The History of Mime: A blog about mime along with the history and how it became a theatrical art form.
Mime, or Pantomime, is the art of communicating a story or telling a joke, in the absence of words. In the ancient times, actors were not allowed to use words on stage and so they relied on gestures and expressions to communicate. The word “mime” comes from the Greek mimesis, meaning imitation or representation. Mime as we think of it today, however, was developed in France in the early 19th century by Jean-Gaspard Deburau. It was later taught by Etienne Decroux to Marcel Marceau who popularized it around the world!
The History of Mime
Mime has been around since humans began performing on stage. But modern mime as we know it today started in France during the 19th century. Jean-Gaspard Deburau made an appearance in 1828 at the Funambules Theater as Pierrot, which is one of the first characters that is recognized as a mime character by modern standards.
This is a blog about the history of mime. It will cover topics such as: what is mime, where did it come from and how it became a theatrical art form.
Mime is the art of acting out a story through body motions, without the use of speech. The earliest records of mime date back to ancient Greece and Rome, where performers would act out myths and stories in their theatres. A significant part of these performances were also comedic in nature – and this has continued to be true for mime throughout its history.
The History of Mime:
Mime is possibly the oldest form of theater, dating back to the very first theater in ancient Greece. But what is mime? In its purest form, it is a type of acting that does not use words. It tells a story and evokes emotion through body movement and facial expression.
In Ancient Greece, mime was performed at festivals and celebrations as either an individual or group performance. The actors would wear masks that represented various emotions and characters, and through exaggerated body motions they would tell stories that were usually satires of Greek mythology. Over time, these actors became more complex with their performances, telling their stories through multiple acts and using stage props to help explain the story line. These actors became some of the most famous entertainers in all of Greece, performing in large theaters for thousands of people at a time.
Although this form of entertainment has been around for thousands of years, it really began to take off in Paris during the 19th century when a man named Jean-Gaspard Deburau performed under the stage name “Pierrot.” He took on the character of a sad clown who had a white face and wore a baggy costume with buttons running down his chest. Deburau was often seen
The History of Mime
The history of mime is a long and interesting one. It starts in ancient Greece with the plays of Aristophanes and Aeschylus. The word “mime” comes from the Greek term mimos, which means “imitator.” The first known mimes were people who would imitate tradesmen or animals in the streets. They were often dressed in animal skins and used masks to add to their performances. The Romans also performed mimes, but they used them to entertain and amuse the audience rather than to instruct them as the Greeks did.
Over time, mime became more popular as an art form, and it became important to have a written story line for the performance. During this time, a number of different styles developed. In France, Marcel Marceau created what was called pantomime blanc (white mime), in which no props were used and performers wore white makeup. This style is still common today. In Italy, commedia dell’arte became popular, where actors would perform improvised skits with masks and costumes. Another type of mime that developed was silent clowning, where actors would create comedy routines without speaking a word. This style was popularized by Charlie Chaplin in many
A mime or mime artist is a person who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer would typically be referred to as a mummer. Miming is to be distinguished from silent comedy, in which the artist is a seamless character in a film or sketch. Mime has been performed with its own right within theatres and stadiums along with other circus arts since the early 1800s.
The term mime has come to be used more generally for any silent theatrical presentation in which the action is explained or told by gesture alone, or relies heavily on facial expression to convey the narrative (compare pantomime). A professional mime uses movements without words to express emotions and situations. The basic skills required of the professional mime are ballet, acting and improvisation. The mime artist seeks to connect with the audience by appearing physically neutral with a gestural repertoire that exploits precise physical control. The stylistic origins of classical mime can be traced back to ancient Greek theatre and Aristotle’s Poetics: “Of the modes of imitation…mimicry.” The theatrical genre was developed extensively during the
Mime, also called miming, is an art form in which the performer uses body language and movements to communicate or convey a story or emotion.
Mime has its roots in antiquity, dating back at least to ancient Greece. The first written records of mime artists come from the 3rd century B.C.E., when the Roman playwright Plautus wrote several comedies featuring a character named Miles Gloriosus, who was a mime; his plays were adapted by the French dramatist Moliere in the 17th century C.E., and are still performed today.
Mime as we know it today evolved in Paris during the late 19th century. The most famous early mimes were primarily street artists, known for their white face makeup and black-and-white costumes that mimicked clothing styles from the late 1800s and early 1900s. But with the advent of cinema and television, mimes found fewer opportunities for work outside of theaters and cabarets, where they were employed as entertainers between acts of more mainstream performances. Today, mimes are most often found on stages or at festivals where they perform alone or with groups of other street performers to amuse passersby with their silent comedy routines.
I took a mime class at the University of Georgia. I didn’t have a choice in the matter, I had to take a theater class. I had just moved to Athens, Ga and was anxious to meet people so I thought “Hey, how hard can mime be?”
I found my answer on the first day of class when we were told that we were going to do something called “mime-in-the-cube.” We were to stand in a large box (we made it out of masking tape) and not come out until the professor said we could. There was a sign on the wall that read: “You are now entering the world of mime.”
We were all instructed to not talk or make eye contact with anyone else in the class. This was going to be a very quiet, private experience. All we needed was ourselves, our imagination and that cube.
I stood there for what seemed like hours looking down at my feet as if they were two magnets attracted to each other as instructed by my professor. I tried unsuccessfully to make them repel each other like ours poles of two magnets but instead they kept sticking together as if they were glue.