Mime Tips

Tips

This article only addresses one specific style of mime - 'style mime' or 'illusion mime'. There are hundreds of other forms that have little to no resemblance to Marcel Marceau or Charlie Chaplin.

• If you are really interested in pursuing a career in mime, consider taking a mime course with a school or dramatic arts group.

mime artists are renowned for using blank white face make-up with black outlining the eyes and other facial features to exaggerate the emotions. A black and white striped top, white gloves and a black top hat are also features of a traditional mime artist's costume. This outfit and make-up has been a tradition of many famous mime artists, including the legendary Marcel Marceau. However, you do not need to dress this way; in fact, it is considered so cliché by modern mime artists that the majority of them avoid it.

• A very good mime artist is highly sought after in such fields as theater, movies and the circus. Think of Cirque du Soleil and science fiction films, where mime artists can express emotions without words and create a bridge between our human expectations and those of the dreamworld and other-wordly manifestations.
• "Mimes must have the bodies of gymnasts, minds of actors, and hearts of poets" - Etienne Decroux: the 'father of modern mime'
• Though mime may seem cartoony, don't be afraid of more serious subject matter. Most well known mimes, including Marcel Marceau and Charlie Chaplin, mainly performed as courageous, but pitiful characters (Bip and The Tramp respectively). Mime is a very human art form.
• Many mime-trained individuals now operate under the term 'physical theatre' in order to avoid the social stigma that mime often inspires today. Most of these artists do not use traditional mime costumes or make-up.
• Did you know that moonwalking and breakdancing have borrowed from mime?
• Did you know that the 'traditional' mime costume of black and white was popularized by Marcel Marceau?
• Did you know Marcel Marceau's teacher - Etienne Decroux - didn't use make-up or costumes? He actually hid his performer's faces and clothed them in form-fitting loin cloths to more specifically focus on communicating through the human body alone.
• Did you know that the white make-up worn by mimes is actually borrowed from the clown tradition? It is used in both cases to emphasize character traits and expressions so they can be clearly seen at a distance. The white make-up was originally meant to express a simple, innocent character. The mime make-up tradition has come to use more stylized symbols while at the same time simplifying the color scheme and lines.
• Did you know that instead of white faces, ancient mimes wore masks or simple stage make-up?

• To avoid stretch injuries, always warm up prior to attempting mime exercises; miming requires as much agility as dance or acting.
• Mime can be extremely strenuous to perform or practice. Do not attempt mime exercises if you have trouble exercising normally.
• Antagonism or fear towards street mime performers can sometimes get out of hand. Never perform in a public place without a friend or manager nearby watching the performance.
• In the same manner as above, never perform in a public place without a safe place to retreat to. (a.k.a. a car, changing room or friendly business - do not use public restrooms.)
• Do not confuse mime with clowning. Mimes and clowns represent distinct brotherhoods of comic acting, and while the two disciplines may seem related, at depth they could not be more distinct.

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• There are however celebrated circus and theatre artists that have succeeded in embracing and combining various disciplines of mime and clowning to great effect. Joseph Grimaldi - the father of English Pantomime theatre in the late 1700's used comic mime and patter songs to establish his enduring legacy.
• 200 years before that, the lines between clowns and mime blurred as well in the grand tradition of the commedia dell arte and it's stock companies that scattered throughout Europe having been banned by the Roman church. Our moon faced french mime Pierrot has a strong comic lineage in the Italian Comedy characters of Gian Farina, Peppe Nappa and Pedrolino. An art form that strongly influenced the works of Shakespeare, Moliere, and Lope de Vega to name a few. The popularity of this art form had endured for over three hundred years across many nations.
• The 20th Century also has a bevy of artists that celebrated their skills as a clown mime. From the circus field, one can cite the Swiss clown Grock, the legendary Lou Jacobs & Otto Griebling from Ringling Bros. as well as Leonid Yengibarov, and Anotoly Nikulyn from the Soviet era of the Moscow Circus. As clowns, they could embrace their audiences in pantomime alone.
• From the theatre, music hall, film and television, it is hard not to fall under the spell of Bert Williams, Chaplin, Keaton, Stan Laurel, Harpo Marx, Red Skelton, Marcel Marceau, Georges Carl and Dick Van Dyke. Their influence can easily be seen today in the celebrated artists of the New Vaudeville Movement.
• Penn & Teller, Bill Irwin, David Shiner, Geoff Hoyle, Robin Williams, and John Gilkey are great examples for aspiring mimes and clowns. The more you practice your discipline, the sooner you begin to embrace other techniques in mime and clowning to elicit laughter.
• Mime is easy to understand through the facial and physical expressions.