pantomime
Wordless dramatic performance
Pantomime is acting without words, using gestures and facial expressions to convey meaning: The street performer pantomimed being trapped in a box.
As a noun, it refers to this form of expression or a performance using it.
In British English, pantomime (often shortened to panto) is a type of comic theatrical production performed during the Christmas season, featuring fairy tales, audience participation, and cross-dressing actors.
More broadly, pantomime describes any exaggerated show or empty display: The trial was a pantomime of justice.
Winter nativity celebration
- dameDated slang for woman
- CinderellaRags-to-riches heroine
- AladdinStoried genie summoner
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
Raised performance platform
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
- curtainFabric hung for privacy
- costumeClothing for portrayal
- rehearsalPre-performance practice session
director · script · troupe · spotlight · backdrop · proscenium · matinee · premiere
Exaggerated physical humor
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- humorAmusing quality
- buffooneryLudicrous or silly conduct
- clowningPlayful comic behavior
gag · pratfall · comic · hilarity · absurdity · tomfoolery · mugging · exaggeration
Wordless guessing game
- dumbshowSilent dramatic performance
- gestureCommunicative body movement
- wordlessLacking spoken content
- nonverbalNot using speech
impersonation · imitation · pretense · playacting · exaggeration · mugging · emoting · expressiveness
Masked comic servant character
- columbineSpurred perennial wildflower
- clownComedic performer in makeup
- maskFace-worn concealment
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
burlesque · masquerade · mummery · harlequinade · pageant · masque · carnival
Change in position
- waveOscillating motion through medium
- signalMessage-conveying cue
- indicateSignal or point to
- gesticulateCommunicate through body movements
point · beckon · flail · signing · body-language · expressiveness · flourish · sweep
Christmas
Winter nativity celebration
- dameDated slang for woman
- CinderellaRags-to-riches heroine
- AladdinStoried genie summoner
slapstick · boo · hiss · cheer · fairy-tale · seasonal · variety
stage
Raised performance platform
rehearsal · director · script · troupe · spotlight · backdrop · proscenium · matinee · premiere · cast
slapstick
Exaggerated physical humor
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- humorAmusing quality
- buffooneryLudicrous or silly conduct
clowning · gag · pratfall · comic · hilarity · absurdity · tomfoolery · mugging · exaggeration · double-take
charades
Wordless guessing game
nonverbal · impersonation · imitation · pretense · playacting · exaggeration · mugging · emoting · expressiveness · gesticulation
harlequin
Masked comic servant character
improvisation · burlesque · masquerade · mummery · harlequinade · pageant · masque · carnival
motion
Change in position
gesticulate · point · beckon · flail · signing · body-language · expressiveness · flourish · sweep · demonstration
- theatreBroadway, acting, theatre, stage, actor
- World Theaterkabuki, Beijing opera, Peking opera, bunraku, Greek tragedy
- comedy bitsbit, skit, sketch, gag, shtick
- Performance Stylesmethod acting, classical acting, comedic acting, physical theater, screen acting
- Theatre Stylesmelodrama, naturalism, realism, expressionism, classicism
- Victorian TheatreHenrik Ibsen, proscenium, Oscar Wilde, footlights, backstage
pantomimetalking
Producing speech aloud
dialogue · speech · monologue · recitation · lecture
pantomimeplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
spelling it out · telling · declaration · narration · exposition
- pantomime horseCostume for paired performers
- pantomime villainTheatrical antagonist audiences boo
- pantomime dameMale playing female comedically