Mastering Basic Pantomime Techniques

1. Pantomime The art of acting without words

2. Basic Pantomime Movement • Non-verbal communication • Communicating without words • Much of our daily life • Physical coordination and poise are more a matter of training, not heredity. • Actors must develop a talent for moving the body as a whole. • Top of the head to tip of toes: Be expressive! • Your body is your tool for expressing a character’s personality.

3. Basic Pantomime Movement • Behind bodily poise and skill in action is relaxation. • Relaxation is a matter of inner composure and mental awareness as well as physical flexibility. • Posture is fundamental to your health and personal appearance. • Practice both relaxation and proper posture.

4. Basic Pantomime Movement • Walking on stage requires careful observation. • Sitting on stage can be problematic for new actors. • Crossing is to move from one place on stage to another. • Lead with foot farthest from audience for entrances.

5. Basic Pantomime Movement • Turns are normally all made to the front or audience. • Rotate on the balls of the feet • Falling requires practice in safety. • Gestures are the movement of any part of the body to help express an idea or an emotion. • Facial and hand/arm

6. Principles of Pantomime • The techniques of pantomime are based on what human beings do physically in response to emotional stimulation, other people and the objects around them.

7. Principles of Pantomime • Basic Principles of Body Language • Your chest is the key to all bodily action. • Your wrists lead most hand gestures. • Move your elbows away from your body when making arm and hand gestures. • Do not gesture above your head or below your waist. • Opposite action emphasizes physical movement. • Pulling arm back for a punch emphasizes the punch.

8. Principles of Pantomime • Basic Principles of Body Language • Arms and hands should move in curves, not straight lines, unless deliberate. • Use your upstage arm. • All actions must be definite in concept and execution and all movements must be clearly motivated.

9. Principles of Pantomime • Basic Principles of Body Language • Positive Emotions • Negative Emotions • Facial Expressions • Eyes, eyebrows, mouth • Usually precedes other physical actions • Other thoughts • Some exaggeration of movement is essential. • Always keep the audience in mind and direct action towards them.

10. Principles of Pantomime • Characterization • Emotion affects your body in various ways. • Practice feeling the emotion first. • Then let your face and body respond. • It requires two mental processes: • Imitation • Imagination • Draw on your observations to create characters. • Create a memory bank from which you can pull out the necessary emotions for a character.

11. Individual Pantomimes • Pantomime and Objects • You must portray size, weight, resistance, texture, placement and condition of the object. • Make it evident to your audience. • Consider the object’s height, length and width. • All objects have different shape. • Every object has weight. • All objects have a quality called resistance.

12. Individual Pantomimes • Pantomime and Objects • The firmness or solidity of an object. • The surfaces of the objects have definite textures. • Kinesthesis is helpful in placing objects in space. • Kinesthesis is a neuromuscular awareness of how the body feels in a particular physical position. • Relate placement to how things are placed in regards to your body. • Eye level, shoulder height, tiptoe height, etc.

13. Group Pantomimes