Sigfrido Aguilar is a contradiction in terms: a mime who likes to talk. Aguilar, founder of the internationally known Estudio Busqueda de Pantomima Teatro in Guanajuato, Mexico, speaks with an intense, concentrated air, always looking as if he is about to pause to think of some precise word, but never actually pausing. Ask him a question and he’ll reply with a torrent of words in jumbled, heavily accented English.
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Aguilar uses words, sounds, and stories in his pantomime technique, which he calls commediante personal (“the natural clown soul of the artist”). It incorporates the disciplines of mime, circus clowning, traditional acting, and dance and emphasizes natural movement and everyday gestures unlike those in classical mime. Local mime Karen Hoyer, artistic director of Partners in Mime, describes the most important aspect of Aguilar’s technique as the performer’s neutral demeanor. “There are many layers of meaning instead of one specific meaning,” she says. “The audience has to be open to us and do their own part of the creation.”
His method of creating Caprichos with Partners in Mime sounds a lot like the process of making a movie–they worked on various scenes, but not in a linear sequence, and eventually put them in order when it came time for final rehearsals. So it comes as no surprise that Aguilar is interested in one day directing film. “In a way, there is a lot of connection in terms of the time and space of the mime. It is a really good sense that we acquire from the time and space of the cinema.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/J. Alexander Newberry.
