Cinematic Mime

Directed by Charles Gamble
Original devised work, featuring the NMSA Fundamentals Class

The three pieces are the result of eight weeks of work in a theatrical style that is known variously as “Platform,” “Band Mimée,” “Silent Storytelling,” or “Cinematic Mime.”

Our challenge to the actors at the outset was this: With a small cast, work within this highly physical style in a dramatically restricted space to create an original piece based on a feature-length film that captures the essence of the movie but will still be comprehensible and engaging to an audience that isn’t familiar with the film.

The style takes the constraint of space that all theater deals with to an extreme: how do we create an entire world in a space that is smaller than a ping pong table? The style borrows from mime in that actors create everything with their bodies: characters, environments, props. From film we take the vocabulary of cinematography: jump cuts, slow motion, split screen, long shots, close-ups. From cartoon (“Bande Mimée” is French for “cartoon mime”), the style borrows the “illustrator”—an actor who draws elements in space (a character’s hat or jewelry, for instance) that are then confirmed by the character. Put all these elements together, with only minimal direction from an outside eye, and you’ve got a very heady mix!

Performances:
October 18 • 7 p.m.
October 19 • 7 p.m.
October 20 • 2 p.m.

Tickets:
$10 general admission
$5 for students and seniors

Website for tickets: nmschoolforthearts.org/tickets

Shows will be performed in the Large Rehearsal Hall (access in the back of the building at NMSA)

Contact:
Barbara Hatch • barbara.hatch@nmsa-ai.org
Theatre Instructor
New Mexico School for the Arts