Mime and Children

Ken Wylie

When asking a group of children what they understand by the term 'mime', the most popular answer is generally 'acting without talking' or 'silent acting'. I must say that it can be so much more than that but one aspect of their answers, which is often most powerful, is that of 'silence'; and it is perhaps all the more powerful that children so willingly accept silence.

Perhaps it surprises us when we experience the amount of noise that can be generated by just one pair of, relatively, small lungs during the Eucharist or intercessions; let alone the threat of a school playground on a glorious summer lunchtime! Perhaps it is because we often fear silence. We fill our lives with noise whether we like it or not - roads, rail, crowds, nature, TV, radio, iPods - so that those moments which appear silent can actually threaten us with their possibility. Might we be challenged by a long suppressed thought or even be spoken to by God?

Children's lives are similarly filled with noise. They are able apparently to ignore us while playing with their toys and having the television on, only to repeat verbatim a bit later whatever our request to them was.

However, children do not fear the silence presented to them when watching a purely silent illusion mime. Perhaps they are so used to being assailed by all sorts of media that they do not experience silence as anything but another method of communication, especially as the reality is that they are constantly taking in visual images and the reactions of those around them. As a performer I have often feared doing a silent mime - no soundtrack or narration in case they do not 'get it', just me and the squeaky performance space; just me and the audience (who can be distracted by any passing sound). Yet, these are often the pieces that connect with an audience best. We are drawn towards each other in the silence, mutually supporting each other in the storyline, wanting to gain something from the experience.

Given the opportunity children will happily partake in the creation of such moments of silence. I recently enjoyed a workshop of 30 children, ages ranging from five to eleven, where for 15 minutes before their juice break, and after having been going for 40 minutes, we worked on the techniques behind illusion mime. Their silent concentration led me to silence in my demonstration. It was a moment that struck the organisers and was the biggest talking point afterwards.

Often a period of silence to allow time for mental wondering at the end of a workshop can feel like the most meaningful couple of moments in the whole session.

Maybe mime allows us (children and adults alike) to play freely. There are few, if any, limits to what we can create as an illusion or idea, much in the same way that a stick picked up in the woods can become a wand, light sabre, gun, pooh stick or just an aid to walking.

Mime and the imagination behind it can be hugely resourceful in group work. As an introduction you could get your group to close their eyes and wonder. Read a story or set out a few scenarios and let them imagine the story for themselves. You may find it helpful to set out a historical perspective when using a Bible story, although it may also be useful just to discover what job they imagined the prodigal son did before leaving home (or, indeed, what 'wild living' is/was!) without setting it in its biblical timeslot.

In moving on to act out a story I have found that as long as the target audience understand what is happening the level of technical skill in the mime is not so important. The key to this is simplicity - you want the audience to understand the story; original ideas are great but only if you can bring your audience with you. Within a small group a short act about the theme/story of the day should be easily understood because the action will relate to what has already been discussed.

However, if converting this to a larger audience, perhaps the church body, I do feel that you need a better look.

A relatively easy way of preparing a good sketch is to use a narration with a few still photos or a tableaux that the children can assume. You are then using the narrative to help tell the story with big 'pictures' to illustrate it. For example, 'We are all going on a journey' - the group hold a pose of leaning forward, hands over eyes, looking forward; 'We can travel by car' - the group hold an imaginary steering wheel, steer left and right, then freeze and so on. The group will need to move quickly from one pose to another and to be able to hold an individual picture for a few seconds to make the greatest impact. I will often use a small group, say six people, in a line doing the same action to build one big picture. While there is the narration, the real power in the sketch comes from the snatches of silence and reflection as the audience take in the picture.

The group need to look confident, and one way to encourage this is simply by improving their opening stance when they take to the stage. With your children either sitting or standing, get them to take a deep breath, really filling their lungs. Their posture will immediately improve. As they exhale they will probably slump again. This time get them to notice for themselves what has happened to their bodies - straighter backs, bigger shoulders, possibly taller - and encourage them to keep that position while they continue breathing. After a short time of looking painfully tense they should reach a happy medium whereby they look 'bigger' and more confident than before but without having to strain to hold the pose. This can than become your start position.

You may be surprised by who looks good on 'stage'. I remember going into one rural school to work with their Year 6 and being warned that a couple of boys probably would not join in. They had been keen to be involved in the previous year's nativity play but pulled out in the final rehearsals. Their 'problem' had simply been having to deliver words. Freed from the worry of speaking on stage these two boys shone in their group looking strong, confident and happy to be on stage.

I hope you may be similarly inspired by using mime as one of your methods of communication.

Ken Wylie is a freelance member of the Barnabas Team. Ken is available for Barnabas RE Day bookings in Primary Schools and also to work with your church at a special events. Contact Lynda Ward, the Barnabas Team Administrator: barnabas@brf.org.uk.

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