I've been thinking a lot about bridging the visible world with the invisible. Marcel used to talk about this: that the mime is truly all of the world. He's the water, the animals, the sky. Done right, I believe this is so.

I was thinking about certain performers who have a great deal of talent. I know several of them. But for some reason with mime, it's a different ball game. The duo Japanese mime performers Gamerjobot do amazing things physically. I have tried their suitcase trick, it's an oldie, but my suitcase was too heavy. I was much better off with a balloon ala Robert Shields (I wish I could find the video of him doing a balloon as if it was frozen in place. I hope my memory is correct and it was indeed him).

I took an acting class with Betty Buckley years ago and she quoted Meryl Strep saying, "When you perform, let it shine." Betty said at first she scoffed when she heard this. But then, she realized that Meryl was right.

I think this is apt for a performer of mime, something that is easily forgotten. When a performer, no matter how talented, forgets to "let it shine," or simply doesn't play to the back of the house, or gets sloppy with his gestures, it can come across as shallow or an "OK" performance.

Lesson: Let it Shine, Let it Shine, Let it Shine.