Research: The Art of Mime

What is the Mime?

The word ‘pantomime’ source for the Greek, meaning ‘imitator’.

A mime artist 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.

The performance of pantomime originates at its earliest in Ancient Greece; the name is taken from a single masked dancer called Pantomimes, although performances were not necessarily silent. In Medieval Europe, early forms of mime such as mummer plays and later dumb shows evolved. In early nineteenth century Paris, Jean-Gaspard Deborah solidified the many attributes that we have come to know in modern times—the silent figure in white-face. [1]

The famous silent film artist – Charlie Chaplin 1989-1977

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona "the Tramp" and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry.

Most famous mime artist – Marcel Marceau 1923-2007

Marcel Marceau was a French actor and mime most famous for his stage persona as "Bip the Clown." He referred to mime as the "art of silence," and he performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years. As a youth, he lived in hiding and worked with the French Resistance during most of World War II, giving his first major performance to 3000 troops after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Following the war, he studied dramatic art and mime in Paris.