A mime is a terrible thing to waste.
Marcel MarceauRead
I started under my master, Etienne Decroux, who taught me a new grammar for mime he called statuary mime. This grammar brings style creations. Without it, no art survives.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of foundational techniques in the arts, specifically in mime, to ensure artistic expression and survival.
Marcel Marceau highlights the significance of mastering fundamental techniques and styles—in this case, 'statuary mime'—as essential for any artistic endeavor to thrive. He credits his mentor, Etienne Decroux, for teaching him this grammar, suggesting that without a strong foundation, art cannot endure or develop in meaningful ways.
Themes
MimeArtGrammarStyleCreation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of training in the arts.
More from Marcel Marceau
All quotes →In 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
Mime makes the invisible, visible and the visible, invisible.
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
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