For Deaf and Hearing Mime Brings Laughter

Sometimes when Bill Carwile tells people that he is deaf, they burst out laughing. This doesn't bother Carwile, even though it tends to happen mostly when he shows up for new jobs.

"I explain that I really am deaf," he said. "When they finally believe me, their faces change and they get nervous."

That's when Carwile takes charge.

"I ask them to show me where I will perform," he said.

For 18 years, Carwile has been a mime. He has performed on stages and in classrooms throughout the country. He also teaches sign language at Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and Camden Community College, in Camden, N.J.

Growing Up
Carwile credits his "navy brat" upbringing for his success.

"We moved many times when I was young," he said. "I was always getting used to something... always catching up."

He smiled suddenly. "I was never bored."

Carwile was born deaf and he has a deaf sister. He saw signs for the first time when he was 10 years old and entered Virginia School for the
Deaf (VSD).

"I went to two oral schools first," he said. "I was absolutely lost. I was aware that something was going on around me... but I couldn't break through to figure out what it was."

At VSD, he encountered lots of deaf adults and hearing adults who had deaf parents. "There was a strong deaf identity there," he remembered.

But the identity did not make him feel hostile to hearing people. "I always moved easily between the two worlds," he smiled. "Sometimes I felt a little bit 'hearing-on-the-forehead.'" After a few years, his family moved again. He found himself in public school in California. It was a lonely and depressing time, he remembers, except for meeting Herb Larson, a well known figure in the deaf community who is deaf himself.

College
Carwile chose Montana State University (MSU) as his college. His mother was nervous about his choice, but when the time came, he boarded a bus and headed out alone to go to school there. Right away he got a room and a job. Soon afterward he got hooked up with the small deaf community.

"I was a dishwasher," he said. "I'd been working for about a week when a large man showed up in western dress. 'Deaf?' he asked pointing at me. I nodded--I realized that he was deaf, too, and I was meeting my first 'real deaf cowboy.'"

Mime--The Beginning
At MSU, a group of speech communication students formed a troupe that performed in sign language. When they learned there was a deaf student on campus, they were thrilled. "I was hesitant," he said. "Surprised that they thought I could do it... "

It came naturally. Carwile realized that he wanted to make it his life. A professor agreed to teach him mime privately and he made rapid progress.

Then he decided to apply to the International Mime School in Paris, France, run by Marcel Marceau. Every year thousands of people from around the world apply to the famous school. Only one or two people from each country are accepted.

Marceau set up a time to meet Carwile during his tour of the United States the following year.

Meeting Marceau
With an international reputation, Marcel Marceau could be a difficult interview. When Carwile showed up to see him, Marceau was surrounded by people. Carwile slipped through the door at the back of the room.

"You!" Marceau pointed dramatically. "Come here!" Confused Carwile looked behind him, but no one was standing there. He looked back at Marceau. Marceau gestured again: "Come here." Carwile started to look around again when he realized everyone was looking at him. Marceau had spotted him at the back of the room. Marceau wanted him.

Carwile stumbled forward, shook hands with Marceau, and they talked briefly. Later when a package from the school arrived in his home, Carwile knew what it said before he opened it. He is modest about his selection. "I look like him," he said. "At least I look like a young Marceau--like he looked in 1945."

He spent three months in Marceau's Paris school. Since that time, he has kept a busy schedule performing throughout the United States. In his spare time, he collect fossils. "My life has been full of blessings," he said.