Wendy Rogers, age 14, of Jamestown, N.Y., for her question:
IS PANTOMIME AN OLD ART FORM? °
Pantomime is the art of dramatic representation by means of facial expressions and body movements rather than words. Pantomime, or mime as it is often called, has always been a part of theater. In the ancient open air theaters of Greece and Rome, where the audience could see more easily than it could hear, mime was an important element of acting. The Roman pantomimus was an actor who used stylized movements and masks to portray a character to the accompaniment of music and the singing of a chorus.
Pantomime, or dumb show, was essential to commedia dell'arte, an improvised comedy that arose in 16th century Italy and spread throughout Europe. Pantomime continued in the 17th and 18th century harlequinade in France and England, an offshoot of the commedia dell'arte, which depicted the adventures of Harlequin, his sweetheart Columbine and her father, Pantaleone.
In London the harlequinade was preceded by a scene in which actors mimed and danced stories from classical mythology or fairy tales, culminating in the transformation of the leading character into Harlequin.
Gradually the opening scene, or pantomime, became longer and more important than the harlequinade, especially as developed in the early 19th century by an actor named Joseph Grimaldi, who excelled in acrobatics, invented tricks and stage machinery and created the foolish clown Joey.
By the middle of the 19th century, the pantomime emerged as an elaborately staged and costumed spectacle, based on fairy tales, incorporating song, dance, acrobatics, dialogue and other elements from the English music hall.
Actors in early 20th century silent films, such as Charlie Chaplin, relied on mime.
Charlie Chaplin, and other actors such as Buster Keaton, used pantomime entirely to convey the story being presented in early silent motion pictures.
Chaplin was often called "the funniest man in the world." He hit stardom in 1914 when he first appeared as "the Tramp" or "the Little Fellow." Looking undersized and undernourished, Chaplin wore a battered derby hat, a coat too small for him and pants much too large. He walked in a shuffling manner that suggested he had never worn shoes his own size.
Chaplin's figure of poverty always wore gloves and carried a bamboo cane that seemed to reflect a spirit that bounces back from the most crushing defeats. His fine knowledge of pantomime allowed him to project emotions to his audience.
The last shot in many of Chaplin's early silent films shows him walking down a road into the distance. The Tramp was homeless and penniless once more, but with hat tilted and cane flourishing, he told his audience in pantomime that he again was ready for whatever mischief lay around the corner.