Shemouel, From Jerusalem to Boulder
by Moni Yakim
Few words about Moni Yakim and Samuel Avital
Moni Yakim and Samuel Avital had creative and long professional encounters. They become close friends over the years in Jerusalem, Israel, Paris, France, New York, Dallas, Texas and Boulder, Colorado.They studied together in France with Etienne Decroux and Marcel Marceau. Collaborated with the Pantomime Theatre of New York. They were like brothers walking the streets of Paris somewhat hungry but persevering in their study of new found art of Mime, Theatre, Dance, Circus Arts and sharing French baguettes and sardines when it was possible to eat.
Their love for Mime was mixed with passionate philosophical discussions and long walks in the Jerusalem hills late on weekends nights, and by the river Seine in Paris, exploring ideas, concepts, visualizing their work together and practicing together mime exercises in a small space. After a trying journey, they grew up to develop their own work and contribute to the rich culture of America.
They were inspired by their own Jewish tradition, the teachings of Decroux and Marceau, the French culture; along with the Great Maimonides, Kabbalistic discussions and philosophy. They continue to inspire many. They invest in their student's talents and creativity with passion and innovative teachings. Their contribution in human, spiritual and kinesthetic development is acknowledged by many in the artistic communities around the world.
Moni wrote the following articles that were published in Samuel's books, The Mime Workbook and Mime and Beyond: The Silent Outcry. Moni gently and directly tells as it was with some details, the story of how they met, worked together, shared many experiences, describing their paths together and events, that shaped their artistic life, each in his own unique path of self-expression and teachings.
Shemouel, From Jerusalem to Boulder by Moni Yakim
From the Mime Workbook (Pages 149-150) by Samuel Avital.
Occasionally, he comes out of his world of solitude, only to communicate and give the best of what he found within the depths of his soul. I was fortunate to meet Shemouel on such occasion. Restless, uneducated, undisciplined, stifling with boredom in a town where most people lay in their beds at 9:00 p.m. I was an outstanding member of a teen gang.
Bursting with energy of youth, of frustration, angry, we roamed the streets, creating commotion, playing tricks that often led to minor crimes. This was my Jerusalem of 1951. One evening, determined to take a good look at the sexy pieces in leotards, we set out to the youth center where a dance class took place. It was a disappointment. There were only two girls in the class, and they were dogs. With some not so refined gestures and sounds we started out.
I suddenly was encountered by the biggest pair of eyes I have ever seen, staring at me disapprovingly. My immediate instinct was to punch the bastard little man right between his cow eyes. But then, he smiled and that was the turning point in my life. It was a ritual. Every Friday afternoon he came to my house. After gloating on my mother's cooking, comprising mainly of rice and bean soup, we went to his "house." It was a tiny little room with a small bed, a chair and a little desk. The walls were covered with drawings of Shemouel for at that time he was also a student of painting.
This was the room in which I learned that there are things other than beating and stealing and that one can actually get his kicks just by sitting with Shemouel, listening to his words, daydreaming. He spoke of things foreign to me and gently, gradually, they became familiar: Paris, art, culture and mime. Mime above all. Mime was the dome under which the world is awaiting its discovery, and we shall discover it.
Enchantment, mystery, flights on the wings of strange and lofty ideas. Sensing creation, touching the Gods. This was the first chapel I have ever been in. Consequently, I devoted more time preparing myself for the theater and roamed less the streets. I joined classes in acting and dance and eventually we both took part in the founding of a theater in Jerusalem.
Paris and Shemouel had to wait patiently till the completion of my long and miserable military service. Finally, the long awaited day arrived and we took the first step towards the realization of our dreams. We were in Paris, studying with Etienne Decroux, the creator of modern Mime and with Marcel Marceau, the greatest mime performer in the world. These were beautiful times. These were hard and trying days.
Living in a tiny room, at an old lady's apartment, our diet consisting exclusively of one can of sardines and one baguette per day - we were studying and living with mime, and we were elated. We practiced on the table, which was the largest available area in the room. It was our "stage." We took turns practicing on it.
There were discussions, there were arguments. Concepts began to form, ideas, opinions. We were developing styles, but our styles differed. We were together, yet we were alone. Shemouel needed his solitude. It was means of survival to him. One thing was never in question - our love for Mime. We gave ourselves to it entirely. Years passed by.
