Physical Theatre
and Mime Resources
Physical Theatre, where the worlds of Theatre and Dance Meet!
“If you shoot at mimes, should you use a
silencer?” - Steven Wright
e Acme Clown Company
Based in Providence, RI, the Acme Clown Company uses popular theatrical traditions to amaze, educate, and entertain audiences of all ages. Their webpage also includes a generous collection of links.
Offers workshops and will travel to your location.
The American Mime Theatre is Company and a School in New York City,
founded in 1952 by the Director, Paul J. Curtis, who created the art form
known as “American Mime.” Classes are continuous and there is a Company Trainee
Program.
Association of Theatre Movement Educators
Axis Theatre Company (formerly Axis Mime Theatre) is in its 21st season of producing original physical theatre entertainment for young people and family audiences in Canada and the US.
based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the forums aim is to explore the varied
connections between physical training for actors and its
application in performance with an emphasis on Physical Theatre.
Blacklight Theatre Image, Prague
Theatre based on the synthesis of black theatre (where objects appear to float through space through careful application of lighting technology and artistry), dance, modern jazz and pantomime.
Site based in Germany. While not a specific company, this site provides a host of forums, resources, etc for those interested in physical theatre
A collection of links and resources related to this specific international blend of theatre and dance
Founded in 1972 by mime Tony Montanaro in South Paris, Maine, the Celebration Barn Theatre is both a school where such varied and illustrious teachers as Leland Faulkner, Avner (the Eccentric) Eisenberg, Fred Garbo, Michael Menes, Peter Davidson, Bari Rolf, David Leong and many other teachers come to work with students in areas as diverse as mime, mask, movement, fight co-ordination, juggling, voice, acrobatics, clown and other aspects of theatrical performance.
Le Centre Du Silence Boulder Colorado
Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre (and Company)
The California based Dell’Arte Company, consists of a full-time professional training program, The Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, an annual summer festival, The Mad River Festival, and a program working in partnership with local schools, Education Through Art. Dell’Arte has become an American center for the exploration and development of physical performance, attracting students from all over the world, and sending productions around the region, the country, and the globe. Productions are available for touring.
Founded in 1975, the School is a full-time, professional training program specializing in Physical Theatre. A one-year Physical Theatre Performance program (PTP) offers actor training focused on the body—the actor’s primary instrument. In addition to physical training, the program concentrates on the traditional popular theatre forms of Melodrama, Clowning and Commedia dell’ Arte as well as Mask Performance.
Discovery Mime Theatre, comprised of husband and wife team Mary Inman and Brian Begley, tour with a repertory of over forty original pieces.
Lloyd Newson and his UK based company. Australian born Lloyd Newson established DV8 PHYSICAL THEATRE in 1986 and with his production of “Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men” (1989), “Strange Fish” (1992) and “MSM” (1993) has established himself as one of the most important and exciting choreographers in Europe. Using a highly physical language, DV8 explodes the boundaries of contemporary dance.
Dynamo Theatre Company, Canada
Ecole de Mime Corporel Dramatique And Theatre de l’Ange Fou
A London-based school and company. Of the company they say: “Theatre de l’Ange Fou has created over 17 originals plays, devised pieces, as well as adaptations, ranging from duets to ensemble work: “The Little Dictator”, “Beyond The Garden”, “The Lost Angel”, “Entangled Lives”, “The Inspector General”... revealing different aspects of the spiritual and political human quest, portraying the fraility and complexity of relationships between individuals longing for love. Affections of the mind , and the absurdity of life are a constant source of inspiration for both the director and the actors in composing the plays. The company undertakes a new project every year exploring the infinite theatrical expression of the human body through a contemporary and poetical dramaturgy, welcoming the use of music, texts and sets.”
“[the school] aims at organizing courses and theatre training focused on the “physical actor”. In 2004, we created, in Barcelona, the Escuela internacional de mimo corporal dramatico (International school of corporal mime). It is the first time such a school exists in Spain, a school dedicated to teach Etienne Decroux’s corporal mime.”
First Physical Theatre Company
First Physical Theatre Company is a leading innovator in South African physical theatre and contemporary dance. The web site contains an overview of its work since inception, including performances and tours, dance education, and research. Photographs of past theatre work, and a shopping section also feature on the site.
This bi-lingual website profiles the work of this São Paulo - based company. This group “researches the contemporary gestuality through the study of: Voice and Movement integrated in the physical action; Production and use of the Theatrical Mask; Commedia Dell’Arte; Plastic-theatrical dialogue; and Musician-theatrical dialogue.
“Frank Theatre develops its work in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and regularly performs locally, nationally and internationally. Using the actor training method devised by Japan’s foremost theatre director, Tadashi Suzuki, a vigorous athletic system that emphasizes teamwork allied to powerful voice and body skills, Frank Theatre has created a highly original style of Australian theatre that is both intelligent and compelling. “
Frantic Assembly Physical theatre, exciting London-based contemporary theatre for a new audience.
