Abstract:

Mime and Pantomime in the Twentieth Century: an authoritative integrated power point presentation with proprietary video clips and accompanied by workshops, master classes or demonstrations of the significant kinds of mime and pantomime including both historical and technical definitions of terms. The delivery of this program due to legal requirements and language barriers must of need be personal and shall be designed for appropriate audience levels and applicable to universal and multi-lingual audiences. Based on documentation from an unprecedented Institute and Festival developed in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1974, and complemented by additional primary documentation of the assessment of the history, theory, techniques of the dominant personalities to whom the movement theatre fundamental constructs are attributed.

The Problem: Developing and delivering a program that is both affordable and diverse to multilingual audiences anywhere in the world and to constituents of any age, education or interest level. Proprietary permissions on some of the video cuts in the power point presentations prevent outright sale of the program on DVD. Moreover the dynamics of the educational experience is not in the viewing of the power point program but in the application of basic to advanced technique.

Background: On previous applications, the author adapted his existing television programs to a twelve week video series on educational television. The program was available to just regular television viewers not engaged in academic programs related to theatre. It was also available to continuing education students as part of the primary course work in mime, supplemented by mime technique class once per week. The third level was specifically available to professional theatre training students as supporting co-curricular documentation for their regular class work. The program was scheduled and aired at several times per week to allow access for those engaged in class assignments on the techniques.

Due to the nature of the work, a textbook is the least effective delivery tool for technique. Typical classroom work involves all parts of the body, including a biomechanics course for greater understanding of techniques. But empirically, the actual participation in the technique is the strongest most retentive methodology.

For that reason, the author wishes to explore alternative technologies to amplify the power point presentation along with a set number of workshops or master classes and also make it available to any country in their native tongue.

Contributing this program to the Institute in Madrid would showcase the material and would gain important assessment and evaluation from the panels of academics there, regardless of areas of expertise.