What Plasticiens Volants does

Plasticiens Volants is a French performing arts association (association loi 1901) founded in 1983 by Marc Mirales and headquartered in Graulhet, Tarn (Occitanie). The company specializes in monumental aerial street theater, designing and fabricating giant helium-inflatable puppets and scenography up to 20+ meters in scale (e.g., an articulated Gulliver, dinosaurs, marine creatures, mythological beings) that are manipulated by ground-level performers to create the illusion of flight. All structures are designed and manufactured in-house at a 5,000 m² former tannery workshop (Usine de l'Émancipation), giving the company an integrated creative-to-production capability across visual arts, textile fabrication, electrical engineering, and 3D modeling.

The business operates a portfolio of roughly 10 core touring productions (L'Étranger, Nouveau Monde, Perle, Little Némo, La Grande Expédition, Léonardo, Parade Cosmique, Parade Aquatique, Parade Saurien, Parade de Noël) alongside custom Sur Mesure commissions and a multi-year development pipeline including the 2027 Sky Woman production co-created with Haudenosaunee artists. Revenue is generated through one-time performance fees from festival organizers, municipal cultural departments, and private event producers, plus bespoke creation contracts for institutions (e.g., Puppentheater Halle, Institut Français du Cameroun, Ville d'Amiens). Bookings are distributed globally across 50+ countries on 5 continents, with a dedicated North American channel partner (Unicycle Productions LLC) managing the Americas and recurring partnerships with international festivals such as FITS Sibiu, Festival d'Aurillac, Cultura Nova, and Edinburgh Hogmanay.

The company serves festival organizers, municipal governments, cultural institutions, and private event producers as direct B2B clients, while the public receives performances free of charge in public spaces, with show audiences typically ranging from 5,000 to over 10,000 spectators. Operational structure includes a stable executive team (Executive Director Frédérique Dewynter, Artistic Coordinator Marc Étiève, Production Director Marine Meunier, Technical Director Antoine Bourde) plus 20–26 touring performers and technicians mobilized per production, augmented by 5–18 local collaborators per stop. The organization is governed by a Conseil d'Administration led by President Jean-Yves Nédéléc and is expanding into a broader cultural platform via the L'ÉmanciPASSION third-place initiative launched in September 2025.

Name

Plasticiens Volants

Legal name

Les Plasticiens Volants

Website

https://plasticiensvolants.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plasticiens Volants is a French performing arts association (founded 1983, Graulhet) that designs, fabricates, and tours monumental inflatable puppet spectacles for festivals, municipalities, and cultural institutions across 50+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Street Theater and Outdoor Performing Arts

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Puppetry & Marionette Theatre (MPAGABAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Parades, Carnivals & Street Fairs (MPAGAEAE)

Keywords

• Monumental inflatable puppetry
• Aerial street theater
• Outdoor performing arts
• Custom parade creations
• Cultural event spectacles

Headquarters

HQ city

Graulhet

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Festival and Public Performance Fees: The primary revenue stream: booking fees for performing at street theater festivals, cultural events, carnivals, and municipal celebrations across France, Europe, and internationally. Performances are booked directly with festival organizers and city cultural departments.
2. Custom Creation Projects (Sur Mesure): Bespoke artistic creation services for specific events, municipalities, or institutions. Projects include designing and building custom inflatable structures and performances tailored to a theme, location, or cultural context (e.g., Sakala parade for Institut Français du Cameroun, BIG(GER) for Puppentheater Halle).
3. International Touring: Long-form touring engagements at major international festivals and events (e.g., Olympics, World Fairs, major international parades). Revenue generated through multi-date contracts with international presenters.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Plasticiens Volants designs, fabricates and tours monumental aerial street theater spectacles built around giant helium-inflatable puppets manipulated by ground performers, performing free in public spaces for audiences of 5,000 to 10,000+. The company sells its productions to festival organizers, municipalities and cultural institutions via direct booking, and offers bespoke Sur Mesure shows, parades, installations and participatory projects developed in collaboration with local artists.

Product overview

Plasticiens Volants is a French street theater company specializing in monumental aerial performances with giant inflatable puppets. The company operates a portfolio of core repertoire productions including L'Étranger, Nouveau Monde, Perle, Léonardo, Little Némo, La Grande Expédition, and various Parade productions (Cosmique, Aquatique, Saurien, Noël, Parade Engloutie). The portfolio also includes touring productions (L'Air et La Manière, Turtle Island) and custom 'Sur Mesure' services for bespoke spectacles, parades, artistic installations, and participatory projects. The company is developing Sky Woman/L'Île Tortue for 2027 in collaboration with Haudenosaunee artists. All productions feature giant flying inflatable sculptures and are performed in public spaces for audiences of thousands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Air-Fabric: A workshop specializing in inflatables and aerial fabric structures, operated by the company