Actor, writer, comedian Geoff Hoyle came to the U.S. from England and joined Larry Pisoni and Bill Irwin as a clown in the Pickle Family Circus. He clowned with Montreal’s Cirque du Soleil and his original shows include “Theatre of Panic” at New York’s Dance Theatre Workshop, as well as award-winning solos such as “Boomer! “ and “Feast of Fools” which toured the U.S., Canada, and Taiwan.
Gregg Goldston and C. Nicholas Johnson created The Goldston & Johnson School for Mimes, an intensive summer training program for both the beginning and advanced mime, actor and dancer. With the support of the Ohio Arts Council, the School for Mimes relocated to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in 1981 and the Foundation headquarters Columbus.
New Jersey based company, associated with The New Jersey Center for Mime.
Formed in early 1999 horla is a new London based production company concentrating on telling stories through performances with a physical edge and promoting new talent from design to writing and music.
Based in Philadelphia, “The mission of the Pig Iron Theatre Company is to create original performance works which test and break the boundaries of dance, drama, clown, puppetry, music, and text; to experiment with form while staying accessible; to develop a physical, theatrical performance technique that draws from many performance traditions; to re-imagine “classics” with both irreverence and a desire to make them relevant; and to reach out to new audiences by redefining theatre as an interdisciplinary art form.”
Juggling Information Service, serves the Internet juggling community by connecting all of the juggling related resources that we can find.
A three-man, nationally touring clown company, based out of Chicago
Colorado based mime artist. Kiko’s website offers a number of reference pages on the art of mime.
“A New York City based action theatre company that produces original
work celebrating the historical woman warrior and the modern action
heroine.”
Marcel Marceau Foundation for the Advancement of the Art of Mime, Inc.
“Mime Centre Berlin offers open space for further learning and training, cooperation and inter national exchange. The MCB concentrates on questioning the basis of movement in theatre in general. This aim is connected with the still existing German phenomenon of the opposition of theatre as being text and dance as standing for movement. This point of view creates a scope of work which opens up a greater dimension: from the question of the basis of movement in “text” theatre up to the question of theatricality of dance. So our work is about the physical and psychical presence of an actor, about movement as the ground and connection of different ways of theatre.
Montanaro - Hurll Theatre of Mime and Dance
The Moving Theater Company is a new Boston based organization dedicated to expanding the genre of Physical Theatre - image-based theater in which the dramatic action is conveyed through movement of the actors and their props as much as through dialog.
NaCl (North American Cultural Laboratory)
Founded in Toronto, but now located in New York, this company describes itself as: “an ensemble of dedicated theatre artists who create and perform their own unique and uncommon theatre performances. The company strives to investigate and practice live performance as a means to invigorate and challenge our current North American cultural climate, and to create situations for communication and human interaction between fellow theatre artists and spectators from all walks of life.”
The National Movement Theater Association
The National Movement Theater Association is a nationwide network of individual artists, theater companies, training schools and presenting organizations committed to the understanding of movement as an energizing and important basis for dramatic expression.
National Theatre of the Deaf - “Hands tell Stories”
The Pacific Performance Project
“Throughout the past twenty years, American theatre has shifted towards movement-based production, drawing on elements of dance, performance art, the new vaudeville, and other related disciplines. In addition, formal styles of Japanese theatre have had a marked influence on the training of actors in this country and on the development of new productions, both avant-garde and mainstream. The Pacific Performance Project (P3) was founded in 1994 by Robyn Hunt and J. Steven Pearson in response to the heightened need for an expanding dialogue about culture and theatre. After several years of study, Mr. Suzuki encouraged them to be among the first to teach his techniques in the United States.”
A unique blend of the visual and performing arts with a particular affinity for dynamic museum and display installation performances.
Based in New Hampshire - Pontine Movement Theatre has been a ground-breaking force in the blossoming of actor-based theatre, creating work that is engaging, innovative and original. Pontine’s work is founded on the concept that the actor should function as a creative (rather than interpretive) artist, and that the name actor dictates action (movement) as their primary tool.
In 1982 jugglers Michael Hirschbach and Christopher Majka (who had previously appeared together as the Lunar Asparagus Theatre joined with dancer/artist Kathy MacGillivray (from the Jeanne Robinson Dance Project) and mime Sherry-Lee Hunter, a former member of the Deaf Gypsy Mime Company to found Portable Mime Theatre.
Located in Rochester, New York, USA, “PUSH Physical Theatre broadens the perspective of dance and theatre, making them more relevant to people’s lives. They use the term ‘physical theatre’ because they choose to move outside of their codified training to discover new avenues of physical communication. PUSH was founded by veteran movement artists and choreographers, Darren and Heather Stevenson.”
Quelques ressources sur la Commedia dell’Arte trouvées sur Internet.
Wonderful collection of links on Comedia Del Arte, physical theatre, puppetry and similar topics.
Robert Rivest Mime Theater & School
Based in Springfield, MA, “Robert Rivest has presented over 4,000 performances in 11 countries in Europe, Africa, and across the U.S. A former student of Marcel Marceau, Robert has trained for over 10 years with internationally renowned masters of mime, dance, theater, and improvisation. Along with mime-theater training in Paris and NYC, Robert received his BA from Hampshire College.”
