MIME SITUATIONS

Introduction: The following mime situations are the sort of thing that you
might have seen in the early days of Australian settlement, or perhaps even
in present times. Most of them are distinctively Australian, though some
have a wider tradition. Read through the situation as it is outlined in each
case and try to see it happening in your imagination. Ask yourself, “What
actions and gestures can I put into a mime of this in order to make it real?”
A little thought beforehand will pay dividends by enabling you to bring the
situation to life.

Performance Task

Step 1: Choose one of the situations below and read through the sequence
and details

Step 2: Structure and plan your performance following the script and
making sure those specific details are in your performance. You may add
some ideas of your own to make your performance unique.

Step 3: You may include some electronic sound effects into your
performance to help set the scene.

Step 4: Select an appropriate costume for your character

Step 5 : Rehearse your performance

Step 6 : Perform your solo in costume for the class

*Remember you are not allowed to talk or use any props, these must be mimed*

GOOD LUCK!
 1. The Gold Panner

Equipped with a shovel, a gold washing pan and all the other necessary
provisions, you have arrived at a quiet little stream in the Blue Mountains.
You are sure there is gold around. First you tether your horse, then you
proceed to set up camp by pitching a small tent. With these things over,
you proceed to pan for gold, shovelling river sand into the gold pan and
swirling it around till only the heaviest particles are left. Then you peer at
the contents looking for signs of gold. All your actions are accompanied by
a sense of expectancy. At last, to your intense excitement, you find
particles of gold. The search is over!

2. The Shearer

You are a shearer on a station in the west of N.S.W. The year is 1894 and
you still use manual clippers to shear your sheep. Manual clippers are just
like an oversize pair of hand operated hair clippers. You enter the shearing
shed and check your clippers over, pausing to give them a drop of oil. Then
working the oil in, you move over to the pens, open the gate, drag sheep
out and proceed to shear it with long even strokes over the back and down
the legs, and short finishing strokes around the crutch and neck. When you
have finished you drag the sheep over to the chute, dab a brushful of tar on
any cuts and push him down the chute into the outside pens. You pick up
the wool and take it across and spread it with a throw on the table, then
move back for the next sheep.
 3. The Surfer

You are a 1970’s surfer. You have had quite a few years surfing experience
and know how to handle the biggest waves on your board. You ride a
1.93m Shane board, which is very fast in the surf. At the present moment
you are on your board out where the waves are breaking at Bells Beach.
The swell is big and some two and a half metre waves are rolling through.
One is coming now and you set yourself up for a pretty hair-raising ride.
You get on front of it and stand to your feet, cornering hard to the right. To
get the most out of the wave you trim your boards constantly by moving
forward, closer to the nose, or back towards the tail. You cut up and down
the wave and are almost ready to pull out when the tube (a big curling,
dumping section of the wave) catches you and you WIPE OUT!

4. The Fisherman

You are a keen trout fisherman and are enjoying a holiday in the Snowy
Mountains at present. You have walked through some pretty isolated
country to get to a quiet stream and you are now ready to start fishing. In
front of you is a beautiful, quiet trout pool. You decide to try fishing with a
spinner first of all. You cast out onto the pool and wind slowly back in. A
few tries at this convinces you they aren’t biting on spinners, so you try live
bait instead – a grasshopper out of a bottle you’ve brought. You cast out
and almost immediately get a bite. After an interesting fight you bring in a
one and a half kilo trout!