The Art of Acting Without Props – Mime

Mime is considered to be the earliest form of expression. Before language was developed, people would communicate with each other through gestures. Instead of being completely discarded after the development of language, it was practiced through entertainment. In Ancient Greece, Mime had become a theatrical form where performers acted out everyday scenes supported with elaborated gestures. The principle mimes were called ethologues who taught moral lessons through their scenes (Tripod par.1). Their most elaborate form of mime was called Hypothesis, which was more concerned with the development of characters than the plot itself (Tripod par.2).

As Greece also influenced the future of the art of the world, it also did with Western Drama. The Romans, who conquered Greece, made mime their own as they did with Greek art (Tripod par.3). After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Christian Church was opposed to adopting mime but started slowly accepting it by incorporating it into their religious plays (Tripod par.6).

The practice of mime continued throughout the middle ages and was rose to its peak within the sixteenth century in Italy as the form of Commedia dell’ Arte. This form of Mime was originally performed in market places in the early 1500’s. The performers, called Zanni, wore masks with comical features to attract attention to themselves and their acrobatic skills. They could relate to all classes with their contemporary subject matter. Due to their hidden identities, they could also ridicule any aspect of society. Their acts were also not limited by any language barriers so they could perform in any country (Tripod par.7-9).

In the 18th century, Jean Gaspard Batiste Deburau, improved the art of mime into the art form that it is known as today. He was a master of the art and created the character Pierrot’, the eternal seeker (Tripod par. 10).

After the First World War, Etienne Decroux and his student, Jean-Louis Barrault, developed the first elements of modern mime. Barrault after following his own route developed the first mimodramas.(Tripod par. 11). After the Second World War, Marcel Marceau, who was a pupil of Decroux was influenced by silent film actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. He created modern mime, as it is known today by developing a whole new style and tradition of mime (Tripod par.12).

There are two major types of mime, Literal and Abstract mime. Literal mime is the telling of a story with a conflict through the use of a main character. The gestures are used to clearly tell humorous stories. Abstract mime does not normally have a plot or a character. It is used to generate feelings, thoughts and images from a serious topic or issue. It is considered an intuitive experience rather that a literal one.

Though animation can include both Literal and Abstract mime, the following will discuss the use of mime in an animation of a character trapped in an imaginary box.

Since mime is a universal language that doesn't require translation, any individual with any language or background should be able and to understand and relate to a mimed preformance. If it is applied to animation then subjects within it could commicate with any viewer from anywhere in the world. For example, by using an animatable character’s hands to indicate that he is trapped in a box, the viewer understands the situation without being informed of it verbally. All people understand limitations and boundries from jail cells to farm fences.

According to Marcel Marceau, when he is asked if he is delivering a text, even though you doesn't say a word on stage:

Yes indeed, I feel that I am both an author and an actor at the same time. Although my performance is silent, I am not acting by means of gesture alone. I am using the power of thought. I communicate with the audience by means of the thought that goes into every movement and every pose. Writers make contact with their readers by means of words and the way they give form to words through a story. (Fargeon par.9)

Therefore one can convey a character’s thoughts without informing the viewer verbally of what they are thinking. For example, if a character is trapped in an imaginery box, one can express their claustrophobia through bodily movements of panic. By the character slamming and ramming on the interior of the box, one understands the desperation in a manner that words cannot.

Marceau comments on how mime can communicate in a manner that transcends words:

Mimes are always, by definition, wordless, but they present the fable of human life on stage by means of an art that transcends words. I often make use of themes that transcend language, such as The Heart Eater, The Cage, or The Mask-Maker, which are the titles of some of my sketches. They are actually parables that express deep thoughts. (Fargeon par.9)

The viewer understands more of the character’s fear more through bodily expression than if one was informed about verbally, because the sitation is presented to them in a manner that they can related to. The viewer can picture themselves within the situation physically because the character interprets and expresses the situation physically.

According to Marceau, on the quesion if he believes if the viewer’s recreate within themsleves what he is doing on stage:

Yes, exactly. Unless the audience is drawn into the action, the mime has failed to get his message across the footlights, his performance is closer to mimesis than to the true art of mime. He has not succeeded in radiating the poetical aura that evokes in the spectator what I would describe as a "zen" identification with the character portrayed. Laughter is aroused by what appear to us as distortions or discrepancies in relation to what is "normal", but the laughing stops when the outcome is tragic, when death intervenes. (Frageon par. 11)

So if the animated character cannot get the viewer engulfed into action within a situation, then the animater has failed. The animater would have only represented a situation without the viewer feeling as if they were within it themselves, by not being emotionally involved. Therefore the character should be expressing themselves in a manner that attracts the viewer to become emotionally involved. This by portraying the character’s thoughts an emotions through movement such as the fear of a being trapped in a box.

In conclusion, the art of miming, may it be literal or abstract, is an artform and a manner of expression through movement and without words that allows the viewer to recreate themselves into an action. One can communicate through body language without being restricted by any language barriers. Not only can one communicate to any individual through mime, one can communicate themes that transcend words. The art form of mime can contribute to an animation by allowing any viewer to understand and relate to it and effectively express a character’s thoughts and emotions through movement.


Works Cited:

Fargeon, Micheal. “The art of silence - interview with mime artist Marcel Marceau – Interview”. BNET. May 1998. < http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1998_May/ai_20825361> [accessed 11 02 2003]

“The History of Mime”. Tripod.com. <http://members.tripod.com/~kiko_mime/history.html>. [accessed 11 03 2008]