Why is mime used in drama

But the showman had other ideas in mind. Donning white face paint and a droopy buttoned suit, Duburau took to the stage as Pierrot, a lovable and lovesick character made famous in Italian theatre. Deburau had created the modern day mime act. An Oh So French Trademark Deburau is credited as the father of mime but down the years the genre has been sustained by a long line of chalk-faced Frenchman.

Both writers published detailed theoretical explorations of the subject. Last but not least, perhaps the most well-known French mime artist in recent years was Marcel Marceau, whose performances of his persona, "Bip the Clown" achieved international acclaim. Marceau even put his mime act to heroically good use, while working for the French Resistance during the Second World War. Performing silently as Bip, the mime kept groups of Jewish children quiet for hours as they escaped across the border from occupied France into Switzerland.

Actors like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton became the new inheritors of an ancient tradition, albeit without the face paint. They adopted the craft of their miming predecessors, telling a story through body language and gesture alone. Back in France, the iconic actor and filmmaker, Jacques Tati first made his name performing as a mime artist.

He would go onto incorporate the art form into many of his films, whose humour more often comes from expertly choreographed visual gags than dialogue. Can you remember times in your teaching career that, no matter how seemingly insignificant they appeared at the time, were actually defining moments of your profession?

Recently, I was home for several weeks with a…. Boal is best known for his politically influenced…. Simple tragedies may be suitable for junior drama students, while…. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content Mime involves acting without words. This term, we are working on miming, and Grade students will be performing a mime in their examinations.

I have come up with five things to remember when performing a mime. The facial expression could be happy, sad, angry, confusion, annoyed, worried, or scared. By understanding these emotions we understand more about how the character is feeling and what is happening in the story.