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Essay Name       : 697.txt 
Uploader         : Popcorn
Email Address    : 
Language         : English
Subject          : Art
Title            : Mime
Grade            : 92%
School System    : Grade 11 (Private)
Country          : Canada
Author Comments  : 
Teacher Comments : Very well done!!
Date             : 09/01/95
Site found at    : Searching
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Mime
	To tell a story effectively without words is a very hard thing to do. One performer who
excels in this category of story telling is the Mime. Also called Pantomime, it is the art of
narration and expression through exaggerated body movement. 
	Some argue that mime really started with early man. “He must underline and dramatize his
gutteral sounds by inventing hand signals and gestures, by adopting physical attitudes, by imitating
animals and inanimate objects, by acting out the needs of the movement.”1
	To Romans mime referred to simply performed comedic plays, while pantomime had a
more serious theme in it and it combined the use of masks to show different characters.  
	The Italian style of mime involves no elaborate make-up or props. It is generally known
for it’s big broad style. Actions are not as real as they are exaggerated. An example of an actor
who used the Italian portrayal of Mime was the great Charlie Chaplin. 
	French mime is the youngest of adopted mime styles. It involves simple costume and
make-up. Usually a black and white ensemble will be worn with black and white make-up. The
style attempts to mimic human gestures realistically. An example of a French style mime is the
infamous Marcel Marceau.
	Mime can also be done in an Oriental style. This style uses many elaborate costumes, wigs
and make-up. Usually stock characters are used. It also includes a more “gymnastic” tone to it. 
	There are two basic types of mime, the literal mime and the abstract mime. The literal
mime is most commonly used and involves telling a story, usually comedic, in such a way that the
audience knows exactly what is being acted out. In abstract mime there is not really a plot instead
it attempts to use feelings and thoughts. It is usually more serious and deals with more serious
issues that effect the audience and plays on the audience’s emotions. Many symbols will be used
in abstract, for example a mime closing a door may show the loss of an opportunity. 
	Usually mime is performed by one actor. In the 1970’s and 1980’s popular troupes of
mimes started to show up. The most famous of these was Mummenschantz. 
	Mime was first used in plays in the East. In India mime was used in dance dramas many
centuries before the Christian era. In China and Japan mime became a regular part of plays
especially in the Japanese “No” theater. 
	Mime started to take a slap stick form in the Italian commedia dell’arte performances.
Usually in royal ceremonies a court jester was accompanied by a mime. In the Victorian era in
England juggling and acrobatics were added. Mime was integrated with ballet and since many
changes have taken place.
	Yet mime is more than “The Box” and “The Ladder”. There is muscle work and mind
work that follows along with the actor. If a mime is very good, he or she can create any scene and
perform any action with their character. From jumping of a building to swimming, a mime has a
hard job. Some actors say that many things are needed to perform a piece. A physical state is
needed, a place, a person, and an object or objects. A neutral inner state is also needed. The mime
must be ready for action at any time. He must be alert, yet relaxed. A neutral outer state is
needed. To act from the outer state the inner state is needed. The mime decides how much
emotion and which character he wants to portray to the audience. Along with music and an
audience, a mime can create any emotion and situation.
	Marcel Marceau was one of the greatest mimes. He became a student of mime in 1944
and went on to create such stock characters as Bip. He also created an audience for mime. Marcel
also was a painter and writer and wrote many books. According to Marcel, Bip represented “me
and you, humanity and legendary and mythical personages.”2 Bip represented a twenty year old
man. Marcel’s Bip was used in such acts as Bip Hunts Butterflies and Bip as a China Salesman.
Marcel has created thought provoking pieces such as Contrasts which is about what a man has to
deal with between the ages of twenty and forty years of age. The action is played as a newsreel
where each scene shows the character dealing with a new situation. 
	“Put together one coat that is too small, baggy pants, oversized shoes, and a funny
mustache. Top it off with a derby hat. Add a silly walk and what do you get? The most famous
character created by the English comedian and film producer Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin.”3 
	Charlie Chaplin came from a line of performers. His parents were music hall performers
and he first appeared on stage at age 8. When he was 17 he was working for a vaudeville
company, which put on a show consisting of short acts. In 1913 he was spotted in a show and
asked to come to California to make movies by film producer, Mack Sennett. 
	Chaplin was famous for his costume and humorous “waddle”. His stock character was
known as “The Kid”. “He developed this foolish, mischievous, yet lovable little man through
successive film, creating a character that laughed at yet sympathized with at the same time”4 The
Kid appeared in many movies such as “Kid Auto Races at Venice”, “The Gold Rush”, and “City
Lights”. Chaplin went on to make eight movies for one million dollars and with fellow actors
Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, together they created their own film company, United
Artists. 
	Chaplin openly disapproved of some American policies and was criticized for being “Anti
- American”.  The criticism became so harsh that Charlie and is family moved to Switzerland. He
returned only to receive a special Academy Award and was Knighted by the Queen. He then died
in 1977 in Switzerland.
	Another great mime was Buster Keaton. He used a more slapstick approach to his
performances. He found that at an early age an audience didn’t like to see him enjoying being hit
or shoved. “... whenever I smiled or let the audience suspect how much I was enjoying myself
they didn’t seem to laugh as much ... I guess people just never do expect any human mop,
dishrag, beanbag, or football to be pleased by what is being done to them.”5
	Buster also starred in many movies. He enjoyed working in front of a camera because it
had no limitations. You could film in a desert, or in the North Pole, with a stage you are stuck in
one place. Buster too had a screen character like Chaplin. His character was a “mama’s boy who
continually surprised everyone, including himself, by triumphing over an impossible situation and
displaying, in fits and starts, the fighting heart of a lion.”6
	To really appreciate a mime’s job you have to put your self in their place. Not such that
you have to don make-up and perform, but you must do your job with out words only actions and
expressions. Try going a day with only actions to get you what you want. Imagine a doctor acting
out what instruments he wanted to use. A mime is not appreciated until you can perform in their
shoes.    
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