April 1958
At James Hodges instigation, and with his magical and theatrical skills, a group of friends work on puppets and objects acts using some black art techniques for the Parisian theatre “La Tomate”. They all need to earn some more money and will share the work on stage. Michelle & Ernest are one of the three “Marionnettes and Baladins” teams. This previously satirical comedians theatre has turned to show strip tease and now wants to somehow improve the level to a higher quality standard. The acts are short stories visually told with objects and puppets moving around more or less undressed girls. That is the start in Black Art for Michelle & Ernest.
Very soon, the two other teams turn to other jobs and Michelle & Ernest take over all that work.