Bulgarian stage and puppet designer. A graduate of Stage Design from the Hudozhestvena Akademia (National Academy of Fine Arts) in Sofia, Milka Nacheva was one of the founders of the professional puppet theatre in Bulgaria and was an initiator of the new trends in its theatre design. In the 1950s, she was a member of the company of Mara Penkova, who founded in Sofia the Central Puppet Theatre (today, Stolichen kuklen teatur, or Sofia Central Puppet Theatre). Milka Nacheva was soon established as an innovator in the field of stage design, having moved beyond the previous trend that espoused naturalism.

During this period she was the designer for almost all of the productions of Sofia’s Central Puppet Theatre, including Malkata Lilyanka (Little Liliana), Momche i viatar (The Boy and the Wind), the first production of the Central Puppet Theatre, directed by the theatre’s founder, Mara Penkova, and Pepeliashka (Cinderella), among others. In 1959, Nacheva designed the scenography of the production that was very popular with both audiences and critics, Maks i Morits (Max and Moritz).

Milka Nacheva is also one of the prominent artists of Bulgarian animated films for children. She participated in many national and international art exhibitions and has toured many countries as a stage designer. Her work has received numerous awards.

(See Bulgaria.)