One of my favorite type of buskers is the ‘live statue’.  It is so much fun to watch these artists at work.  The term “living statue” refers to a mime artist the stands still or poses like a statue and moves very rarely to the amazement of people passing by on the street.  Living statue performers can fool passersby, who often think they are real statues because of their elaborate makeup (for example covering the whole body in silver or gold paint) and costumes (for example being draped in fabric).

Buskers who act as living statues fall under the umbrella category* of mimes.  A mine is an artist who acts out a story through body motions without the use of language, speech, or sounds. Miming or pantomiming is the art of being a mime.   Miming is a classic busking art often seen on the street or in parks.  Traditionally mimes used to wear tight black and white clothing with white facial makeup. However, modern day mimes often perform without whiteface.

Here are some common miming tricks you have likely seen buskers perfuming:

“Taking on the wind”: In this act a mime pretends that it is very windy and he or she is having a hard time standing up or walking because of the wind.

“Mime eating”: It is often amusing to watch a mime eat.  For example when the mime pretends to eat a very messy food, peels an orange or banana, and then maybe slips on the banana peel.

“Climbing a rope or a ladder”: This is when a mime pretends to climb up an invisible rope or a ladder that extends upon him or her.

Now, here is a short matching exercise for you to practice some of the new English vocabulary you have learned in the last few days.  The answers to this matching exercise are at the end of the post – good luck!

1) busker                    a)  a small figure of a person or animal manipulated by the hand to look real

2) mime                      b) a person who performs in a public place for tips

3) puppet                    c) a person that projects his/her voice to another object

4) ventriloquist         d) a performer that acts without using words

5) juggle                     e) the art of throwing objects in the air and then catching them

* umbrella category = something that encompasses or covers many different elements in one group

1) b 2) d 3) a 4) c 5) e