Mime School

Artistic director: Loes van der Pligt

The Mime School trains students to become mime performers and mime teachers.

Mime is a form of theatre which is based on a performer’s command of movement and the use of space. Mimers are often not only performers, but also originators and designers of their own work. There are various starting points for a mime performance. But a given is that a person is, or persons are, present in a certain space. All elements are there, before anything happens, the body of the mimer, in neutral or expressive form; the space with its own elements to which the performer can react to, and the elapsing time that adds to the tension of the creation. With these elements in mind – the body, the space and time – a mimer sets to work.

Within the work he or she is free to use anything from text to music, to sets, light, and props. Mime performances can vary from abstract movement compositions to narrative drama.

The language of the Theatre Department is Dutch. In order to function up to the mark in the lessons, foreign students are required to learn, speak, write and read Dutch during their first year of study.

Admission and selection Mime School

If you want to become a mimer or a mime teacher, you first of all need to have a body that is fit for the particularly physical type of theatre mime is. You must also be able to work both independently and together, and what you show must have a dramatic quality.

A selection procedure is obligatory for students who wish to enrol in the Mime School. The school offers mime and acting lessons by teaching staff members of the programme. At the end of the fourth day every candidate has to show a short individual solo.

For more specific information please contact the Mime School at +31 20 527 7681 or by email: mime@ahk.nl