From their website: “The San Francisco Mime Troupe does not do pantomime. We mean ‘mime’ in the ancient sense: to mimic. We are satirists, seeking to make you laugh at the absurdities of contemporary life and at the same time, see their causes. We’ve done shows about most of the burning issues of our time, generally shows that debunked the official story. We perform everywhere from public parks to palaces of culture, aiming to reach the broadest possible audience”
Arthur Shafman International Ltd.
From Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Shkidy isa a “theatre combining poetic poignancy of traditional clowning and visual beauty with philosophical mime art, to make lyrical comic spectacle for all.”
School Of Physical Theatre - London
The School of Physical Theatre was founded by director Ron East. Ron has performed across Canada, in the United States and Europe, has written and produced sixteen original plays, and is a consultant for film and television. Ron has just completed a book on his theatre training process entitled “Moving Images: Experiential Learning and the Physical Theatre”. This is a 160 page book with illustrations and photographs, the result of 25 years of professional teaching experience, and pedagogical research carried out in Canada and in Paris, France. Part 1: The Body Including the mechanics of physical perception, discovering from the inside out, the architecture of the skeleton, the play of the muscles in movement and stillness, breathing, and the body’s physical relationship to the theatrical space. Part 4: The Physical Theatre Structuring discovery to enable the artist to encounter the theatre as a medium, igniting the creative fire in his or her belly, and putting the two together in the theatrical space.
The Seattle Mime Theatre Seattle’s resident mime company, the Seattle Mime Theatre was founded in 1977 by Richard Davidson, Elizabeth Roth and Bruce Wylie. Their tours throughout the United States and abroad include an acclamied run at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in Scotland and a series of performances in Japan as part of a cultural exchange programme.
Shields & Yarnell Mime Theatre
Based in Chicago, “Sprung is an international movement theatre company formed by two graduates of L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq, training ground of Theatre de Complicite, Julie Taymor, Theatre du Soleil, and Steven Berkoff. sprung is dedicated to challenging the way audiences and performers view movement and performance through theatrical creations and workshops that are alive, mysterious, and vibrant. We hope to reveal and celebrate the specific moments in our lives in a way that is unexpected and accessible.”
Chicago-based touring mime and visual theatre company working both with theatre/mime productions and working with symphony orchestras
“Theatre DEREVO was established in 1988 by Anton Adassinski in former
Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. Since that time the company has took many prizes
and awards at the best stages and festivals of the world, e.g. Edinburgh
festival FRINGE or International mime-festival in Perigeux. Present members of
the group avoid the words theater, actor, acting. Rather they regard their work
as an awareness of a person’s
existence.”
Theatre Gallery, The
The Theater Gallery, based in Minneapolis, presents original innovative movement theater with an interdisciplinary ensemble. We share with our audience a highly imaginative production that tells an entertaining story about universal human needs. Each production is a collage of physical performance by dancers & movement actors, original texts incorporating poetry, stage imagery & live special effects created by visual artists, and music performed by live musicians, and/or recorded provocative sound-scapes. We often take inspiration from myth, fable, and the fantastic. Through the disarming effect of a fantasy, the audience is transported to another world where they recognize themselves in the most unlikely characters at the most surprising moments.
Theatrical Mime Theatre and School
Based in Arizona, TMT “is dedicated to the development, documentation and performance of new works of international contemporary theatrical mime theatre created through collaborative creative processes. This development, documentation and performance of new works serves to preserve, educate to and expose all forms of international contemporary theatrical mime theatre and the techniques of its practitioners for the benefit of the general public and the practicing artists in the field.”
TooBa is a new Centre for Physical Theatre in Vancouver, BC. The name TooBa, which refers to a life-giving tree found in heaven, embodies the philosophy of the Centre and its training school. TooBa is dedicated to breathing new life into the practice and study of live theatre. The Centre is intended to be a locus for theatre artists, teachers and students who want to expand the boundaries of theatrical expression.TooBa offers a full-time two-year certificate program in Physical Theatre, as well as part-time classes for all levels.
Based in Vashon, WA, “ Our mission is to stir the human spirit and incite the imagination by providing awe, challenge and inspiration through original and compelling theatre. We are a theatre of connection-to our audience, to the ensemble, to our bodies, to the imagination. Our work is image-rich and physical. We work with a broad palette, combining character, movement, music, sculpture and story. We seek the ancient alchemy of live performance, through which thoughts and images under the surface of culture are given voice and form.”
Nice Master site of resources and links
Webs of Individual Mime Artists
Other Research Resources
Evolution of Mime: Towards Expansiveness of Being
This site includes essays on the topic of mime and physical theatre
Circus and Carnival & Variety Related Resources
Circus and Carnival Master Sites
Nice Collection of Circus Links
Circusland - Nice site
Showmen’s League of America - Represents carnival workers and more
Links from Adam Zeisler - Nice collection of circus and variety related links
Juggling
Magic and Illusion