Dear colleagues, dear friends, We are pleased to announce the conference: *De la marionnette au robot : manipulation, animation et expression des corps artificiels * The event will be held in Paris at the MSH Paris Nord on Saturday the 25th of June, 2022.

The robot never ceases to populate fictional writings, essays, films and series; in the theater, its presence has a long history, linked to the exploration of otherness. The robot on stage seems to arouse a "disturbing uncanniness" linked to the cohabitation, as for the puppet and the mask, of animate and inanimate, of rigidity and illusion of life. Unlike these theatrical objects par excellence, the behavior of the robot and its autonomy determine a radical, external otherness, which raises the question of the overcoming of the human. This conference aims to question the techniques and modalities of animation and expression of artificial bodies, from puppet devices to robots, fostering discussions on points of convergence, divergence and overcomings, by bringing together engineers, artists and researchers in performing arts.

The conference will also host the performance of the *Equipe RoboAct II *composed by artists and students of Paris 8 University, trying to synthesize their works on robotics, theatre and puppetry held in the last six months as part of the project *Scène et Robotique.*

*The event will be held mainly in French. *

If you are able to come to Paris, do not hesitate to join us! Feel free to register for the event through the following link: https://forms.gle/LmWtUv4nTJUcsE7r5

*Registrations of the event will be shared through the project's YouTube Channel*

*https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeuPsG4gvkvtheIzH25mQjQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeuPsG4gvkvtheIzH25mQjQ*

For more information, please, find here the full program of the day: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3znm7inh93zxtmn/Programme%20-%202022-06-25.pdf https://www.dropbox.com/s/7dm2lfpyww8srj3/Programme%20scene%20et%20robotique... And please, spread the information to all those who might be interested.

Best regards, Salvatore Anzalone with Erica Magris and Giulia Filacanapa