Artist in the School

Artist in the School

Last week we had a visit from an mime, Chris Sigurdson from the Artists in the School program.  We learned a lot about the art form of mime, such as

• "Clicks" are when you stop your movement so the audience can understand what you are doing.
• Gestures are hand signs that everyone knows what they mean.  
• Facial expressions are important to a mime.  The eyebrows and mouth are probably the most important parts to know the emotion the mime is trying to show.
• Eye contact helps you know if the audience is following your performance. 
• Body language helps the audience understand the emotion too.
• The most famous mime was Marcel Marceau.  He had white face paint, really black eye makeup and black and white striped clothes.
• We practiced miming being in a box, turning a wheel, tug-a-war with a rope, lifting weights, and playing baseball.  One of the first mimes we performed was making a peanut butter sandwich.
• We created the masks in the photo below that show a facial expression.  We think they look great!

Leave us a comment about what you like about mimes.