Mime Hasan in Bangladesh

How to Mime

Mime is one of the most ancient forms of theatre, appearing around the time of the Greek tragedies. Throughout the ages of theatrical history, mime has made its mark on everything from religious rituals to street theatre and the classical ballet.

Miming appears very simple but it takes a lot of skill and practice to make it appear realistic. Mime study can be very useful, not only for actors and other performers, but for anyone who needs to communicate clearly.

Steps(1-5)

1. Use your body to speak. When miming, talking or mouthing the words is not necessary. Instead, use facial expressions and make use of your whole body to do the 'talking'. Use a mirror (or an audience) to assess what movements are the most successful in conveying emotions, feelings, attitudes and reactions. A full length mirror is a necessity for beginners but bear in mind the mirror is a friend you will need to leave behind at performance time. A video camera, if available, is also an invaluable tool to utilize.

2. Start with basic mime actions. There are some fairly standard techniques that most mime artists begin with. These include manipulating imaginary objects (such as walls, balls, ropes, etc.), walking in place, climbing imaginary ladders, leaning, and so on.

• Imaginary Objects & Use of the Imagination:
  
  Using the imagination cannot be overemphasized in creating illusions. Most important is for a mime to truly believe the illusion is real. Naturally the more real the illusion is for the mime, the more realistic it will be for your audience.
  
  This can be accomplished through practice. Practice all illusions in this same manner.
  
  e.g. (in practicing a wall) Pretend the wall is real. See the wall in different colors. Feel the wall in different textures i.e. feel it rough, smooth, wet, dry, cold or hot.
  
  Use these same techniques while practicing ALL illusions. You will also find your body reacting naturally to the illusion if you are convinced it's real.
  Consider what you might do and how you would react if interacting with the real thing.
• Grab a rope. Pretend to have a rope dangling before you and attempt to climb it. Slide down and clamber back up for best effect. When you reach the top, wipe the perspiration off your brow. Climbing a rope is a very difficult illusion if done correctly. Imagine and feel your full body weight. If you are really climbing a rope, your muscles will stretch and strain. Your face will grimace in painful effort. Wiping sweat from your brow will be a natural reaction. If you have never climbed a real rope, do so with supervision in a padded gym. Make mental notes of your actions and reactions even though many illusions may not be done with the exact movements as used in reality, the mental attitude (a.k.a. imagination) should be the same as the real thing. (See first note below under "Warnings" and be sure to warm up before attempting this illusion.)
• A ladder. To show climbing a ladder, grab at imaginary ladder rungs going up in the air. Place the ball of one foot on the ground, as you would put it on a ladder rung. Pull down on the rungs (keep the hands moving together!) as you go up on your toes, and then drop back down with the opposite foot now "on a rung." Alternate feet and hands each time you "climb." Keep your focus upwards, as though you were looking at the place to which you are climbing. (If it's a tall ladder, look downwards occasionally for comic effect - tilt your head slowly and carefully, just enough to look downwards, and then look forward quickly, with an expression of alarm!) Make your legs do the same movements as if your feet were clambering up a real ladder.

Pretend to be in a box. If you are in an invisible box, you can press the air out in front of you with your hands, first your palm and then your fingers. Act as if you are trying to find a way out of this invisible box by identifying its corners and sides. Run one hand across the "edges" of your imaginary box, as you try to find the lid and your way out. If you want, you can eventually find the lid and flip it open dramatically with both arms, in a triumphant gesture.

The lean. Pretend to be leaning against a lamp post, wall or a counter. It might sound easy but takes quite a lot of strength and coordination to "lean" on nothing. The basic lean has two parts. Start with the feet about shoulder-width apart.

·  For the top part: Hold your arm slightly away from your body, with the elbow bent so that your forearm is parallel to the ground and your hand (wrist relaxed slightly) is near your torso. Now raise your shoulder as you move your chest towards your elbow (keeping the elbow at the same point in space!).

·  The bottom part: at the same time, bend your knee slightly, taking your weight onto the bent leg. The net effect should be that your elbow stays where it is, but it looks as though your weight has settled onto the imaginary place where your elbow rests. Make sure you only bend the leg under your raised arm. Keep your opposite leg perfectly straight as this adds to the illusion.

·  Watch in a mirror, or use a video camera to see how effective the technique is. It's sometimes most effective to do this technique casually, with very little exaggeration at all.

·  For a more active show of leaning, the act can also incorporate stumbling, sliding off and missing the leaned-on object altogether.

2. Take on the wind. Pretend that it is very windy and that you are having a hard time standing up in it. Let the wind buffet you to and fro. For added amusement, include a struggle with an umbrella that keeps turning inside out.

3. Mime eating. It can very amusing to watch a mime of eating. Pretend to be consuming a very sloppy hamburger or hot dog, with all the contents slopping down the front of your clothing. Accidentally squirt some ketchup towards your eye. Or try peeling a banana and then slipping over on the peel.

5. Walking in place One of the icons of mime is the stationary walk. It also one of the most physically demanding feats. There are two major versions, the simplest of which is the 'impulse march'.

• It is very important to begin with a good posture. You should hold your abdomen in fairly tightly as it will be prone to moving when you're not paying attention. Keep your shoulders up and back - don't slouch, your chest and neck should be erect as well - not puffed out.
• To begin, place your entire weight on the ball on one foot. This is your 'forward' foot. Bend the knee over the forward foot slightly as you do this. With your other foot (the 'trailing' foot) position the toes parallel to the toes of the forward foot. However, keep your trailing foot from touching the ground while maintaining the sole of the trailing foot parallel to the floor. Keep this leg perfectly straight.
• It is helpful here to explain the illusion. This walk reverses the pattern of actual walking. The 'trailing' foot in the mime walk does not support any weight, but itthe weight-bearing foot of a normal walk. This is why the leg must remain straight in the illusion - it appears to be bearing the weight. represents
• With your forward foot, slowly lower your heel to the ground and straighten the leg. As you do this, move your trailing foot backwards while keeping the sole of the foot parallel to the ground and the leg straight - you should feel an intense stretch along the back of your leg. Push the trailing leg as far back as you can while maintaining all of the above qualities, and your balance.
• Once the trailing foot is as far back as it can go, bring it back to parallel with your forward foot. Try to pick up the heel on your trailing foot first, like a natural step. Bend the your leg as you bring the trailing foot forward.
• Now touch down with the ball of your trailing foot. If you look at your feet, they are now in an exact reverse of their starting position. The 'forward' foot is now in the 'trailing' position and vise versa.
• The transition of weight between these feet is the most crucial aspect of the illusion! You must smoothly transfer weight from your former 'forward' foot to your new 'forward' foot. At the same time, you must lift the newly freed foot and begin trailing it behind you. This will take quite a bit of practice to master.
• With all of the activity in your feet, don't forget to move your upper body! Swing your arms so that the forward foot is always opposition to your forward hand. Also, inhale when you lift your trailing foot to come forward; exhale as you slide your trailing foot back.
• Now, repeat the process.
• Side Note: If you don't bring your trailing foot back to parallel with your forward foot, you can simply transfer your weight to it and begin moonwalking!