Most youngsters lack the persistence to pursue a career in mime

Ranchi, Oct. 14: Theatres are popular in the city and drama festivals are held at regular intervals. But, mime, one of the most important aspects of drama, is yet to get recognition and has few takers.

Ramyam, the only training institute for mime actors, had 22 members when it was set up in 1997. The mime school gained popularity in the initial years. The first mime theatre, organised under the banner of Ramyam in 1997, was much appreciated and many showed interest in this form of theatre and enrolled in the school.

But that was yesterday. Now the school has only eight students. Most of the wannabe mime actors have either opted out of the stream or into mainstream theatre. The reason, said Sagar Dasgupta, the brain behind Ramyam, was the lack of public interest and dedication of the actors. Dasgupta said mime, or pantomime, needs patience and dedication. ?The present generation of actors don?t have the patience to master this art form. They want to take the stage before learning the intricacies. When they don?t find themselves on stage after few years of training, they give up,? he said.

?Another reason behind the lack of interest was that the people were not aware of this form of drama here. They often confuse it with silent acting or mono acting. But this is a different thing. That?s why we organised a drama in the first year after the school was set up,? said Dasgupta.

After the success of their first drama, Ramyam staged many other shows based on various themes. It staged An Advent of Dawn in 2002, based on the intrusion of Kargil and Sheshraksha in December 2003, based on the story of Rabindranath Tagore.

Secretary of Ramyam Kankan Dasgupta said mime is one of the most important aspects of drama. ?Knowledge of mime is as essential to drama as usage of grammar is to language. But the people in the city are not very much interested in mime. One of the reasons might be the lack of glamour in mime as compared to theatre,? said Kankan.

?Unlike the other performing arts, there?s not much glamour in this field. Parents hardly encourage their children to take up mime,? said Kankan