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Sometimes fathers don't know best. Mikael Rudolph's father told him being a mime would never get him anywhere, but it has taken him all over the world.

Rudolph, 46, will bring his one-man show, "Right to Remain Silent," to three branches of the La Crosse County Library System next week beginning with a 12:30 p.m. show Wednesday at the Holmen Area Library.

This is the third time that Rudolph has performed for the county library system.

"I've hired a lot of performers, and Mikael is definitely in my top three," said Karen Kroll, the library's youth services coordinator. "He's quite funny."

Kroll first saw Rudolph perform many years ago at the Renaissance Fair in Minnesota.

"He's sort of like Peter Pan," Kroll said. "He's an adult who gets to act like a kid."

Rudolph, a native of Washington state who currently lives in the Twin Cities, has been miming professionally for the past two decades.

When he was a young boy, Rudolph saw Marcel Marceau perform. He remembers telling his father that he wanted to be a mime when he grew up.

"Dad said, 'You can't make a living being a mime," Rudolph said.

He proved his father wrong.

After college, Rudolph moved to Minneapolis in 1986 to perform with a gospel mime group.

He toured with the group throughout the United States for about five years.

He left the group to develop his own craft and concentrate on his work as an artist.

Throughout his career he has also trained and directed mimes.

For many people, the word "mime" evokes images of a white-faced street performer in suspenders, pretending to be trapped in a box.

Rudolph, who does not do the "box" routine, said his performance is styled after European street clowns.

Unlike white-faced mimes, Rudolph uses props, makes sounds and performs to music.

"Communicating through movement is as old as humanity," Rudolph said.

Like many entertainers, Rudolph is settling into his busiest season right now. During the summer festival season, Rudolph performs every week.

Rudolph said he enjoys performing in situations where there are mixed-age groups.

The younger audience members are still mystified by the physical aspect of the performance.

"From their perspective, they often feel it must be done mechanically," Rudolph said. "The youngest ones remind the older ones to laugh and that it's all right to laugh."