by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 17 March 2016
The 13th year of Moisture Festival will delight and spellbind audiences, with its month-long offering of comedy/varieté showcases at Hale’s Palladium, Libertease Burlesque at Broadway Performance Hall, throw-back evenings of ‘Le Chat Noir’ at Nordo’s Culinarium, and two, sure-to-sell-out Mish-Mash Circus Bashes at Teatro ZinZanni.
Yet, Moisture Festival producers also hope to educate, and enlighten, as they entertain us all. They’ve booked opportunities throughout the month, to give people access to information on the art forms of Moisture, including history and traditions.
On March 21st, and March 28th, at 7:30p at Hale’s Palladium, lecturer/author/performer/director Rob Mermin will share some history, context and personal anecdotes about two of the most misunderstood traditions that influence Moisture – circus, and mime.
‘Adventures in Mime & Space: The Legacy of Marcel Marceau’
Mermin acknowledged that mime “got a bad reputation back in the 1980s, with street performers,” and their heavy-handed use of cheesy gimmickry plus the sometimes dogged pestering of passer-by. “People thought that was the art of mime,” Mermin said, “People who never saw Marcel Marceau missed the whole point.”
Mermin studied mime with Marceau, and Marceau’s teacher Etienne Decroux, and explained, “It’s an art form of acting. The body expresses the thoughts and action before anything comes from the mouth.” Think of actors who convey volumes with their faces, bodies and behavior, without having to speak a word, or Moisture Festival performers with acts that cleverly, and quickly, make audiences laugh about the human condition, again, without the use of words.
Mermin quoted Marceau, “The art of mime is the identification with all things that surround us, and the portrayal of human nature through silent physical expression.” Mime can be used for comedy as well as drama. The only requirement is for the artist to convey their meaning, and be understood, immediately. “It’s non-verbal communication, in a theatrical setting,” Mermin explained.
According to Mermin, on his deathbed Marceau was “worried that the art of mime would die out.” On March 28th, Mermin will give us all a chance to learn the truth about this art, about Marceau, and about the indelible imprint this incredible artist placed on our world. Through funny personal stories, demonstrations, and film clips, Mermin will share what the life of a mime is all about.
‘Circle of Sawdust: Mud, Myths, Magic and Mayhem in the Circus’
“What I loved about mime is the power of its silence,” Mermin explained, “what I loved about the circus is the lifestyle.” In 1969, Mermin ran away to join the circus. The turmoil of the ‘60s had convinced him of the need to use his talents to build a better world. “I didn’t know much about the traditional circus,” he recently recalled, “and I went looking for an unconventional lifestyle of renewable adventure.”
On March 21st, Mermin will share stories, photos and scenes from the 40+ years he spent with the circus, placing this history in the context of 200-years of circus history and tradition. “People are uniformed about circus history,” Mermin wrote in his book ‘Circus Smirkus: True Stories of High Advenutre & Low Comedy,’ and he hopes to satisfy curiosity about real circus traditions with his picturesque, and personal, accounts.
Mermin can provide an accurate insight as someone who did clowning for ‘The Wildest Show On Earth’ in the mining towns of Wales, mule wrangling for Sweden’s Cirkus Scott above the Arctic Circle, and riding with the Magyars in the Hungarian State Cirkusz. He also served as dean for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and in 1987, he founded his own circus troupe: the award-winning, internationally touring Circus Smirkus.
In his decades with the circus, “the people who impressed me the most were the families,” Mermin explained. Circus families, sometimes in their fifth or sixth generation, live together, work together and perform together. “It’s a very impressive tradition,” he observed, “that you don’t see in other art forms.”
He also noted, in his book, “Circus is surely an extension of our natural urge to play, which then becomes an exuberant entertainment based on personal achievement.” On Monday, March 21st, he will share stories about people he’s met, as well as the basis of circus as an art form. “The Circus celebrates tangible physical achievement,” he recently explained, “It takes that sense of play to a professional level.”
‘Bring To Light The Art We Love’
On Mermin’s website, he connects the two art forms: “Mime taught me new ways to perceive the world; circus taught me how to move in the world.”
Step inside Hale’s Palladium, on March 21st & March 28th, to learn more about each of these singular traditions. “The world of a mime is in the theater; the life of a circus artist is in the ring,” Mermin said, “They are both physical art forms. The blend of the two worlds encompasses centuries of overlapping traditions.”
Today, Mermin doesn’t perform much. Instead, he writes, travels, consults and shares his one-man, mixed-media presentations. As he explained, “It’s a show. It’s a program! I’m very pleased that [Moisture Festival Producer] Tim Furst asked me back. Part of my mission is to promote the arts and traditions.”
As Marceau said, “Like you, dear friend, I live to enlighten dreams. It is our common task, to bring light to the art we love.” As Mermin said, of circus and mime, “My goal is to pass on those traditions. I hope to impart what these art forms mean.”
Come hear from someone who lived and learned the art of silence, and worked directly with the sometimes wild characters of the circus. Mermin will present ‘Circus of Sawdust’ at 7:30p at Hale’s on March 21st, and ‘Adventures in Mime & Space’ at 7:30p at Hale’s on March 28th. Both illustrated ‘live documentary’ presentations are appropriate for all ages and require no RSVP or tickets – only your attendance and a free-will donation!
Moisture Festival will be presenting, nearly every day from now through April 13th, 2016, many rare, one-time only performances – including these educational, entertaining and enlightening opportunities. Don’t miss out!
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©2016 Kirby Laney. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.