship with the more-than-human world.

Masks as bridges to nature

In the heart of the Boscodon Forest, surrounded by majestic silver firs and beech trees, we led an intensive mask workshop with 38 participants. The neutral mask became our tool of transformation – a filter that sharpens our perception and invites us to see the world with new eyes.
‘The boundaries between my being and the insect and plant beings blurred, and I felt like part of the whole,’ one participant described his experience during the workshop.
By consciously restricting their field of vision, the participants focused more intensely on the essentials: the light between the leaves, the texture of tree bark, the flight of a bird. The mask freed them from their social identity and opened up a space for a more intimate encounter with the natural world.

Stories that transform worlds

Our French colleague Anne-Claire Dromzée led the group on a participatory fairy tale hike through the forest. Fairy tales from different cultures – from French legends to Norwegian ballads and Sami poems – wove a multilingual web of stories in which trees, ravens and other forest creatures were not just backdrops, but living protagonists.

Children as ambassadors of change

Our work with 47 schoolchildren from Châteauroux-les-Alpes and Puy Saint-Eusèbe was particularly moving. In a multidisciplinary workshop combining fairy tales, songs, foreign languages and games, we appealed to all the senses to create a connection to the forest.

Resonance and transformation

The response to our workshop was overwhelming: 66% of adult participants said that their relationship with nature had changed or strengthened as a result of the artistic activities. Emotions such as ‘openness’, ‘love’, “inspiration” and ‘peacefulness’ dominated – signs of genuine resonance with the forest.

Performance ecology: a complex interplay

Our work illustrated what scientists refer to as ‘performance ecology’: the complex interplay between artists, participants and place. Everyone brings their own realities, worldviews and intentions to the table. True ecological performance goes beyond telling nature stories – it recognises that social, ecological, psychological and physical systems are interwoven.

New questions, new paths

Our workshop also raised new questions: when we sing about the forest or tell stories, elements of the plant and animal world seem to appear as if by themselves. When the wind blows or birds sing while we talk about them – are these answers or coincidences?
These questions continue to drive our artistic research: How can we overcome our anthropocentric perspective? How can we make plants the protagonists of our artistic projects?

A call for connection

Our workshop in the French Alps showed that carefully selected stories, mask work and multisensory experiences can indeed transform the imagination. At a time when the connection between humans and nature is more critical than ever, theatre offers unique opportunities to create new narratives and heal old relationships.
The work of TheatreFragile embodies this vision: theatre as a bridge between worlds, as a space for transformation and as an invitation to see the world through different eyes.

This workshop was part of the international project ‘relating forests’ in collaboration with Cultures Eco-Actives (France) and NOBA – Norwegian BioArt Arena (Norway). We would like to thank all participants, local experts and partners who made this unique experience possible.
Find out more about our work and upcoming projects on our website or follow us on social media.