Goldston Mime Foundation

ARTIST IN EDUCATION – RESIDENCY TEACHING – YOUNG AUDIENCES

 

Mime remains one of the most popular art forms in the schools because of the way it stimulates the students’ imagination.  Whether in a lecture hall or in a classroom workshop, Gregg’s 35-years of experience with teaching students of all age groups, (Kindergarten through University Grad programs) has led him to perform and/or teach with a disciplined yet parental nature giving all those around him the feeling of being the most important person in the room.

Gregg Goldston 

In 1975, Gregg Goldston saw a performance by Marcel Marceau and immediately began his pursuit of the art of mime.  At that time, Gregg was 18 and had dreams of becoming a visual artist and although he loved making people laugh, he never imagined he would live his life on stage.

Born in Los Angeles, Gregg began his training at the Richmond Shepard Studio in Hollywood then moved to Salt Lake City where he infused his training with Ballet and Modern Dance.  Over the next four years he opened a mime studio, wrote and produced three solo mime performances, and began touring his show throughout the western states.  The National Endowment for the Arts recognized Goldston’s talent by awarding him Choreography Fellowships in 1980 and 1982.

In 1980, the Ohio Arts Council brought Gregg into Lima, Ohio for an Artist-In-Education residency that lasted two years.  This led to the relocation of The Goldston Mime Foundation and School for Mimes to Gambier, Ohio.

From 19 79 until present, Gregg Goldston has toured his One – Mime Show across the United States and to Hong Kong, Moscow, Taiwan, Korea, Canada, and Poland.  In 1986, he created a 7-member company called The Invisible People that toured nationally until 1995, and in 2004, he created The Funny Bones , a mime trio based in Manhattan with a focus on Physical Comedy.

In 1999, Gregg moved to New York City which led to presenting his show off-Broadway and in a variety of New York venues including: Lincoln Center’s Meet the Artist program, The New York Theatre Workshop, The Urban Stages program, and Lincoln Center’s Reel to Real Series.  Furthermore, he was commissioned to create customized performances for Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelers for their flagship stores in New York and Moscow; and a Mechanical Man Character for the famed toy store: F.A.O. Schwarz in Manhattan.  He has also made appearances on The Daily Show, The Graham Norton Effect, Law & Order and various television commercials.  Most recently Gregg was a featured guest on the CBS Early Show Saturday edition.

Gregg Goldston’s love for performing was only rivaled by his compassion for teaching this rare and difficult art form.  Consequently, in 1980 he founded The Goldston School for Mimes , a summer intensive for mime, which still operates in Gambier, Ohio as The School for Mime Theatre. In New York City, he currently teaches classes in both Mime & Physical Comedy .

During Goldston’s 21-year term as Artistic Director, the School for Mimes became the leading institute for classical mime in the United States.  As well as spawning countless young performers and teachers for the art, the School for Mimes also hosted festivals and workshops each summer with such artists as Moni Yakim, Leonard Pitt, Thomas Leabhart, Stefan Neidzialkowski, and the legendary Marcel Marceau.  In 1986, Marcel Marceau, (who served as Artistic Advisor to the School) quoted by the press stating: Goldston is creating the first generation of American Mimes.

The relationship that emerged between Gregg Goldston and Marcel Marceau lasted 22 years.  Over time it evolved into a deep personal friendship, while maintaining a Master/disciple mentorship becoming the most influential relationship in Goldston’s life.

Beyond the Seminars that Mr. Marceau conducted with the School for Mimes, Goldston was given the rare honor of performing as Assistant to Marcel Marceau during the Marceau U.S. Tours in 2000 to 2002,.  Furthermore, Goldston also performed lead roles with the Marcel Marceau Nouvelle Compagnie de Mimodrame, during its 5-week run at the American Repertoire Theatre of Harvard.  These performances in 2004 were the final company shows staged by Marceau prior to his passing in 2007.

Beyond his work within the Mime world, Goldston’s teaching and directing credits include: The American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive 2006, Mime Coach for Anne Hathaway for the film: Ella Enchanted , and also Mime Coach for the legendary film star Julie Harris for a stage play entitled: Hanging Fire.

In 2006, Goldston developed a new vocabulary of Ballet Mime Acting.  In 2008, Gregg set this system upon BalletMet of Columbus, Ohio during their production of Romeo & Juliet.  As Goldston developed his vocabulary during with BalletMet, he developed the position of Ballet Mime Master within a Ballet company’s Artistic personnel structure , working under the Artistic Director and Ballet Masters.

In August of 2008, Gregg Goldston and Bartlomiej Ostapczuk (Artistic Director of the Annual Mime Art Festival in Warsaw, Poland) founded a new summer intensive for mime in Warsaw called:  The School of Modern Mime at Teatr Na Woli .  Under the Artistic Direction of Goldston & Ostapczuk, the School works in association with the Mime Art Festival and presents new works as part of the Festival’s performances.

Gregg Goldston’s childhood dreams of being a visual artist still continue and when he’s not touring or teaching he creates a mimetic style of pen & ink drawings seen on his pages.