Dedicated teacher, mentor, humanitarian and creator of the famous clown “Bip,” Marcel Marceau, 78-year-old famous French mime artist, will perform at Ohio State this weekend.

Marceau has been performing the silent art of mime for more than five decades. He has appeared in many different television shows, films and theatrical productions throughout his career and won many distinguished awards. Through his adventures he has learned to touch the public deeply. Whether it be through teaching or performing, as long as Marceau continues to keep impacting society, he will remain pleased.

Marceau’s interest in the art of mime came at a very early age when he would imitate the images of silent screen artist Charlie Chaplin.

“Chaplin made me laugh and cry without saying a word. I had an instinct. I was touched by the soul of Chaplin – Mime is not an imitator but a creator,” Marceau said.

Many who see Marceau praise his achievements and abilities. He inflicts emotion without saying a word. Two of his most famous acts, “The Creation of The World” and “The Hands of Good and Evil,” have been extracted from Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

After one of his many performances of this sequence, 35 priests accompanied him into the dressing room, while 2 asked him the question, “Marcel Marceau, are you religious?”

He answered simply, “Fathers, I do not practice. I’m not religious in life, but when I perform ‘The Creation of the World’ and when my soul is touched by the confrontation of good and evil, then God enters in me.”

By this simple response to their question, the priest told Marceau that this was a very good thing. He touches other human souls by what he feels in his own.

Marcel has become the expert and teacher of many students across the world. He holds honorary doctorates from OSU, Princeton University, Linfield College and the University of Michigan.

“Marcel Marceau’s work arrives at the essence of thought and emotion, and is key to the training of movement artists,” said Jeanine Thompson, associate professor in the OSU Theatre Department.

Thompson specializes in the creation of Movement Theatre art and is a member of the Marcel Marceau Artistic Advisory Board. In the department, Thompson has developed a Movement Theatre curriculum that provides well-rounded training to students in movement art and composition.

Thompson has formed a very special friendship and educational partnership with Marcel Marceau over the past 15 years.

“He has helped me every step of the way in my career. He is my mentor,” Thompson said.

When asked about teaching at different universities across the United States, Marceau said he holds no favorites.

“You can teach and be a good teacher anywhere, but are you a humanist?” Marceau asked.

He went on to explain how humanism can disappear, but that doesn’t mean the university will disappear along with it. The importance is not those who lead a university, but what propels the thought.

“To be a great university in a great democratic society is a great thing in itself,” Marceau said.

Marceau’s teaching furthers his love for the silent art. He wants to teach the art form so it will capture the audience’s soul. With mime, he has to teach the attitude of the art form because it has no words. Silence does not exist in mime, though. There is movement and attitude for which your soul is engaged, Marceau said.

When the time comes for Marcel to retire or leave this world, he hopes he has left a legacy and is remembered as a master who taught an art form.

“No art is superior to another one, but every art looks for expertise and perfection. This is life, which continues; this is why there is no death. There is continuation. There is no silence. There is a continuation of thought,” Marceau said.

While in town, the acclaimed mime will teach classes, lead discussions and present three public performances, which will be held Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. (a children’s performance) in Thurber Theatre on campus.

Trademark movements such as “Walking Against the Wind” and “The Mask Maker” will be documented and filmed to preserve his presence and legacy here at OSU.

Marceau will be in residence until April 14, and will work closely with Thompson’s Movement Theatre classes, teaching his techniques and critiquing student mime creations.

“For the brave souls that perform their work for him, it will be life-transforming,” Thompson said.