Homage to Colette Monestier (1930–2025)
Nancy L. Staub | June 29, 2025 | 2nd Draft

A few days ago, Claire Monestier, Colette’s daughter, informed me that we lost her mother. My condolences go to Claire and the entire family—especially her puppeteer brother François—and to Colette’s many friends around the world. I last saw Colette in May 2011, when we enjoyed the white sand and turquoise waters of Florida’s Gulf Coast together. Her warm, generous friendship remains in my heart. We lost her partner, Claude, several years ago.

The entire family always made me feel welcome. For several years, the Monestiers lived in a charming fifth-floor garret in Paris with a skylight—once occupied by an artist uncle of Colette. She and Claude carried puppets, props, children, and supplies up and down those five flights of stairs for years before moving to Brunoy, a lovely banlieue of Paris. Staying in that atelier sometimes and climbing all those stairs, I gained a true appreciation for their stamina and dedication to each other.

I fell in love with Colette and Claude’s work when I saw their charming, innovative production at the 1976 UNIMA 12th Congress in Moscow. Naturally, I invited them to perform at the 1980 World Puppetry Festival during the 13th Congress of UNIMA, which I organized. They presented Le Petit Gargantua. I also recommended them for national tours and for an appearance one Bastille Day in New Orleans.

The Monestiers created many unique productions. One of my favorites was Légende d’un Trou (Legend of a Hole), in which they cut figures, props, and scenery from paper during the show itself, hanging them on two horizontal wires. Performing in full view, they manipulated these elements, inviting the audience into an imaginary world. The twinkles in their eyes as they told the story were irresistible. Fortunately, there is a video clip available:
https://fresques.ina.fr/en-scenes/fiche-media/Scenes00824/theatre-sur-le-fil-legende-pour-un-trou.html

Another favorite was Château de Carton (Cardboard Castle), where they tore sections from corrugated cardboard rolls to create magical illusions. Claude was always wide-eyed with a contagious sense of wonder.

Not only as artists but also as organizers, advocates, and teachers, the Monestiers’ contributions are chronicled in the World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts (WEPA):
https://wepa.unima.org/en/theatre-sur-le-fil/

We shared a passion for puppetry and the arts, spending happy hours together in theaters and museums. Once at the Centre Pompidou, Colette and I became separated and spent a long time riding the escalators up and down trying to find each other—a good thing we eventually did, or I might still be there.

From the mountains of the Auvergne to the swamps of Louisiana, we reveled in the beauty of nature. One of my most cherished memories is of watching numerous egrets and herons flying in and out of a rookery on a sunny day.

Now, memories are a bittersweet solace for losing such good friends.

Nancy L. Staub