EVERYTHING STARTED IN MONTREAL IN 2012
Quebec was the founding starting point for the company's international development.
In May 2012, Céline Garnavault accompanied by puppeteer Dinaïg Stall and musician Kim Giani, were selected by the "Petits Bonheurs" festival in Montreal for a two-week creation residency of the show Play at the Théâtre le Carrousel. As part of their presence, they conduct workshops with the arts festival of puppetry "Casteliers" and forge important connections with many professionals.
Following its creation in October 2012, PLAY is presented at several Young Audience festivals in France. This is how it is discovered by delegations of foreign programmers.
2014/2016 — PLAY: FIRST INTERNATIONAL CIRCULATIONS
Starting in 2014, the PLAY show is presented in Brazil:
- September 26 → 28, 2014: FIL Festival – Rio de Janeiro
- October 10 → 11, 2014: TIC Festival – Fortaleza
In May 2015, PLAY takes flight to Quebec, marking a foundational step in the relationship with the Quebec territory:
- May 1 → 2, 2015: Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke – Quebec
- May 7 → 10, 2015: Théâtre Les Gros Becs – Quebec
- May 12 → 17, 2015: Maison Théâtre – Montreal
PLAY also expands in Europe:
- February 13 → 14, 2015: Spinrag Festival – Courtrai (Belgium)
- May 27 → 28, 2015: Pépites Festival – Charleroi (Belgium)
- October 20 → 21, 2026: De betovering Festival - The Hague: where it wins 4 stars in the national cultural newspaper "theaterkrank"
At the end of 2016, PLAY continues its distribution this time in India in New Delhi, Nagpur, Bombay, and Hyderabad. During this tour, Céline Garnavault and her team participate in professional meetings, conduct workshops, and are invited to a press conference with notably "Times of India". Articles and an interview appear in the national press on this occasion.
- November 24, 2016: Jashnebachpan Festival / NEW DEHLI (India)
- December 3, 2016: NAGPUR (India)
- December 5, 2016: Tifli Festival / NEW DEHLI (India)
- December 7, 2016: Tifli Festival / BOMBAY (India)
- December 9, 2016: Tifli Festival / HYDERARBAD (India)
2015 — THE ROCKETS: A NEW INTERNATIONAL LABORATORY
In May 2015, the company engages in its first Franco-Quebec laboratory around the creation THE ROCKETS with Croatian performer Darko Japelj, French actress Maïa Ricaud, puppeteer Dinaïg Stall — now a researcher and director of the DESS in contemporary puppetry at UQAM — and Quebec puppeteer, visual artist, and musician Karine Sauvé (company Mammifères).
The project is hosted in residency in Quebec:
- École Lanaudière – Montreal
- Théâtre Le Carrousel – Montreal
The creation THE ROCKETS is then performed in Belgium in 2017.
- February 25, 2017: Spinrag Festival – Courtrai
2016 — BLOCK: STRUCTURING THE FRANCE-QUEBEC LINK
In April 2016, taking advantage of the PLAY tour in Quebec (May 2026), the company organizes two research residencies for the BLOCK project in Montreal at UQAM – Université du Québec à Montréal and in Quebec at the Caserne Ex Machina; during a residency organized by theThéâtre jeunesse Les Gros Becs (Quebec) including visits, meetings, and professional round tables.
Céline Garnavault and Thomas Sillard explore alongside puppeteer-researcher Dinaïg Stall, Quebec composer Frédéric Lebrasseur, the young audience company Les Incomplètes, and also with architect Erick Rivard and urban planner Nathalie Prudhomme, around her project "The city imagined by the child".
2017 – THE COMPANY JOINS SCÈNES D'ENFANCES - ASSITEJ FRANCE
In 2017, La Boîte à sel joins the Scènes d'Enfances - ASSITEJ France network, a national network dedicated to the performing arts for young audiences and a member of the international ASSITEJ. Céline Garnavault is actively involved for nearly eight years, first serving as vice-president on the board, before sitting on the board of directors until 2025.
That same year, she directs a participatory performance in the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes during the Avignon festival, as part of the "Avignon, Children in the Spotlight" program led by Scènes d'Enfances - ASSITEJ France.
In 2025 and 2025 she accompanies two groups of students from ICPI and Sciences Po Bordeaux as part of research on youth participation in the performing arts, and co-moderates an international conference on this subject during the International Artistic Meetings of ASSITEJ Bright Generations – Generations Lumineuses, organized in Marseille from March 23 to 29, 2025 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the association.
