Make Mime Music
by
Harvey E. Ostroff
A one Act play for mime and band
Outline
Because of the nature of the work. Only an outline is provided. Since this is intended for classroom work, I hope that the teacher and students will fill out the details.
This was an extremely successful piece. As fine arts department head, it was my mandate to encourage a co operative atmosphere and to foster the inter-relationship between the various strands of the fine and performing arts. Eighty five students worked on the show. Fifteen visual artists. forty-five band members and twenty- five acting students mimes and the sponsor teachers took the show to San Francisco for five days of performances at a variety of schools and at pier 51.
The actors performed the mime to the band's music as selected by the music teacher and the art students designed and built the set, created the posters, programs and flyers and acted as the stage crew.
casting: Flexible.
All scenes were begun with a storyboard placed on an easel
Scene One: Charlie Chimes is born
Location: Hospital
Content : The birth.
Characters: Dr. & Mr. & Mrs Chimes. and baby Charlie.
Narrator: One beautiful day in spring. With birdsong and sunshine and the scent of cherry blossoms, Charlie Chimes was born.
a. Mr. & Mrs Chimes get into the car and speed to the hospital.
b. Charlie is delivered.
( we used a mask for the new born child )
Scene two : The new baby
Content: The baby at home
Location: Chimes home
Characters: Dr. & Mr. & Mrs Chimes, Baby Charlie.
Narrator: A few days later, they brought the baby home and...like all parents learned by trial and error.
a. Changing the diaper. (Comedy bit with all of the obvious problems.)
b. The lullaby
Narr: The only way Charlie would ever sleep was when music was playing. Charlie loved music. Mrs Chimes often played the piano for him or put her favourite pieces of music on the stereo. He didn't get out much or play with the other kids on the block. When he was five, he entered school.
Scene three: Charlie goes to school
Location: classroom
Content : Charlie makes a friend
Characters: Full cast.
a. The kids enter the class revealing their personalities.
b. Their is an altercation with a toy. Charlie learns to share and finds a friend.
Scene four: Charlie goes to school
Location: soccer field
Content : Charlie just wants to sit and listen to his walkman.
Characters: Full cast.
Narrator: When Charlie was eight years old, his parents signed him up for soccer. They were worried that he didn't really seem interested in the same games that the other kids played. All he ever wanted to do was to listen to his music.
a. The soccer game.
b. Charlie is teased by the other kids and goes home crying.
Scene five: Charlie goes to high school
Location: classroom
Content : Charlie meets the school bully and joins the music class.
Characters: Full cast, Full band.
Narrator: Finally Charlie got to go to high school. He was very excited because that meant that he could join the school band.
a. Charlie gets a trombone and the bully tries to take it away.
b. Charlie discovers that he can't play when he sits with the band.
Scene six: Charlie tries to master the instrument
Location: Charlie's room at home
Content : He practises his scales.
Characters: Mr. and Mrs. Chimes, Charlie, Band trombonist, full class, full band.
Narrator: He practised and practised but it just didn't do him any good.
a. Charlie makes terrible sounds
b. Charlie gets kicked out of the band........
6 of 12 scenes