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North Elementary students enjoy mime time
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .North student Blake Bowman (right) joined Tom Johnson (left) to mime a drive in a new car during Young Author’s Day on March 22. Johnson earned some laughs by miming wide, wild turns by Bowman.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .After a presentation by Toma the Mime, North students were challenged to write their own story for Toma to act out during an afternoon presentation. A group of North fourth-graders shared smiles as they worked together on their story.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Toma the Mime acted out a gag where he couldn’t get rid of a particularly sticky wad of gum. After giving a friendly handshake to North student Turner Thompkins (left), Toma showed the crowd that they were stuck together.
By SARAH FOOR
Tom Johnson didn’t have to use any words at all to earn some big laughs during his performance at North Elementary on March 22. Johnson, also known as Toma the Mime, taught the students about the importance of storytelling during the school’s Young Author’s Day.
Johnson started his presentation by showing students a classic miming skit where the character is stuck in a box. After the laughter died down, Johnson broke his silence as a mime and explained that the sketch nonetheless used important storytelling techniques.
“In my performance, I showed you a person, a place, a problem and then I found a solution by discovering a way out of the box. Any good story will include those four things. The next part is finding a way to tell your story — a pencil and piece of paper will work, but as a mime, I use my arms, legs and whole body to tell my tale,” Johnson explained.
Toma mimed other humorous situations, including a tug of war, a series of mishaps with a sticky wad of gum, a football game, a ride in a new car and a meal at a pizza restaurant.
Between the performances, Johnson shared tips on storytelling, urging students to write about things that have actually happened.
At the end of the performance, Johnson challenged North students of each grade to write a story for him to mime during an afternoon performance.
North students spent the majority of their day becoming “young authors” through the project.
North principal Tracy Kashak said learning more about writing was beneficial to her students.
“We don’t often have many events that focus on the skill of writing, so we’re glad to welcome Mr. Johnson as an expert. Enhancing our writing curriculum will benefit the students throughout all of their subjects,” Kashak said.
Johnson said he designed the program to give students the motivation and inspiration to write by adding entertainment to the mix.
“However, at the end of the day, I’m just as entertained by the students as they are by me. The kids here at North really reacted well and loved to be involved. They were great,” Johnson said.