United Mime Workers Theatre Company

Bob Feldman was co-founder, performer, teacher, writer and director with the United Mime Workers (UMW) Theatre Company, based near Chicago in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA from 1971-1986. The UMW taught and performed in universities, theatres, schools, community centers, prisons, parks, conventions and festivals in 24 states and 9 countries in Europe and Latin America during their 15 year history.

In addition to their substantial national and international performance tours, they were featured performers in major performing arts festivals including the Lincoln Center Theatre Festival, New York (1985), Copenhagen International Theatre Festival, Denmark (1983), International Festival of Mime, Mexico (1980), New Mime Series, Dance Theatre Workshop, New York (1980), First North American Mime Festival, New York (1979), World Festival of Youth and Students, Cuba (1979), Festival of American Mime, Milwaukee (1978), Graz Festival of Theatre, Music and Film, Austria (1975), International Mime Festivals, Szczecin, Wroclaw, Poland (1975).

In the United States they taught and performed as Artists-in-Residence with the Illinois Arts Council, Wisconsin Arts Board, Urban Gateways Program of Chicago, and at 20 universities nationwide. They were honoured with numerous corporate and foundation grants as well as National Endowment for the Arts Awards from the Theatre, Dance, Artist-in-Education and Choreographers Fellowship Programs.

Bob's professional movement and theatre training included mime with Claude Kipnis, Kabuki theatre with Shozo Sato, t'ai chi with Chungling Al Huang, composition with Herbert Bruen, cybernetics and cognitive processes with Heinz von Foerster, modern dance with Chester Wolensky, Willis Ward and Diane Frank, body alignment with Barbara Clark and John Rolland, stage combat with Thomas F. Nevins, and the professional certificate in the Feldenkrais Method with Gaby Yaron.