THE NEXT MARCEL MARCEAU

All of my acting students can tell you that I have one pet peeve: mime.  I HATE MIMING.  Very few actors are really very good at mime.  They tend to feel foolish doing it which just pulls them (AND ME) out of the scene.  So I ask all my students to bring props and to PLEEEEASE avoid miming whenever possible.  Well today my son taught me a lesson in acting.  Pure genius.  

Wednesday mornings we go to Children's Circle (soon to be Luke's preschool) for our weekly parent and me class that is designed to help him transition.  Every week the classroom has some new items, new toys, new structures, something.  This week they had a foam climbing structure set up in the center of the room.  One of the sides of the structure has a small drop.  As I am sitting talking to one of the parents I look up to find my son in the corner of the room doing something that I can not at first make out.  Whatever it is that he is doing one thing is clear he is committed.   As I watch it slowly becomes clearer.  Oh my goodness he is MIMING!!!  He is very meticulously and very deliberately miming putting on his elbow pads, then his knee pads and lastly his helmet.  He bends to the ground and mimes picking up his skateboard.  Carefully carrying his  "skateboard" under his armpit like the big skateboarders do he ascends the stairs.  He lays his "skateboard" down.  Very specifically places his feet and drops down off of the ramp.  Then he picks up his "skateboard" and goes for round two, then three, etc.  It was riveting!!

This must be how Marcel Marceau's mother felt!!  So to all of my future students I have just one thing to say...feel free to mime.  Mime Mime Mime all you want but you better be as detailed, committed, and believable as my two year old!