Products and services

• L'Étranger – Voyage en Absurdie Aerial street theater performance inspired by Gulliver's Travels, addressing themes of migration and exclusion through a satirical staging with an articulated flying Gulliver puppet and a Dove character.
• Nouveau Monde Monumental environmental spectacle featuring Saurien, a giant dinosaur awakening due to human activity, exploring the confrontation between nature and industrial expansion.
• Little Némo – Au Pays des Songes Aerial parade performance inspired by Winsor McCay's dream world, featuring monumental inflatable puppets and floating decorations for family audiences.
• Perle Iconic marine-themed aerial spectacle featuring giant flying sea creatures above audiences, following a small pearl's underwater adventure with colorful fish and mythical sea beings.
• La Grande Expédition Family adventure spectacle featuring cryptozoologist Edouard Lavase and his improbable menagerie of Geese, Swiss Dragons, and a Flying Serpent discovered in Bangkok.
• Léonardo – Rêves et Cauchemars Nighttime aerial spectacle reimagining Leonardo da Vinci through his inventions, dreams and torments, narrated by his disciple Salaï in a dialogue exploring art and science.
• Parade Cosmique Celestial aerial parade featuring luminous Meteorites, Spacecraft, and floating Planets creating a cosmic odyssey in urban spaces.
• Parade Aquatique Fairy-tale parade transforming urban spaces into a giant open-air aquarium with floating fish, lobsters, jellyfish and other marine creatures.
• Parade Saurien Parade featuring Saurien, a colossal dinosaur-sized creature emerging from ancient times, accompanied by undulating tritons and abyssal shadows.
• Parade de Noël Christmas aerial parade featuring fantastical birds led by an eccentric Dodo, including Geese and mischievous Vultures, with a giant gift mountain and Hippoguanodon.
• La Parade Engloutie Marine fable parade with hybrid colorful sea creatures featuring augmented reality via the Carnaval Augmenté app, triggering animations when scanning medallions on costumes.
• Sky Woman / L'Île Tortue Upcoming 2027 production inspired by the Haudenosaunee Creation Story, developed in collaboration with Haudenosaunee artists. First element 'L'Île Tortue' premiered in October 2025 in the USA.
• Customized Spectacles (Sur Mesure) Bespoke aerial theatrical performances designed for specific events, themes, locations or audiences, adapting existing elements or conceiving new flying creatures.
• Customized Parades (Sur Mesure) Tailored parade productions for festivals, cultural events, concerts or public celebrations, combining flying structures, carried puppets and ground performers.
• Artistic Installations (Sur Mesure) Monumental inflatable artistic installations transforming urban spaces into immersive environments, with fixed or semi-mobile structures in dialogue with architecture.
• Participatory Projects (Sur Mesure) Artistic participatory projects involving local residents in creation, strengthening cultural ownership and social bonds through collective creative workshops.
• L'Air et La Manière Touring parade production performed at various festivals and events across Europe, including Elrow events in Spain and other cultural venues.
• Turtle Island Touring production inspired by Indigenous American stories associated with Turtle Island, developed with Haudenosaunee artists, touring the USA with performances at Ganondagan and other venues.
• BIG(GER) Custom creation for Puppentheater Halle's 70th anniversary (June 2024, Halle, Germany), featuring a monumental 20m+ articulated Gulliver puppet exploring themes of scale and belonging.

Quantifiable outcome

• Performances reach 5,000 to 10,000+ spectators per show, with parades and large-format productions reaching city-wide audiences
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, key, recurring, core and supporting.

