Middle School Miming: Interacting With a Wall

By this point, students will have learned about and practiced miming preparatory skills (including stillness, focus, and visualization), portraying items of different weights, and interacting with a wall. All these exercises will help students to work up to this miming sequence of interacting with a door, which is more complicated than students will likely anticipate. We’ve broken down the sequence into three main steps, so students can practice and build their miming skills. Remember: the goal of miming is to “make the unreal, real.” By moving slowly and deliberately and using their visualization skills, students can achieve this goal. Let’s jump right in. Step 1: Students will first plan out and then practice reaching towards the invisible “door” and grasping the doorknob. Have students stand in neutral positions — feet flat on the floor, hands by their sides, shoulders and arms relaxed. With their right hand, students will reach across their body on a diagonal line in front of the left side of their body, extending their arm at around waist height. Look at the air where you imagine the doorknob would be, and see in your mind’s eye a spherical (round) doorknob. Reach forward and grasp the spherical doorknob on the invisible door in front of you. Remember that you have to give the doorknob “shape” by splaying your fingers wide, reaching forward, then placing your fingers around the shape of the doorknob without “crushing” it. Hold your fingers out so they are curved around the invisible doorknob. Hold this position for a couple of beats. Then, release the doorknob and replace your hand by your side. Practice this motion three to five times, and then repeat on the other side, with the left hand reaching in front of the right side of the body. Step 2: Next, students will practice opening the door. Again, starting from neutral, have students go through the process of reaching for the doorknob with the right hand and grasping it. Then, students will slowly “turn” the knob in the direction of their choice, and then slowly PUSH the door away from them, keeping their arm steady and level while they are moving it. This is because the doorknob needs to stay level; it can’t shift up and down the door. Once the height of the doorknob is established, it has to stay at that height throughout the sequence. Be aware that the door would have hinges on the right side (opposite side to the doorknob, near the student’s right elbow), so their hand would move away from themselves on a slight curve towards the right, following the direction of the door. Hold the “door” open for a few beats, then slowly “close” it again. Practice this motion three to five times, then repeat on the other side. Students would grasp the doorknob with their left hand, push open the door away from their bodies and towards the left, and then close it again. Step 3: Third, students will practice opening the door, walking through it, and closing the door behind them. Starting from neutral and with the right hand, students will reach for the doorknob, grasp it, turn the knob, and push the door open, keeping all movements slow and precise. Once students have “opened” the door, they will slowly walk through the door, turning slightly clockwise towards their right hand. They will switch hands and grasp the invisible doorknob on the “other side” of the door with their left hand. They will release the doorknob with their right hand, then slowly push and close the door away from themselves. Remember to keep the doorknob height consistent, and make sure the door is closing in the correct direction. Once the “door” has been closed, students will release the doorknob and let their hand and arm rest next to their side. Stay on that side and repeat the sequence, remembering that they are now on the other side of the invisible door and they’ll need to repeat the motions with the left hand and on the opposite side. Repeat this full process three to five times. Extension: There are many different kinds of doorknobs/door handles, so students have some options to explore once they are comfortable miming a spherical doorknob. For example, have students try this sequence again with a thin vertical door handle (completely mounted to the door) or a horizontal door handle (one that you can jiggle the handle up and down on). As well, students can explore pulling the door towards them. They’ll just need to remember to step out of the way of the invisible door coming towards them. At the end of class, have students fill out an exit slip (found in the giveaway below).

Students new to mime will often just start moving their hands haphazardly, like an item magically appeared in their hand out of thin air. But one of the ways a mimed object is made “real” is by portraying the process that a person goes through to physically interact with an object. We don’t think about it because actions like picking up and passing objects to a classmate are things we do every day. But if you break it down, it’s actually a full series of movements: reaching for the object, grasping it with our hand(s) and gripping it without squishing or dropping it, lifting it and accommodating its weight and size, manipulating the object in some way, and then dispensing of the item somehow, such as by passing it to another person or setting it down. That’s a lot of steps! When miming, each series of movements needs a beginning, a middle, and an end — like a miniature story. This makes the invisible, mimed object more clear for the actor to portray and for the audience to understand. In this exercise, students will practice accurately miming objects of different sizes and weights: small, big, light, and heavy. Using the beginning/middle/end framework, each student’s beginning movement is taking the object from the student on their left. The middle movement is holding/interacting with the object. The end movement is giving the object to the student on their right. Let’s get practicing. Instructions1. Have students stand in a large circle. 2. The teacher will introduce the four invisible “objects” that students will be passing around the circle, one for each category listed. (“Objects” is in quotation marks because the items will be mimed and therefore aren’t real.) For example: • Small: an eraser, a ping-pong ball, a thimble • Big: an inflatable pool float, a giant novelty teddy bear, a large cardboard moving box • Light: a feather, a balloon, a silk scarf • Heavy: a bowling ball, an encyclopedia, a brick 3. The teacher will start the exercise by slowly “picking up” the small “object” off the floor (a beginning movement) and describing the “object” verbally. While the item is being described, students will use the visualization technique they learned and practiced to imagine the object in their mind’s eye. Remind students that the item is not a magical item and doesn’t change (grow, shrink, etc.) as it’s passed from person to person — each student needs to maintain the structural integrity of the mimed object. 4. The teacher will slowly pass the invisible small object to the student on their right, who will take it from them. The student will briefly interact with the item in some way (holding it in their palm, passing it from their left hand to their right, testing the weight of the item), and then pass it to the student on their right. Each student will repeat the process with the invisible small object: taking it from the student on their left, manipulating it somehow, and passing it to the student on their right. Remind students to move slowly and deliberately, so everyone can see clearly how the mimed object is being used. Audiences will look at what the actor is looking at, so encourage students to use their full bodies and faces — especially direction of eye focus — while miming. 5. Have students observe how they themselves and their peers interact with the small item. How do they pick it up? Does the student next to them place it in their hand or do they hold it in their palm for the next student to pick up? How firmly or loosely do they need to grip the item? Do they use one hand or two? 6. When the final student passes the object back to the teacher, the teacher will place the object back on the floor (the overall end movement). 7. Repeat the process with the big, light, and heavy “objects.” Students will need to adjust their lifting and passing movements to accommodate the differences in the objects. Compare and contrast the movements needed to accurately portray each of the objects. 8. If your students get really good at this exercise, try the exercise again with “objects” with two qualities: big and heavy, big and light, small and heavy, small and light. Remember to continue to use the beginning/middle/end framework. Note: If your students are having trouble visualizing or miming certain objects, it may be helpful for them to start by interacting with four real objects representing each of the four qualities. For the big and heavy items, be sure to select objects with some size/heft, but that aren’t so unwieldy that they’ll seriously hurt someone if they’re dropped. Be aware of the strength level of your students — some students might not be able to lift very much weight, and you don’t want students to hurt themselves. Once they are clear on the physical qualities of the objects, they may be able to more accurately portray them.