This long and active involvement reflects the company's commitment to the structuring and radiance of the young public theater sector in France and internationally.
2019/2024 – TRACK AND BLOCK IN EUROPE
In November 2019, Block is invited to the 59th edition of the "Mess festival" in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Céline Garnavault participates in the international round table initiated by the Teatroskop program of the French Institute, around young audience theater in Europe.
- October 1, 2019: MESS Festival – Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) with International round table – Teatroskop program (French Institute)
Then BLOCK continues its deployment in Switzerland
- April 24 → 25, 2021: Théâtre Le Reflet – Vevey (Switzerland)
- January 19 → 23, 2023: Salle du Lignon – Vernier (Switzerland)
From May 24 to 27, 2023, La Boîte à sel is invited to the 8th edition of the Sněz tu žábu — "Eat your frog" — festival at the NoD Theater in Prague (Czech Republic), a festival dedicated to trends in contemporary Francophone theater, which since 2015 has offered the Czech public a selection of French and Francophone creations each year. It is the BLOCK show that is presented at the opening, described at that time as "not without recalling the magic of radio broadcasting" Radio Prague International
- May 26 → 27, 2023: Festival Snĕz tu ž ábu / Theater Nod – Prague (Czech Republic)
The TRACK show also starts a European distribution:
- From November 11 to 13, 2023 > Théâtre Le Reflet / VEVEY (ch)
- May 21 → 22, 2024: Pépites Festival – La Guimbarde – Charleroi (Belgium)
- May 25 → 26, 2024: Art and Toddlers – La Montagne Magique – Brussels (Belgium)
2023/2028 — FRANCE-QUEBEC RESEARCH PROJECT / "LISTENING TO OBJECTS"
This Franco-Quebec research-creation project is co-led by La Boîte à sel and the FORMES research group of UQAM. It explores the creation of sound and robotic objects whose unpredictable behaviors generate new forms of relationships between artists, audiences, and machines. Initiated by Céline Garnavault, Dinaïg Stall, and Thomas Sillard, it is joined by researcher Julie-Michèle Morin (Laval University – Quebec) and Emma Mérabet (Lyon 2 University – Passages XX–XXI laboratory).
In 2025 it is winner of the call for research projects in theater and associated arts from the DGCA - General Directorate of Artistic Creation.
Schedule
- 2023 — UQAM (Montreal): laboratory
- 2024 — UQAM (Montreal) : laboratory
- 2025 — Oloron Sainte Marie, Chatellerault, Villeurbanne: laboratories and observation fields
- 2026: continuation of observation fields + scientific article + DGCA conferences for Le Temp d'M of Charleville Mézières.
- 2027: UQAM study day + documentary + game
- 2028: FORMES conference + publication of the game
Support
- FORMES research group (UQAM)
- LABLAB – Villeurbanne,
- L’Hectare CNMa, Vendôme
- Jéliote Space – CNMa, Oloron Sainte Marie
- UQAM – Université du Québec à Montréal
- DGCA
2025/2026 — RECOGNITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL APPROACH
This period marks an important step in the structuring of the company's international radiance, with the recognition of its research and cooperation approaches.
The company is the winner of the PARI! path – Support and reflection path on internationalization, led by On the Move, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the French Institute. This program supports artistic structures in consolidating their international strategies, emphasizing the issues of sustainable international cooperation, the circulation logics of works and teams, and international research and development practices.
This recognition confirms and supports the dynamics initiated by the company around its research-creation projects and its international collaborations.
2025/2026 — BAD BLOCK OPENS TO EUROPEAN TERRITORIES / THE HEAD DREAMS OF FRANCOPHONE COUNTRIES
In July 2025, Céline Garnavault and Thomas Sillard decide to adapt the BAD BLOCK show into English to give it the opportunity to tour internationally, with initial opportunities arising quickly:
- September 24 → 26, 2025: IN of the World Festival of Puppet Theaters of Charleville-Mézières
- November 8, 2025: Export-Import Festival – Brussels (Belgium)
- June 24 → 25, 2026: Regions International Theatre Festival – Hradec Králové (Czech Republic)
- September 27 → 28, 2026: International Biennial Festival of Contemporary Puppetry Arts - Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Regarding THE HEAD, this lighter format show is designed for easy touring (checked luggage on planes) and is currently intended for Francophone countries.
