The Ability of Mime

       Miming in today's society is, "O look there is a guy with  white paint on his face, dressed like he's about to go jail." Although, there is a lot more involved in this historic art form. The first record of miming happened in 467 B.C. when a chorus was performing in Greece and one of the choir members stepped out of formation to stand alone, but he was acting out what the choir was singing about. The choir member was Telestes, who was a legendary dancer, gave miming it's beginning, early on in history.

        What you are seeing in this picture, is a close representation of how choirs in this time period might have dressed. Also, it could be a good indication of what Telestes might have been wearing when he pulled away from the other performers to give birth to the art of mime.  This could have been where the convention of the painted face came from.

       Pantomime or mime? That is the question. What is the main difference between the two? Pantomime performers, wear a mask, instead of face paint like mime performers. They are limited as far expressing emotions like happy or sad, the only way they can show emotion is through the use of their hands. Mimes on the other hand, (no pun intended) have the use of their entire body, especially their face because they emphasize the expressions happy or sad with the use of paint. 

       The performer on the left is an example of how a pantomime dresses . Notice the mask, hiding the expression of his face and showing only the expression of the mask. Then look at his hands, they are a bright red color, drawing attention immediately to his hands, letting you know where to look when they are showing emotion. Then to the immediate right, there is a mime. Opposite in most ways, notice how he is wear a bright white drawing attention to his entire body, because he is able to use his entire upper body to show emotion
including his face.

        This a perfect example of how a mime works. They mimic other peoples action and they interact with objects that are not there. This video is funny because he is so expressive in his emotions that you can't help but laugh.










 Sources

Thicknesse, Robert. "Ancient Greece Choirs - Google Search." Google. Guardian News and Media Limited, 7 July 2006. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=829&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=ancient greece choirs&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=>.

Lust, Annette. "The World of Mime Theatre * Library * History of Mime." The World of Mime Theatre. 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mime.info/history-lust.html>.

"The Art Of Mime And Pantomime." Wise Dude - He's Got the Answers to Your Questions. Google, 2006. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.wisedude.com/art_music/mime.htm>.

"YouTube - Old School Mime." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Pelleaskagain. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtPMFbottnk>.