• Ville d'Amiens (France)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Commissioning partner for the Jules Verne 2025 celebration — a custom aerial spectacle on July 5, 2025 featuring the Nautilus, Zeppelin, monumental moon, and giant creatures inspired by Verne's works.
• Puppentheater Halle (Germany)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Custom creation BIG(GER) for the puppet theater's 70th anniversary, June 2024, Halle, Germany. Plasticiens Volants designed and built a monumental 20m+ articulated Gulliver puppet specifically for this production, exploring themes of scale and belonging.
• Institut Français du CamerounmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Commissioning partner for the Sakala parade project, a collaboration between French and Cameroonian artists at the Marché des Arts et Spectacles d'Afrique (MASA) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and planned for Yaoundé and Douala, Cameroon. Work created in 2024.
• Jean-Michel Dissaké (Cameroonian Artist)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cameroonian artist collaborating on Sakala parade project, designing the giant chimeric creature SAKALA inspired by Cameroonian cultural symbols and visual traditions.
• Hervé Yamguen (Cameroonian Artist)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cameroonian artist who designed turtle puppets created in workshops with local artists. Artworks left with Les Géants du Mboa troupe for reuse in future events.
• Les Géants du Mboa (Cameroonian Troupe)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cameroonian giant puppet troupe that received turtle puppets made during the Sakala project workshops, enabling continuation of the artistic work beyond the project period.
• Elrow Events (Spain)recurringGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Recurring booking partner for L'Air et La Manière at multiple Elrow venues: Mallorca (Son Fusteret), Malaga (Forum), Ibiza (Ushuaïa), and Murcia (Elrow XXL), with dates extending into 2026.
• Unicycle Productions LLC (Sonia Clark / Sonia Kozlova Clark)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive North American representative managing all booking inquiries and tour coordination for the Americas. Contact: Sonia Clark, [email protected]. Handles Turtle Island and all U.S./North American performances.
• G. Peter Jemison (Seneca, Clan du Héron)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtistic director and designer for the Sky Woman / Turtle Island project. Seneca elder and knowledge keeper. Provides cultural authority, artistic direction, and traditional knowledge for the Haudenosaunee creation story production.
• Skywoman Iroquois Dance TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHaudenosaunee dance theater company collaborating on Turtle Island / L'Île Tortue production. Directed by Bill Crouse (Nation Seneca, Clan du Faucon). Provides traditional dance, music, and storytelling performances alongside Plasticiens Volants' inflatable structures.
• UsinoTOPIE (Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation recognized in puppetry and cultural engineering, co-developing the L'ÉmanciPASSION third-place project at the Usine de l'Émancipation in Graulhet. UsinoTOPIE handles the cultural and territorial development project management for the site.
• Département du Tarn (France)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSupported the construction of the Turtle inflatable structure, the first element of the Sky Woman spectacle.
• Région Occitanie (France)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided funding for artistic research residencies in the United States for the Sky Woman project development.
• Institut FrançaissupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided funding support for artistic research residencies in the United States for the Sky Woman project development.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Compagnie des Quidams: French street theater company producing dreamlike, large-scale outdoor performances featuring monumental sculpted creatures and gentle choreographed movement. Comparable to Plasticiens Volants in delivering family-oriented, visually spectacular outdoor spectacles to international festival clients with a similar artistic sensibility.
• Compagnie Carabosse: French street art company creating fire-based and immersive installations for festivals and public events worldwide. Comparable to Plasticiens Volants as a French street-arts company producing large-scale outdoor installations and performances for international festival and municipal clients.
• Artonik: French street theater collective known for large-scale participatory urban performances such as 'Color Run'. Comparable to Plasticiens Volants in delivering large public-space participatory spectacles in France and internationally, with an overlapping festival and municipal client base.
• Walk the Plank: UK outdoor theater company producing large-scale pyrotechnic, fire, and aerial spectacles for festivals and city celebrations. Comparable to Plasticiens Volants in producing bespoke outdoor performance spectacles for European festival and municipal clients, with similar touring logistics and team-size requirements.

Broad incumbents

• The Jim Henson Company: Long-established US entertainment company with creature shop and puppetry capabilities spanning film, television, and live performance. Comparable to Plasticiens Volants as an industry leader in custom creature and puppet fabrication, though operating at much larger scale and across media rather than solely outdoor live spectacle.

Direct peers

• Compagnie Générik Vapeur: Marseille-based street theater company specializing in giant inflatable structures and aerial performance, directly comparable in core technology (large-scale inflatables) and street-theater delivery model. One of the closest technical and aesthetic peers in the French monumental-inflatable segment.
• Royal de Luxe: French street theater company internationally renowned for giant marionette performances (e.g., the Sultan's Elephant, Little Giant) staged in cities worldwide. Directly comparable to Plasticiens Volants as a pioneering French producer of monumental outdoor puppetry with international touring.
• Ilotopie: French street theater company producing performances with large inflatable and aerial structures in public spaces, including collaborations with opera houses and festivals. Directly comparable to Plasticiens Volants in combining inflatable scenography with site-specific street performance across Europe and internationally.
• La Machine: Nantes-based company creating mechanical animal and creature spectacles for outdoor public spaces, including the famous Machines de l'île. Closely comparable to Plasticiens Volants in delivering large-scale, family-oriented spectacle in public urban environments using bespoke in-house-engineered creatures.
• Close-Act Theatre: Netherlands-based company creating large-scale outdoor performances with giant moving creatures and atmospheric scenography. Comparable to Plasticiens Volants in producing international festival-friendly spectacles featuring monumental custom-built creatures manipulated by performers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@rachelmegissier
• Facebookfacebook.com/compagnieplasticiensvolants
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plasticiens-volants
• Instagraminstagram.com/plasticiensvolants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plasticiens Volants