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Professional mime

During my research, I recorded and interviewed a professional mime, Ian Thal. He performed words for the Motionary contest and other unusual words from the Motionary collection. Thal's improvisations were captivating and dynamic. He presented and explained to me his "gesture alphabet" that he uses as foundation for his improvisations. Thal trained in classical mime but he tries to discover new venues of improvisation through his own acting, writings and direction. Thal believes that acting, improvising and using body motion integrates people's body and mind into "real" unison. Thal thinks that being in tune with their bodies helps people feel better and be happier. In his opinion, verbal and nonverbal communication operate in different realms. These areas overlap, but while verbal communication is very precise, corporal language leaves more room for interpretation. Thal believes that Motionary is a confluence of explicit vocabulary, the highest form of verbal communication, and mime, the highest form of nonverbal communication.