In our previous Middle School Miming article, students explored using their hands and arms to maneuver invisible objects of various sizes around a circle. Now, we’re adding moving throughout the classroom space to our miming. When they’re moving around the room, encourage students to be on high alert about crashing into another student. This is called spatial awareness — being mindful of your surroundings and being able to navigate safely through your physical environment. At this beginning stage, movements should be slow and purposeful. This helps students to make solid physical choices and interactions with mimed objects clearer and easier for the audience to understand. Students should use all parts of their bodies and faces to elevate their mime work. They should also continue to use a “beginning, middle, and end” framework. This can be as simple as entering the space in character, interacting with the various challenges/obstacles (listed below), and exiting the space in character. And remember: no talking is necessary for any of these exercises! You’ll need a small bell or buzzer for this exercise. Alternatively, the teacher can clap their hands when needed to indicate when a movement starts or ends. If your students need a visual cue, wave a small flag or hold up a small sign. InstructionsWarm-Up: Have students warm up by playing a partner version of Follow the Leader. Have them split up into pairs. Partner A will walk slowly around the room — this is to make it easier for Partner B to follow them precisely. They should start by walking as they usually do, before adding any character walk choices. Partner B will follow them, trying to copy Partner A’s exact walk. Focus on details like the pace of their walk, the size of their steps, how their arms move, if their gait is bouncy or smooth, and so on. Make sure both partners get a chance to be the leader. For the main part of the exercise, have all the students gather on one side of the room. Three or four students will cross the room at a time to the other side. Have students walk slowly across the room to the other side so they can focus on accuracy rather than speed. At various times throughout the exercise, they’ll complete the tasks listed below. 1. Still: Students will use their visualization skills to imagine that the path in front of them is booby-trapped with floor traps or rays coming from the walls that will freeze them in stillness. At various times while students walk across the floor, the teacher will ring a small bell and students will stop moving (like they’ve been caught by a trap) and hold a still pose. When the teacher rings the bell again, students will continue moving across to the other side of the room. Repeat as many times as you wish while students are on their path. To keep the pace going, have the next round of students enter when the first round is halfway to two-thirds of the way across the floor. 2. Sticky: Before they start to move, have students use their visualization skills to imagine that the path in front of them is littered with wads of chewed up gum, sticky mud puddles, or blobs of glue. Have students walk across the floor, then when the teacher rings the bell, they will step onto a “sticky” spot on the floor. They’ll show to the audience that their foot is stuck by trying to lift it (just their foot, or by grabbing their leg with their hands and trying to pull it), moving the rest of their body around the sticky spot, pretending to pull really hard away from the spot — any action that demonstrates a concerted effort. When the teacher rings the bell again, students will manage to “peel” their foot off the sticky spot (with much difficulty) and carry on crossing the floor. Have students explore being extremely careful not to touch another sticky spot, avoiding stepping down hard on the sticky foot lest they get stuck again, or getting their food stuck again and having to repeat the process. They could also have a nearby classmate help them get “unstuck.” Have the next round of students enter during the next bell ring to keep the pace going. 3. Slippery: This is the most challenging and risky of the three explorations, so approach this one with caution! Have students use their visualization skills to imagine that the path is covered in ice or slime. Have them enter the space, then when the bell is rung, slow down and very gingerly step, slide, or glide across the floor (as best they can, especially if the floor is carpeted). Please avoid full-out falling unless your students have done safe fall training with a fight director. As well, they should avoid reaching out for friends to “steady” themselves, as they might inadvertently pull them over. Students might explore getting lower to the ground and crawling or shuffling on their bottoms across the “slippery” surface, or acting skilled with slippery surfaces as a skater or skier. After the exercise is complete, students will fill out and submit an exit slip (found below).