ASSEMBLIES
We give you an
exciting performance followed by an interactive workshop. You will see striking images, mime-illusions,
movement, dance, slapstick comedy and improvisation. Schools may pick and choose which vignettes
they wish to present to each audience from our list. Themes and the grades for which we recommend
them are listed with each title.
SEE PERFORMANCE VIGNETTES BELOW
WORKSHOPS
In our workshops,
students expand their capacity for creative expression, self awareness and
spatial intelligence. No other art form teaches these things quite like mime.
Students get excited about our classroom visits and they have fun even as
they’re learning.
Grades for which we recommend these
workshops are listed below each title.
Essential Mime
3-12
Go on a journey
of self-discovery and body awareness. By
learning such mime techniques as handling invisible objects and creating walls,
your students will learn to be more centered, focused and disciplined. Students get excited as their bodies and minds
are stretched beyond what they thought their limits were.
The Physics of Mime
5-9
It isn't rocket
science. These are the principles that
define our physical world. Mime
technique can give you a better understanding of force, elastic recoil, balance,
angular acceleration and
Talk Without Words
K-12, Native Speakers & ELLs
What is your body
saying when you mouth is closed? We focus on the language of facial
expressions, gestures, postures and looks. These exercises are especially
effective for English Language Learners.
Your students will learn how to be better communicators through
expressive and conscious body language.
They will also learn face muscle exercises that will better equip them
to pronounce new and foreign words.
“It was fun to learn how to
communicate without talking.”
Felicia Montano, 6th grader, Valle Lindo Elementary,
Quoted
in the
Spatial Relationships
4-12
What can you see
with your mind's eye or say with a group picture? Through a series of creative
exercises, you will learn to create invisible objects and define their parameters.
This workshop helps you to develop your spatial intelligence and capacity for
imagination with an emphasis on group building and cooperation.
Walk Through History
4-8
§
What was it like to march with the Red-Coats, knowing that a
rebel could be hiding behind every tree?
§
How did runaway slaves encourage each other as they traveled
the Underground Railroad?
§
What did the Native Americans experience as they were
marched on the Trail of Tears?
Your
students will contemplate these questions as they act out scenes from their history
lessons. They will put themselves in the
shoes of their subjects to get in touch with their thoughts and feelings. Whatever your curriculum, this workshop will
give your students an experience to remember.
Balloon Sculpture
4-8, Native Speakers & ELLs
What can you
create with your breath & a few balloons? This workshop explores the artistic
and spatial possibilities. All instructions are accompanied by
actions, making them accessible to Visual, Kinetic and English Language
Learners.
Residencies
Make your students the stars
of the show as they grow in creativity and confidence. Under the direction of a mime artists, they
will create a presentation that is uniquely their own. Residencies can be arranged during a
classroom period during the school day or as part of an after-school program.
Grades for which we recommend these
residencies are listed below each title.
Mime Theatre
5-12
An artist instructs the
students in the dynamics of silent acting, wordless storytelling & the art
of illusions. Students collaborate, create and present stories of their own in
the final show.
Say What?
7-12, Native Speakers & ELLs
What is the story of your
life? What conflicts do you want to see
resolved? If you have difficulty
articulating your thoughts into words, can you act it out with your body? This program, geared toward “at-risk” teens,
takes them through a series of conflict resolution scenarios in which they play-act themselves and the people in their lives.
“By
giving [our students] something universal like mime, we give them a way to
express themselves that they can take anywhere.
Mime bridges literacy and language barriers.”
Ron Zappala,
CONNECTIONS Program Coordinator/Head Counselor,
Living Storybook
5-8
The artist adapts a story for
the stage and creates a play with the students.
Sets are spare, incorporating people as props, set pieces, narrators and
sound effects. Students with poor reading skills are engaged in the story by
becoming active participants in its telling.
Poetry Live! / ¡Poemas en
Vivo!
3-6, Native Speakers & ELLs.
Bring your poetry to
life! Your students write and revise
their own poems about the tropical rainforest based on what they see and read
in picture books. Poems are selected for
presentation and, while a reader recites, other children portray the plants and
animals in the text. This is excellent for English Language Learners
as all young poets write in the language of their choice.
(As seen on ¡En
Vivo!,
Time-Warner Cable,
Physics of Mime
5-8
(See workshop above.) Rather
than a one-day workshop, the artist teaches the science behind the art form and
trains the students to teach others.
The Gold Rush
5-8
Bring
Performance Vignettes
Here are synopses
of the stories we present. Each vignette
falls under one of the following headings.
