The Pantomime

         The earliest sense of mime is known to have started with the ancient Greeks and Romans in the fifth century. When the audience became too loud and the performers knew they would not be heard, they switched into a silent performance so the play could go on. This later became a technique that created its own genre: the Pantomime.

Roman Pantomime

       Although Pantomime became controversial and unwanted by some, European actors managed to carry on the tradition through traveling theatre acts. This also led to the diversity and allowed a wider variety of Pantomiming. 

        Barrault was a frenchman who revolutionized mime and created the mimodrama. He eventually appeared in a film called "Les Enfants du Paradis" (Children of Paradise) in the year 1945. A new form of Silent Film was carried on.

          Soon after World War II the great Marcel Marceau became very famous. His fame and his hilarious character Bip encouraged many others to follow after him and create their own unique mime personalities; Marceau was inspired by the silent film and others became inspired by him.

Marcel Marceau

     The comedy mime is brought to life through the many stock characters. The mexican Mimo Chispa was born in 1974 and adds a great value of entertainment and laughter with his performances.

       Mime sometimes tells the story of great events in history. An example is the Japanese Olympic Mime.

          Pantomimes do not always bring laughter, sometimes a serious tone is brought into Pantomime. This is shown in the tribute to 9/11.

       Modern Mimes have brought not only changes in personality of their stock character but have also brought a change in the costume and music style if underscored. Over the years the usual "stuck in a box" pantomime has evolved into very unique styles, even including puppetry and juggling acts in the Pantomime act.

 

 

  

1.]   YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com>.

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       3.]   "MIMETIC ART & THE SWEET BLACK ANGELS." Madame Pickwick Art Blog. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://madamepickwickartblog.com/2010/06/the-mimetic-arts-chase-the-lost-arcadians/>.


       4.]   "The History of Mime." Tripod - Succeed Online - Excellent Web Hosting, Domains, E-mail and an Easy Website Builder Tool. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://members.tripod.com/~kiko_mime/history.html>.

       5.]   Contributor, An EHow. "What Is the Origin of Mimes? | EHow.com." EHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles | EHow.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5045648_origin-mimes.html>.

      6.]   "Roman Theatre, Pantomime." Ancient Rome for Kids. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://rome.mrdonn.org/theatre.html>.