6/22/2008, 9:48 pm
An Interview with Mikael the Mime, Borderline Genius
Rudolph, an evangelical Christian, lives in Minneapolis and makes his living as a ballroom dance instructor and mime. (Feel free to insert a mime joke here.) But maybe it takes someone who can communicate without words to shatter a country's silence. Rudolph's mimicry -- an art form from ancient times that could be used to criticize kings without leaving a transcript -- is not about invisible boxes. It's about the boxes we put ourselves in, that keep us from acting.
"When I perform in a church, I do a crucifixion piece," says Rudolph, who performs as Mikael the Mime. "When I'm finished, I discuss the irony that we worship a Lord who was arrested in the middle of the night, rendered from place to place, kept from friends and family, and finally tortured and put to death. It is increasingly hypocritical to be Christian and support a government that does the same."
"When I perform in a church, I do a crucifixion piece," says Rudolph, who performs as Mikael the Mime. "When I'm finished, I discuss the irony that we worship a Lord who was arrested in the middle of the night, rendered from place to place, kept from friends and family, and finally tortured and put to death. It is increasingly hypocritical to be Christian and support a government that does the same."