We have found that audiences get the most out of assemblies that incorporate
most –if not all- of these headings.
Themes, and the grades for which they are recommended, are listed below
each title. You select the topics that suit
your curriculum.
Openers Comedy with a
message Stories we can all relate to
Stretching the imagination
Red-Ribbon Week
OPENERS
ABSTRACT
AMONGUS
K-12
Hang on to your hats; you’re
going for a ride. In our signature
opening, the mimes move in syncopation, weaving together illusions, dance, animals’
antics and images of famous sculptures. The
audience stays focused and engaged, never knowing what’s coming next.
Comedy with a message
TIMBER
(Perseverance) K-12
A lumberjack tests his mettle
against a gigantic tree. The relentless
lumberjack upgrades his arsenal of tools, pulling each one from a magic
carpetbag. The tree stands, unmoved by
his efforts; until the lumberjack's persistence finally pays off.
SHARE
AND SHARE ALIKE
(Friendship and sharing) K-12
Vaudeville comes back to life
in this slapstick comedy. Three hobos
with nothing share everything until they have something to fight over. This high-energy chase scene is reminiscent
of the old silent movies and captivates audiences of all ages.
THE
PARK
(Sharing) K-12
We have a scene at a bench in
the park in which a little girl with bubble gum gets herself into a sticky
situation. A balloon salesman gets
carried away with his wares, helping a pigeon with a broken wing to fly. We break the fourth wall, inviting the
audience to share in our illusions with a sly hobo who panhandles
the crowd and a boy who plays catch with an invisible ball. A pair of cantankerous
senior citizens share a bench and learn that everything is more
enjoyable when you share.
BACK
TO THE PARK
(Judging Others) K-12
This picks up where The Park left off. A wily fly is our protagonist as he torments
passers-by. A slapstick silent movie
style chase ensues and characters find love in unexpected places. Back to the Park is a sequel to the
first, but can also stand on its own as an independent sketch.
STORIES WE CAN ALL RELATE TO
IT
DIDN’T HAVE TO END LIKE THIS
(Fighting) 4-12
A chance encounter between
two rivals turns ugly. A challenge is
given and neither side wants to look weak by backing down. A shoving match escalates into a fist
fight. One pulls a knife; the other
pulls a gun. One is shot and the other
is arrested. We solicit from the
audience positive alternatives to violence.
After taking several suggestions, we replay the scene with a different
ending.
This scene can be very
powerful. It is not uncommon to hear
audiences goad us on with chants of “fight, fight” at the start of the shoving
match. But as the fighting intensifies,
they get very quiet. We challenge
students to think about their own actions and choices.
WHAT’S
YOUR SIGN?
(Harassment & Self-Esteem) 4-12
Two bullies in white masks
harass a girl who has difficulty reading. They taunt her with “stupid” signs until
she accepts the moniker and hangs it around her neck. She is miserable until
someone changes her sign from “stupid” to “wonderful.” Accepting this new moniker, she stands
straighter, finding new confidence in herself.
We challenge the audience to think about what they believe about
themselves and what they say to others.
“…We
could relate to the one where they were making fun of the girl. I think that
everyone has been in that position once in their lifetime.”
Student,
WHAT’S
YOUR SIGN?
Part 2
(Accepting yourself & others) 4-12
The “wonderful” girl meets a
“freak”, obsessed with his art, who doesn’t fit
in. She tries to change him, but he
doesn’t want to be changed. “Freak” suits him just fine. After several trials, she finally learns to
accept him as her “friend” without trying to change who he is.
WHOSE
BALL IS IT ANYWAY?
(Excluding others) K-6
A boy is playing with his
ball, but it would be more fun if he had someone to play with. Two children pretend to play with him when
they turn it into a game of keep-away that leaves him feeling hurt and
rejected. Another girl comes in who
insists that everyone be included. The
children learn that the game is always more fun when everyone is in on it.
Stretching the imagination
Alfonse the Fly
K-12
It’s a nice day on the patio
of Joe’s Coffee Shop. People are sipping
coffee while Patch the Hobo panhandles for a cup of java with a cardboard sign
that reads “Will work for Latté.” Patch
sneaks a sip from a lady’s cup and adds sugar when she’s not looking. When Joe orders Patch off the premises, Patch
whistles for Alfonse the Fly. Alfonse harasses
Joe and the other customers who all go after this wily pest. Stop action tells the tale in stage pictures
worth thousands of words.
(If blackouts are not available with your stage
lighting, we cue the audience to open and close their eyes at the sound of a
bell.)
