Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2014
Say the word “mime” and most people will imagine a thin guy in white face paint trapped in an imaginary box and hope that he stays locked in. Corporeal mime is something altogether different, with a focus on placing drama in the moving body rather than replacing speech with gestures. The technique is winning ground as a branch of physical theater as it takes theater-making away from the writer and director and placing it directly in the hands—or rather body—of the performer. “By studying Corporeal Mime you gain the technique to express dramatically your inner world of thoughts and feelings through the outer world of body and physicality,” says instructor Tania Coke. Coke is teaching the form in ongoing bilingual classes through her Tarinainanika group and a course in English offered through Yokohama Theatre Group.
Ongoing classes are held in Sasazuka. The next YTG nine-week course starts January 17, so sign up now. http://www.yokohama-theatre.com/en/ytheatre-school/classes-en
