Wonderful article in the Cape Argus about Markus and his family who worked with the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy while in Cape Town.
HANDS fly, arms flap and words shoot out in gunfire bursts – for a mime artist, Markus Schmid has a lot to say.
PLAYING ALONG Swiss mime artist Markus Schmid performs in Cape Town as part of his family’s around-the-world trip
Schmid and his family have performed free mime shows at 20 schools across the city since arriving in Cape Town on July 31.
This Swiss family – Schmid, 46, his wife, Marie Gomez, 46, and their sons Felix, 11, and Leo, 9 – left their Geneva home for Le Havre in northwest France more than a year ago to embark on a two-year world tour. Their performances include messages about water scarcity and deforestation.
Schmid has performed across Europe over the past two decades.
But his lifelong dream of travelling and meeting people was unfulfilled – having a family made it complicated.
But then Gomez fractured her foot in her sleep. The accident forced Gomez, a biologist who led a stressful life in a lab, to take stock of her life.
In 2008 Schmidt and Gomez decided to travel around the world with their sons and perform. They opened a savings account and each month deposited money to fund their trip. Four years later, they embarked on their adventure.
“It was a good way to make the transition from Geneva to another life. When we arrived, we were happy and ready to arrive. We were not afraid,” said Gomez.
Schmid packed his 100kg theatre set into two aluminium boxes and each family member carried 8kg of luggage. The parents home-school the boys. Gomez organises the schedule of free performances and the boys help with lights and play smaller roles.
A year later, they have performed more than 100 shows in Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica.
They had initially planned to tour South America and Asia, but later included Africa. Schmid said they had had the strongest reaction to their plays in South Africa.
“People here reacted very strongly with joy, fear, laughter and astonishment,” he said. “The energy here is incredible.”
Being mime artists helps them communicate. “Body language is perfect for overcoming barriers,” said Schmid.
The couple said they were using theatre to understand the human spirit better.
“We are really happy to experience Cape Town. There are so many cultures, religions and races living together here. What we see here can be an example for other countries,” said Schmid.
The family will depart for SouthEast Asia next week and will travel to Laos, Burma, India and Mongolia before boarding the Trans-Siberian express back home.
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