French puppeteer, visual artist, stage director and author. Although he was a medical psychiatrist, in 1973 Roland Shön joined with puppeteers to form l’Atelier de l’Arcouest.  He took part in two collective creations, Bulot, eh! L’Amérique in 1975, La Ballade d’un tourneur de manivelle (The Ballad of a Crank Turner) in 1976, and then, with François Raoult, he founded the Théâtre en Ciel in Dieppe in 1979. The company explored the shadow theatre (Le Jeu du Feu The Fire Game in 1980, Le Secret du Chat Nu The Secret of the Naked Cat in 1988) having distinguished himself by the choice of an adult audience and the presence of musicians on stage.

Whatever other techniques were chosen – puppets, animated objects, magic, actors’ play – the music was a privileged partner in his shows for a long time, for example, Filigranes (Filigree, 1982), Duodément (1985), Derniers Chagrins (Last Sorrows, 1986), Abaca Bar (1998).

After Et si je? (And If I?), produced by his company and by the Belgian Theater Taptoe, Roland Shön’s reputation as an inventor of words, objects and theatrical forms was confirmed. In 1992, for Grigris (a promenade show), he gave birth to the explorer Volter Notzing which, in turn, resulted in publications, exhibitions – Les Ananimots/Grigris (Éditions théâtrales/Jeunesse, 2001); La Petite Encyclopédie Volter Notzing (Éditions de l’Œil, 2002) – and other performances such as Les Oiseaux architectes (The Architect Birds, 1994), Travaux et publics (Works and Audiences, 1998), Musées maison (Home Museums, 2002), Le Montreur d’Adzirie (The Showman of Adzirie, 2005). He also published Démonstration (Éditions Clarisse, 2001).

Then in 2003, Roland Shön produced Hazardous Area by Daniel de Bruycker, and designed over thirty pataphysical and poetic creations. He was chosen as director of the final diploma presentations (Le Cirqle) of the 15th graduate year (promotion) of the École Supérieure des Arts du Cirque de Châlons.

(See France.)