On 16 February 2026, the Three Figures Game (J3F) celebrated two important events. First, its 20 years of existence, since I trained a first cohort of teachers in 2006 and 2007 in the Versailles education authority, and it was the subject of a first evaluation in 2007-2008 thanks to funding from the Fondation de France. But above all, on 16 February 2026, the J3F acquired a great patron in the person of the writer, actor and director Wajdi Mouawad.
The event took the form of an evening at the Théâtre de la Colline, devoted to the place that theatre takes in the construction of personality, and particularly in the field of empathic skills, often referred to as “psychosocial skills” by the Éducation nationale. For this event was not only an opportunity to talk about the Three Figures Game, but also about the many activities set up by the Théâtre de la Colline, both for school audiences and for people with disabilities.
Laurent Noé, director of the Paris education authority, opened the evening by speaking of the importance of arts and cultural education (EAC) and of the J3F as educational levers within the national education system. A dialogue between Wajdi Mouawad and myself followed, interspersed with questions and remarks from children and teenagers who had taken part in one or other of the activities. Then round tables brought together Three Figures Game facilitators and Théâtre de la Colline artists working in schools. Finally, a general discussion with all the speakers and the invited children made it possible to answer questions from the audience.
Although the activities offered by the Théâtre de la Colline and those set up by the association “Développer l’empathie par le Jeu des 3 figures” (Developing empathy through the Three Figures Game) have different protocols and objectives, a consensus emerged around four points.
First, theatrical play teaches us to develop several points of view on the same situation. It thus makes it possible to develop the most accomplished form of empathy, which is the ability to put oneself in another’s place not only intellectually but also emotionally.
To achieve this, the involvement of the body plays an essential role. Only what has been experienced in the body can settle stably in our inner world and change not only our representations but also our behaviour. Everyone knows, after all, that one can think one thing and do another!
Third, full empathy makes it possible not only to understand the other, but to develop care for others and also for oneself. Empathy indeed has a component called self-empathy, or empathy for oneself. It concerns both the ability to access one’s intimate emotions, to ask oneself why they are there, and to take care of oneself. It is built in parallel with, and complementary to, empathy for others. In other words, everything that helps us understand the other better helps us understand ourselves better, and the reverse is just as true.
Finally, for empathic skills to take lasting hold in children over the course of their schooling, it is essential that they are not confined to specific activities. In other words, it is essential to put theatrical activities at the service of learning school skills wherever possible. Notably by developing reading aloud, public speaking, and a collaborative spirit in the service of creating a shared piece of work. Already, the Three Figures activities allow upper-secondary pupils to take a different look at literature, and all pupils who speak other languages to learn French more easily.
In a world where artificial intelligence will take up an ever greater place, theatre should be called upon to play an ever more important role. Machine intelligence is indeed programmed to follow a logical approach. But human learning is inseparable from emotions, and it involves the body, the five senses, and the multiple complementary forms of intelligence that each of us has.
Serge Tisseron
