Pantomime Notes

BASIC QUALITIES OF GOOD PANTOMIME:

3 RULES: Consistency-keep things the same size, weight, proximity Exaggerated resistance-Everything is harder to do in pantomime, opening doors, pulling weeds, sewing on a button Exaggerated expression and gesture- Everything is bigger and bolder. Facial expressions are big; gestures like waving are bigger.

GOOD PANTOMIME STORY LINES: Keep it simple. Don’t have complex story lines, just have one plot. Tell a story: Have a beginning, middle, and end. (Boy and dog are happy, dog runs away, dog comes home…happy again)

Storylines continued Be fantastic!! Make things happen in pantomime that wouldn’t ordinarily happen: the dentist removes a tooth with pliers or dynamite.

PERFORMANCE GOALS: Visibility: hair—keep it out of your face Face and body—in pantomime imaginary props between you and the audience. Keep real props to the side so as not to hide your body.

Visibility Con’d. Cheat Out—Turn so the audience can se and hear you, even when it doesn’t seem natural Gestures—Use upstage arm. Kneel on downstage knee. Turns—Always face the audience Crossing the Stage: 2 or more actors crossing the stage, the downstage actor(s) trail slightly.

Energy and Absorption: Be as absorbed in the action on stage as you are when you are playing a really great video game or watching a great movie. Don’t be distracted.

Gestures: start from center (waist) and are big. Hold a second.

Facial expressions- bigger and bolder, hold for a second.

Length: Make sure you stick to the predetermined length when improvising or working out a scene.

Exploitation: Use all possible outcomes and developments. Push it to the limit.