Send in the Mimes

There used to be an added delight in going to the Music Center. It was the impromptu, alfresco performances in the plaza--before and after the shows--by mimes, violinists, jazz trios, brass choirs, etc.

They were of varying quality, of course, but they were always enlivening. Sometimes they were more interesting than the performances in the auditoriums.

They have been missing for the past year or so. Why? And who is responsible for banishing them? Is it the result of some purists’ devotion to the idea of a “higher art”? If so, the purists are sadly mistaken. They are making a visit to the Music Center as drab and obligatory as visits to any other Temple of the Higher Arts.

While they are seeking to improve our lives, why don’t these purists devote their energies to getting rid of the beggars who now surround and sometimes infest the Music Center block, and who have injected into the area a sense of danger rather than one of exaltation?

RICHARD E. ESHLEMAN

Los Angeles

A Music Center spokesman said the policy on free-lance performers has not changed . A person must get permission to perform in the plaza at any time, he said. The policy is to ask unauthorized performers to leave, but the spokesman noted that some have managed to get around the prohibition.