Goldston Mime Foundation

In 1975, Gregg Goldston saw a performance by Marcel Marceau and immediately began his pursuit of the art of mime. At that time, Gregg was 18 and had dreams of becoming a visual artist and although he loved making people laugh, he never imagined he would live his life on stage.

Born in Los Angeles, Gregg began his training at the Richmond Shepard Studio in Hollywood then moved to Salt Lake City where he infused his training with Ballet and Modern Dance. Over the next four years he opened a mime studio, wrote and produced three solo mime performances, and began touring his show throughout the western states. The National Endowment for the Arts recognized Goldston’s talent by awarding him Choreography Fellowships in 1980 and 1982.

In 1980, the Ohio Arts Council brought Gregg into Lima, Ohio for an Artist-In-Education residency that lasted two years. This led to the relocation of The Goldston Mime Foundation and School for Mimes to Gambier, Ohio. From 1979 until present, Gregg Goldston has toured his One-Mime Show across the United States and to Hong Kong, Moscow, Taiwan, Korea, Canada, and Poland.

In 1986, he created a 7-member company called The Invisible People that toured nationally until 1995, and in 2004, he created The Funny Bones, a mime trio based in Manhattan with a focus on Physical Comedy.

In 1999, Gregg moved to New York City which led to presenting his show off-Broadway and in a variety of New York venues including: Lincoln Center’s Meet the Artist program, The New York Theatre Workshop, The Urban Stages program, and Lincoln Center’s Reel to Real Series. Furthermore, he was commissioned to create customized performances for Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelers for their flagship stores in New York and Moscow; and a Mechanical Man Character for the famed toy store: F.A.O. Schwarz in Manhattan.

He has also made appearances on The Daily Show, The Graham Norton Effect, Law & Order and various television commercials. Most recently Gregg was a featured guest on the CBS Early Show Saturday edition. Gregg Goldston’s love for performing was only rivaled by his compassion for teaching this rare and difficult art form.

Consequently, in 1980 he founded The Goldston School for Mimes, a summer intensive for mime, which still operates in Gambier, Ohio as The School for Mime Theatre. During Goldston’s 21-year term as Artistic Director, the School for Mimes became the leading institute for classical mime in the United States. As well as spawning countless young performers and teachers for the art, the School for Mimes also hosted festivals and workshops each summer with such artists as Moni Yakim, Leonard Pitt, Thomas Leabhart, Stefan Neidzialkowski, and the legendary Marcel Marceau. In 1986, Marcel Marceau, (who served as Artistic Advisor to the School) quoted by the press stating: “Goldston is creating the first generation of American Mimes.”