A mime is a terrible thing to waste.
Marcel MarceauRead
Mime makes the invisible, visible and the visible, invisible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote describes how mime art transforms perceptions, revealing deeper layers of meaning and emotion.
Marcel Marceau, a renowned mime artist, emphasizes the profound capability of mime to convey emotions and ideas that go beyond verbal communication. By suggesting that mime makes the invisible visible, he highlights its role in expressing thoughts and feelings that are not easily articulated, while also asserting that it can obscure the obvious, challenging audiences to see things in new and unexpected ways.
Themes
MimeArtCommunicationExpressionInvisibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a theater class discussing the power of non-verbal communication, this quote can be used to illustrate a key point.
More from Marcel Marceau
All quotes βIn a clown, we see what we do that makes us laugh and cry. I kept the white face, the tradition of the Pierrot. My clown became a romantic and stylized figure. I wanted to be an abstract and concrete figure, a symbol of humanity.
Marcel MarceauRead
I am a company in myself. My repertoire has become a bible for all mimes in the world.
Marcel MarceauRead
When you're in a play, 50 percent is the genius of the actor, 50 percent is the genius of the author. When a mime is not perfect, you see nothing.
Marcel MarceauRead
Music and silence combine strongly because music is done with silence, and silence is full of music.
Marcel MarceauRead
Mime, like music, knows neither borders nor nationalities.
Marcel MarceauRead
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