“Mimes Speak! provides us with a historical document of the First National Mime Conference, an event that helped change the direction and perception of mime in America,” writes Daniel Stein in the Forward. The conference held in Elkins, West Virginia in July, 1983 was crucial in advancing mime and movement theater world-wide by fostering collaboration among artists, critics, and presenters, showcasing diverse performances, and addressing critical issues facing movement artists like training, communication, and criticism. More so, it broadened the definition of mime and encouraged innovation as it paved the way for mime's evolution as a respected and dynamic art form that created a "theater of kindness and joy." Pedretti makes the case that the fourth quarter of the 20th century witnessed a worldwide proliferation of movement artists making and performing work that inspired, delighted and challenged the audience. Brought to the world through a number of festivals, the field reached the highest levels of artistic expression with several performers achieving mainstream success on Broadway, television, and international tours. Leonard Pitt describes Mimes Speak! as “a wonderful history of one of the most creative periods in world theater. Read and pray for a repeat.” IA Key Takeaway from the National Mime Conference : The 1983 National Mime Conference played a transformative role in advancing mime and movement theater by fostering collaboration among artists, critics, and presenters, showcasing diverse performances, and addressing critical issues like training, communication, and criticism. It broadened the definition of mime, encouraged innovation, and strengthened the community, paving the way for mime's evolution as a respected and dynamic art form. The transcript provides the reader with insights into why the era was so influential. "Michael Pedretti has written a wonderful history (preface of book) of one of the most creative periods in world theater. As a major producer he played large in generating the excitement around this phenomenon. Read and pray for a repeat. One helluva document!" -Leonard Pitt, founder of Life on the Water, creator of Eco-Rap and author of five books This conference has been one big eye opener. I have seen as much mime in three days as I've seen in the rest of my life put together. Mime of all varieties. That's one of the things that's so exciting about this conference. Mike Kriegsman, The Washinton Post What a wonderful, intense, focused, under-the-microscope three days these have been. Philip Arnoult, Director Baltimore Theater Project (The new Preface is) a wonderful history of one of the most creative periods in world theater.. Read and pray for a repeat. Leonard Pitt, mime, author, producer This is a very important gathering because you are all at the very heart of theater. Hugh Southern, Deputy Director of the National Endowment of the Arts It would be impossible to overstate the positive impact the conference had not only on our careers, but on the shaping of an entire artistic community. Kari Margolis, Founder and Artistic Director of the Adaptors So many lives were touched, many forever changed. Karen Flaherty, performer Reclaiming for mime its once hallowed role in world theatre. Jack Waugh, The Christian Science Monitor Mime has emerged as a major and creative art form in America in the last ten years and not everybody has noticed. Anna Kisslegov, New York Times A celebration of boundary-busting ... a desire for breath, social immediacy, and mythic scope of total-theater. Laurie Stone, The Village Voice Michael Pedretti is the author of eleven books, including Twenty Poems Written in 2020 , Time to Journey Hom e, The Book of Agnes , and The Inside Story of Movement Theatre International's Mime and Clown Festivals , the longest running international theater festival in America. His work has appeared in American Theater , Fixator Press , Scars , and the Mime Journal . Pedretti is currently working on Volume XI of a twelve-volume epic titled The Story of Our Stories which traces the epic saga of an itinerant immigrant family from 841 CE into the future.