We came to a crossroad and followed different paths. I toured Europe with Grillon's Mime Theater (She was an old time pupil of Decroux's) and Shemouel joined Maximilien's Decroux Mime Company. Meanwhile, our dear Master, Etienne Decroux, was preparing to leave for New York, to open a Mime school there. I followed his steps about a year later to join his school and newly formed Mime Company. Shemouel stayed in Paris with Maximilien's Company.
A few years later Decroux decided to return to France and I have decided to open my own school and Mime Company. I urged Shemouel to come and join us, which he did. But this reunion was different from our partnership in the past. He joined the company, yet, he was else where. He developed his own ideas and philosophies, which I admired but which were very different from my own. Shemouel needed his solitude to make his plans, to structure his thoughts. He needed his own flock.
Shemouel is in Boulder, Colorado now leading his Unique Mime Workspace, and I am in New York, leading my own Mime workshop and school. However, we are together. Shemouel of 1951, for the better or for the worse is what I am today. If you seek some truth or direction in life or art, stay close to Shemouel for he might just then crawl out of his shell and give you of his soul.
New York, February, 1975
Shemuel by Moni Yakim
From the Mime and Beyond: The Silent Outcry (Page 127) by Samuel Avital
Shemuel and I have shared experiences that could have evolved only in the closest and most genuine friendship. Sharing a room, sharing mime. But, it was not until we parted, each to meet his own destiny that I formulated a concept of what I believe Shemuel's essence to be.
As long as we were together, Shemuel was an enigma to me, a living paradox. Physically, Shemuel was frail and fragile, yet he committed himself to an art that is ruthless in its physical demands. Observing his attempts to master the strenuous exercises pained me. It looked as if his arms and legs might fall off his weak body like wings pulled from an insect. Constantly on the verge of collapse and breathing heavily, he would cough out the most dreadful French Gauloises tobacco which he smoked chain-like.
But he chose to go on exercising. Shemuel's hearing was impaired as a result of his serving with an artillery unit. But he always sang. He was hungry, sad and ailing - But he chose to smile and his wide eyes were as calm and pure as Jerusalem's sky on a Sabbath morning.
He was wise with the intelligence to verbalize his thoughts fluently, with clarity and humor. With all that, he chose the art of silence. I was sensitive enough to perceive Shemuel's struggles but not wise enough to understand what drove him to follow a path so beset with obstacles.
And how could I? I was strong and able physically and absolutely non-verbal. Mime a natural expression for me. When I was sad, angry or hungry, it was instantly apparent to anyone. Unless caught up in Shemuel's enthusiasm, I rarely sang. Fate selected my environment for me. Shemuel chose his own, forcing fate to comply. Working came easy to Shemuel - Working that was worth a struggle.
Shemuel was weak - but Shemuel was Strong. For he was endowed with the most precious of all gifts: an unshakable spirit. And he did not take this gift for granted. He worked at it, keeping it alive and fresh, using it as a tool to transform oppressive struggles into spiritual battle cries. Personal sorrows and physical impediments gave way to the joys one may draw only from a profound life. This I have learned. His is such a life. Shemuel's dedication to self-growth and his total devotion to human values have made of him an insightful and inspiring teacher.
New York, November, 1982
Moni Yakim's Biography
Moni Yakim was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Performance Center Théâtre, P.T.C. Training Center. He was a principal performer in mime companies of Etienne Decroux and Marcel Marceau.
In Paris, he studied at Le Théâter National Populaire, and performed with Le Theatre Franco-Allemagne. He directed extensively in Israel and Europe. In the United States, he directed contemporary and classical plays for Yale Representative, American Shakespeare Festival, Juilliard Drama Theater, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway.
Moni directed the original production of "Jacque Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" at the Village Gate in New York, then on Broadway, throughout Europe, Israel, and the United States. He received an award for Best Director of this film.
He has directed operas for the Lake George Opera Festival, the Metropolitan Opera Studio, American Opera Center, Boston Concert Opera, Stonybrook Festival, and the Juilliard School. He co-directed HENRY V at the American Shakespeare Festival and on Broadway, and directed THE TEMPEST for the Yale Repertory Theatre.
Most recently, he created the movement for the films Robocop, Robocop II and Robocop III.
Moni was formerly head of the movement department for Yale Drama School, Stella Adler Conservatory, and Circle in the Square. He has been a faculty member of the Juilliard School since 1968.