10/4/17
STEP 1:
Realize that a simple activity or situation can be engaging to watch. Sometimes action comes about because of how a person is. As a result, you should always create interesting, engaging, and unusual characters that have a need to fulfill in their performance work.
STEP 2:
Basics of creating a good pantomime storyline:
- KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) – make sure it is easy to understand and not cluttered with excess movement and gestures; audiences need all the clues they can get to understand what you’re doing
- Tell a complete story – have a beginning (initial situation), middle (complications, obstacles, or problems that get in the way), and an end (some kind of solution to the problem)
Be fantastic – both in the “good performance” aspect and the “not reality” aspect; pantomimes do not have to follow regular rules and should be larger than life at all times
STEP 3:
Create a rough outline of a story that follows the storyline basics just taught.Use one of these ideas:
“Dinner at Aunt Bertha’s” (a reviled relative with nasty food)
“The Bionic Ant” (man versus insect for a piece of popcorn that was dropped on the sidewalk)
“Window Washer vs. Bird” (a flock of birds deposit their goods on a clean skyscraper window)
“Wild West Shootout” (a cowboy gets into a fight in a saloon and takes it outside)
“The Pop Machine” (an eager teenager wants a can of pop so bad that he’s willing to climb inside the vending machine)
“The Best Bubble Ever” (a chewing gum incident gone so big that the chewer is trapped inside the bubble and can’t escape).