A creative drama resource for teachers and others working with youth!
Pantomime
What is Pantomime?Pantomime is basically acting without words and communicating with your body. Mimes (those performing pantomime) do not speak with their mouths, but express life through movement and through using their bodies to suggest their environment. Acting like you are trapped in an invisible box is an example of pantomime, or mime. There are two main types of pantomime: narrative and plot/story-based. Narrative pantomime utilizes a storyteller or narrator as one acts out the action of the narrative. Plot/story-based pantomime is a story that unfolds or progresses on its own, with the audience seeing the story rather than hearing it. |
Why should my students use Pantomime?Students benefit from pantomime in many ways. Learning to be silent
is one of them! Pantomime utilizes precise economic movement. From
practicing, students gain communication skills, self control, build
listening skills, practice focus, learn economy of movement, and
create and understand plot lines and situations. This is a great
tool for visual learners! |
Where does Pantomime fit into my curriculum?Everywhere! Many areas are addressed by pantomime including
physical education, communication, and math (calculating and projecting
the size and weight of imaginary objects). |
How do I start?Begin by introducing your students to movement and body language. As with any creative drama activity, it is best to start playing in brief segments where everyone is participating simultaneously, then move toward individual playing and spotlighting. Start by acting out stories that are narrated, then moving on to improvisational situations using no voices. |
What does Pantomime look like in a lesson plan?Type out narrative pantomime (optional) Insert "students participate
by pantomiming…" Using Pantomime in a lesson may look something like this: As I read this narration aloud, remember that pantomime means no voices. Use your body to show how you feel, and what you are thinking. You may move around the room, keeping your hands to yourself. Everyone lay down, take ina deep breath, turn off your voices, and listen. You lie motionless on the ground. You are cold, hard, dusty, ancient. You're pebbled with flecks of mica. You're a rock on a mountainside, and you've experienced all there is to experience, you've felt every element on your strong, solid back. The ground beneath you is cool and uneven. Jagged rocks poke into you. The sun is hot overhead, the sky cloudless. The sun bakes your surface, heating you, warming you to temperatures too hot to touch. (and on.........) |
What educational standards are met by Pantomime?National Theatre Standard and BenchmarksStandard 5: Understands how informal and formal theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions create and communicate meaning Level 2 (Grade K-4) 1. Understands the visual, aural, oral, and kinetic elements of dramatic performances 2. Understands how the wants and needs of characters are similar to and different from one's own wants and needs 3. Provides rationales for personal preferences about the whole as well as the parts of dramatic performances 4. Knows how alternative ideas can be used to enhance character roles, environments, and situations 5. Knows appropriate terminology used in analyzing dramatizations (e.g., intent, structure, effectiveness, worth) 6. Identifies people, events, time, and place in classroom dramatizations Level 3 (Grade 5-8) 1. Understands the effect of publicity, study guides, programs, and physical environments on audience response and appreciation of dramatic performances 2. Articulates the meanings constructed from one's own and others' dramatic performances 3. Understands the perceived effectiveness of artistic choices found in dramatic performances 4. Understands the perceived effectiveness of contributions (e.g., as playwrights, actors, designers, directors) to the collaborative process of developing improvised and scripted scenes 5. Applies research from print and nonprint sources to script writing, acting, design, and directing choices Level 4 (Grade 9-12) 1. Knows how social meanings (aural, oral, and visual symbols with personal and/or social significance) communicated in informal productions, formal productions, and personal performances of different cultures and historical periods can relate to current personal, national, and international issues 2. Articulates and justifies personal aesthetic criteria for comparing perceived artistic intent with the final aesthetic achievement 3. Understands how the context in which a dramatic performance is set can enhance or hinder its effectiveness 4. Knows how varying collaborative efforts and artistic choices can affect the performance of informal and formal productions 5. Identifies and researches cultural, historical, and symbolic clues in dramatic texts 6. Understands the validity and practicality of cultural, historical, and symbolic information used in making artistic choices for informal and formal productions from <http://www.mcrel.org/> |
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