Self-assured or confident: A self-assured person stands with their chest held high, their shoulders back, and takes firm, confident steps. They hold their head up and create space around them. Shy: A shy person may hunch their shoulders or look at the ground often. They may shuffle their feet when they walk or avoid making eye contact with other people. Smitten: A dreamy look while watching someone will convey puppy-love. A smitten person may clutch their hands together over their chest, follow behind someone closely, or swoon. Evil or manipulative: This person will have a conniving smile on their face and raised eyebrows. They may hunch over when they’re working on something intently, but when they move around the stage, they will appear confident. Bumbling or clumsy: This person may trip, run into imaginary things, and have a loping gait. They may scratch their head to show confusion, or they could pantomime that they’ve hurt themselves by falling.
You may think that your facial expressions are clear and focused, but watch yourself in the mirror to see if your transitions from one expression to the next are sudden and defined. This is also a good way to check that pantomiming with an invisible prop looks genuine and understandable. You could also have someone videotape you going through some exercises and review them later to make notes on where you could improve.
Set a timer for 3 minutes, then switch so that the leader has a chance to be the follower.
The goal is to come up with a unique expression different from the one presented to you. It helps you think quickly and transition from moment to moment with more fluidity.
Remember to strain your muscles to give the appearance of pulling on an actual rope. Check your entire body as you go through this exercise: are your feet, legs, torso, shoulders, arms, and head in the right position? If you can, do this in front of a mirror to check how realistic your positions and movements look.
Taking a class could also help get you into a pantomime show. Some classes end their semester by producing a short show, or you could learn more about other productions in your community that you could audition for.
Opening a window or a stuck door Unwrapping a present Peeling a banana Buying something at a shop Putting on a jacket or shoes Cleaning Brushing your teeth
Isolating each part may take a while when you first start, but over time it’ll become a habit that will help make your acting stronger.
Happiness: A wide, open smile, happy eyes, raised eyebrows. Surprise: An “OH” expression with your mouth, raised eyebrows, hands held up in shock. Sadness: A downturned smile, a head that tilts to the side or hung low, sorrowful eyes. Anger: A tight face, muscles taut, quick, fast body movements.
For example, if you’re a server at a restaurant and will be pantomiming grinding pepper onto a guest’s plate, where is the grinder coming from? Do you pick it up from the table or was it tucked into your apron? Will you need to bend at the waist to reach the guest’s plate? What hand movements will you use to show what is happening? Visualizing this beforehand helps you prepare better for the actual action.
Remember that any item, no matter how small, takes up space. Visualizing the object in different places can help make it more real in your mind.
Use the physical object in front of a mirror if you’re having trouble imagining what the pantomime should look like. Pay attention to what your hand(s) looks like around it, how your body moves, what the weight and heft are like. You can use all these things to create a more realistic pantomime.
