Non-verbal Duet Performance?

Question

In my Theatre class, I have to do a non-verbal duet assignment with someone, and we can't talk at all or make any noise. The assignment that we have to act out together has to be three-five minutes long, but I don't know what I should do. I mean, like what kind of act or little skit to do for at least 3 minutes without talking. Any creative ideas?

Answer 1

Gemini is exactly right. You can look up different pantomim ideas but it will feel more honest to your teacher and your class if you and your partner come up with your own story to relate. It's a scene, almost a dance of relating all of yor actions and emotions clearly to your audience without words and sound. You can sooo do this! I don't know if you are both of the same sex or one boy and one girl but think of a scenario. A beginning, a middle, and an end. For two girls maybe you're friends and you greet each other happiy until one of you notices the other is wearing the other's sweater or has a photo of the other's boyfriend, or whatever else you come up with. Then you have to have you conflict, then find a way to resolve your conflict. Or one reveals feeling of more than friendship and you have to deal with that. Get with your partner and brainstorm.

good luck!

Answer 2

I think by non-verbal your teacher means pantomime.

From experience, pantomime is EXTREMELY difficult and never one of my specialties, but I did figure out a good formula for coming up with good skits.

Take something everyday, something mundane...like, shopping at the store for instance. What might happen there that could be funny? People fighting over an item, or somebody slipping on something and falling.

Now, take the natural exaggeration of the face and movements that pantomime requires and do what is called "grotesque" or overacting--make the gestures and expressions seem so unreal it's funny. Such as, if someone in your skit is happy, make them act like they're on crack. If someone is angry, make them PISSED. Then it from there.

However, in pantomime skits, one secret is you can still have LINES...you just can't SAY them. It looks a lot more realistic if you are moving your lips mouthing actual WORDS than flapping your mouth like you're an actor in a japanese horror film.

So, here's my suggestion: take an ordinary setting and ordinary situations that could be funny. Write a skit with lines and memorize them...but do not SAY them. Use extremes of gesture and facial expression to compensate for the emotion you can't show in vocal inflections--remember, pantomime is all about EXAGGERATION!