Marcel Marceau: 1923-2007

We've been cheated by mimes most of our lives, seeing street performers trapped in boxes or people attempting it without any training. All the while, we are unaware of its full potential.

Thank God for Marcel Marceau. And what a tragedy his death is.

I am blessed to have seen Marcel Marceau perform a full two hours of mime. He came to Indiana Univserity while I was going to school there. I don't remember much about it except I was never lost, nothing was unintentionally ridiculous and I was always entertained. But it was at the lecture he had given a few days before that he demonstrated the true power of mime.

I don't remember how I heard about the afternoon lecture and I don't remember if I arrived early or late, but the auditorium was full. I stood at the back with my girlfriend at the time as he was being interviewed. I remember little of this except his humor and how lithe he was, simply sitting there. After the interview, there was a Q&A that he ended by saying he would perform the story of good and evil.

This is all it was: for two minutes, a man stood on a stage, and with one hand representing evil and the other representing good, he showed their struggle and good's eventual victory. But I tell you, it was the most amazing performance I have seen in my life and I believe I will die without seeing anything to surpass it. I cried and as I cried I laughed that a man could make me cry by moving his hands.

I am grateful for that moment and am saddened by his death.