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Leonard Pitt

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description Leonard Pitt Overview

Leonard Pitt is an American movement artist, mime performer, teacher, and writer associated with the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in Detroit, he moved to Paris in the early 1960s, studied with Etienne Decroux, and later worked in Decroux's company. After returning to the United States, he settled in Berkeley and opened a school of physical theatre; his later solo work combined corporeal mime with staging, music, narration, and spoken text.

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Who did Leonard Pitt study mime with?

He studied corporeal mime with Étienne Decroux after moving from his native Detroit to Paris in the early 1960s. Decroux was the founder of modern corporeal mime and also taught Marcel Marceau and Jean-Louis Barrault. Pitt later performed in Decroux's own company.

Where is Leonard Pitt based?

After his Paris years he settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he has spent decades as a movement artist and teacher. He is closely identified with the Bay Area's physical-theater and mime scene.

What is Leonard Pitt known for?

He is known as a performer, teacher, and writer working in the tradition of French corporeal mime brought back from Paris. His teaching has influenced generations of Bay Area movement artists, and he has written about his apprenticeship years in 1960s Paris.

What style of mime does Leonard Pitt practice?

He practices the corporeal mime technique of Étienne Decroux, which treats the whole body as a precise dramatic instrument rather than relying on whiteface illusionism. This analytical, sculptural style is distinct from the Marcel Marceau tradition most audiences know.