BOOM-BOOM-BA-KA
K-12
Our percussionist is beating
out a rhythm on invisible drums. But things are not what they seem as the sticks
make unexpected sounds of their own. The drum sticks control of the and our drummer is taken for a trip.
THE
BUTTERFLY HUNTER
K-12
Students’ imaginations are
challenged and excited as they follow the flutterings
of an invisible butterfly being chased by a curious hunter. Once captured, the
hunter swallows his quarry only to find that some insects are not so easily
bested. The butterfly flutters throughout his body, looking for a way to
escape.
The GIANT’S Magic Shoe Shop
K-12
Come in and browse. In the Magic Shoe Shop of the Friendly Giant,
each pair of shoes has its own personality. Beware, for they make the wearer
dance to each shoe-pair's song.
THE
GLOVES
4-12
What is the price of vanity?
A man enamored with his own image gets pulled away from his beloved mirror by a
knock at the door. Upon answering, he
finds only an empty pair of gloves. When
he dons the gloves, they come to life.
Mischief turns to hostility as the man must defend himself against his
own hand.
The Gum
K-12
Chewing gum is nice in your
mouth, but not in your hair, hands or feet.
One little lady who likes her chewing gum a little too much gets herself
into a very sticky situation.
In memory of the great Red Skelton whose antics gave
laughter and inspiration to millions.
HANDS
IN THE AIR
4-12
Enjoy a treat of the mystery
and grace of abstract mime. Two white-gloved hands chase each other in mid-air
in a fluid dance of illusion. Students
are challenged to “see” with their minds’ eyes and are amazed at their own
ability to do so.
MAN VS BALL
K-12
A simple ball takes on a life
of its own and won’t cooperate with its player.
It is heavy like a weight, then light as a hot-air balloon. It gets caught in thin air and refuses to
budge. It is man’s struggle with the world.
NEIMAN
MARCUS
K-12
It seems like an ordinary
night in the department store. The
dresser finishes dressing the mannequins, but something seems amiss as the
mannequins start to move. What do they want and what is the poor dresser to do?
THE
ROPE
K-12
The illusion of pulling a
rope is one of the mainstays in any mime's bag of tricks. But this rope has some unexpected twists and
turns as the story unravels.
TIDBITS
K-12
A conglomeration of works put
together that highlight the Mime illusions. Its essence is to impress and
entertain.
What’s in the box?
Our goals seem just out of
reach. This is one mime’s struggle with
illusory obstacles that stand between her and her coveted box. When she finally reaches it, what’s in the
box is a message for all. (The specific message can be tailored to
meet your school’s theme.)
RED-RIBBION WEEK
These stories, important year
round, are especially helpful for Red-Ribbon Week. Rather than preach at them, we engage the
audience with scenarios that dramatize the behaviors and their
consequences. Students are challenged to
examine their own attitudes and behaviors.
Some of these stories are true come out of our own lives.
YOU
CAN DO IT IF YOU TRY
(Smoking) K-12
Young people are impressed by
this true story of Rosemarie’s struggle to kick a twenty-five year smoking
habit. Non-smokers are discouraged from
smoking, and smokers are encouraged to quit knowing that, like her, they really
can succeed.
“[Rosemarie] capitalized on the real strength of mime,
which is to go to the core of human movement and expression.... With the slightest change of expression or a
disdainful flick of the hand, she conveyed a complex set of emotions and motivations,
and made us realize how much we have learned since childhood to read from each
human gesture.”
*
From a review by Devorah Knaff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
YOUR
BRAIN ON DRUGS
(Drugs) 4-12
Marijuana and a little peer
pressure seem harmless enough at the time. Giggles and euphoria come with the high. Then we take the audience on a bad trip,
going from the realistic to the surreal.
One boy extracts the other’s brain and they play catch with it. A long pass and a fumbled brain leave our
recreational drug users hollow shells staring into space. Slow motion and
stylized movement bring home a strong message.
“I
thought that we could all relate to those students up on stage
who, by their peers, get involved.”
Student,
YOU
ARE SMARTER THAN THIS
(Alcohol) 4-12
A little drink never killed
anybody, or so they think as four kids at a sleep-over engage in a drinking
game to prove their pluck and keep themselves
amused. The game ends badly with a case
of blood alcohol poisoning and a frantic call to
TURN
OF THE CRANK
(Addiction/Methamphetamine) 6-12
The cycle of addiction turns
ugly, as our protagonist becomes addicted to methamphetamine. His highs get shorter and his downs worsen as
he gives up everything to satisfy his habit.
In the end, he is faced with the choice between his addiction and a chance
at recovery.