The Art of Silence

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I am not sure if this is the right Forum to introduce this particular topic, but I guess that Theatre is an art form, so here goes...
I am fascinated by the art of mime. In particular, I am a great admirer of Marcel Marceau. His style is (or was, I am not sure whether he is now retired!)very 'traditional' but still very moving...unfortunately I have not had much opportunity to see other mimes, so this is the type of mime I know best.

I have come across a lot of people who positively seem to hate the art of mime. They find it pointless, mannered, trivial, or even embarrassing (at least in England I have come across these reactions; some people seem to find the sight of a guy demonstrating emotion openly and physically rather uncomfortable) and yet if done well mime can provide a profound and moving experience.

Several people have said to me "But mime is only acting without words ....what's the point? Couldn't whatever a mime tries to express be expressed better by using words?" But this misses the point. A good mime is expressing those feelings that don't easily go into words. that are non-verbal, that might be profound but impossible to express precisely in language. Words can be blunt or subtle. but have to be interpreted subjectively; but body language (and mime, which has developed from it) is more instinctive and seems to appeal to a different part opf the brain, which appreciates feelings directly without having to "translate" the intended meaning.

The art of a performer like Marceau seems to me to exist on several levels; the narrative or descriptive level (which might or might not be humorous); the symbolic; and maybe a more profound philosophical level, that the audience would have to root around a bit to see. But thats no bad thing...I think with most great art, the audience / viewer / reader (whatever) should contribute something to what the artist creates, to make a complete experience.

But there's a problem with Mime. Someone like Marceau may be brilliant, but a bad or unskilled mime can be worse than useless. With, say, a conventional actor, we still have the words of the playwright to help us understand what is going on, even if the performer is unskilled; but a mime has to create his own work as well as perform it. If he is unimaginative, or his technique is poor, his performance can be irritating at best, and incomprehensible at worse!

it occurs to me that since some Aspies have a problem with interpreting body language, this might give them a problem with mime - but on the other hand, since it is stylised, they might actually find it quite easy to follow!

Are there any other mime enthusiasts out there?

Glenn

Mime's freak me out- hard to explain why but they just do.

Mimes fascinate me. When ever I see one I find myself staring at them. I don't know that I am interpreting it all though. I also love the old Silent Movies. With the music and the fast walking. Charlie Chapman.

ElfMan

Is it anything to do with the mask-like white faces that a lot of mimes use?It evolved to exaggerate the features when viewed from a distance - before there were modern theatres and stage lighting - and it is meant make the mime's own face anonymous; but I guess its very mask-like appearance can seem weird.
With me, it's circus clowns that freak me out. When I was a little kid they really scared me - the distorted faces and weird costumes were nightmarish, not funny. To this day I still find them grotesque.

Glenn

When you meet them on the street, it can be scary - you never know what they're going to do. There are people who stand completely still, then suddenly move to change their posture, then stand still again. Or they only move their eyes - making eye contact with passers-by, which makes them giggle uncomfortably. Contrary to what the people who think "come on, just talk to me, don't be so evasive" consciously believe, instinctively they know it's all very direct; this can make them feel threatened.

Yes I think that is it- I don't get so freaked out by clowns because I can see they are meant to look silly, although I don't really like them. But with mimes it is the mask like face, added to the fact they have such exaggerated movements.

But maybe, if you saw a really skilled mime in the context of a theatre performance, you both might have a different experience. A street performer can amuse and maybe intrigue passers-by with the technical illusions of his art - given that they don't find him scary! - but in the theatre, (a much more formal situation), a mime has the time to create something that is both more complex and more profound (and maybe with music and lighting, far more enjoyable!) And he is not so "in your face" ; he is separated from his audience by being up on a stage. And of course , it is the audience's own choice to be there ... and they can in their minds contribute to the whole experience with their own interpretations.

Glenn

You might be right- but I couldn't see myself volunteering to find out.

I watched this one guy do a stage performace, it wasn't miming or anything, but he did an entire cast of like 20 people, and when he was a person, you'd swear you never knew he was the others. The story had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, it started out nonchalently, but the switches he did were very smooth, and you were like wha? is that the same guy?

Don't dis words though, if it can be done it can be spoken, it just might take a little longer then normal. in fact, lots of concepts can only be portrayed in words.

I didn't mean to say they scared me - just that I can understand if other people are a bit freaked by them.

I've seen quite a few mime performances on the street that were like plays - often with music. In one instance the mime players' faces weren't painted, they wore actual masks; then in one song, the masks came off. It was all very well thought out what they wanted to "say", and I think they "said" it well; indeed a profound experience.

I dislike street mimes intensely, and have to restrain myself from clouting the creepy ones. Anyone who makes a point of getting in my face when I'm in town and fending off overload is pushing their luck, frankly.

As an art form I can see the appeal if you like that sort of thing (I don't - I could never make myself sit through opera or ballet or owt like that either - maybe I'm just not suited to performing arts other than rock gigs), but face to face I find it confusing, irritating and far too intrusive.

Dunc

I would not like to come across any in the streets. Thank goodness I have only seen them on tv. I like them on tv but if I had one come up in my space I would be terrified. I don't know if we have them here in the city because I am hardly there.

Some of you have said you don't like clowns. I know what you mean. I was terrified of clowns for years and years. Even those clown-head things at the royal show where you have to drop table tennis balls in their mouth to score a prize while they turn their head from side to side. I would scream and throw fits at the sight of anything that resembled a clown. Also, there was this place we used to go to when I was a kid. I think it was an antique museum. I used to get freaked there by this vintriliquist puppet named charlie. Mum finally figured out what was freaking me out every time we went there and she organized for me to go out the back and the man showed me how Charlie worked. I was fine after that and they have fascinated me since.

ElfMan

I love mimes...it's somewhat poetic and meditative... (I came across this thread while searching for a thread in music...it's an old thread but just wanted to comment on it! Hope that is OK... )