OCR Text |
Show Kj1ii ime's AU the , Jill Word ft roam the halls.' So she took me to L j 1 By the after-school theater class. A " ' JUDY mime just happened to be teaching JENSEN cass mat day, m& that's how I I j got started.' X ... Editor Pitti said that experience was like a rebirth for him. "I don't know " what my future would have been V '"' "f without mime. I felt misplaced at . F l X 9 1 V 1 roam the halls.' So she took me to the after-school theater class. A mime just happened to be teaching the class that day, and that's how I got started. Pitti said that experience was like a rebirth for him. "I don't know what my future would have been without mime. I felt misplaced at that time. Mime gave me the spark to communicate," he said. This new found identity did not please Pitti's father. "He is a very quiet man. He wanted, me to become an accountant or something respectable. During one discussion Pitti's father was trying to convince him to become a businessman as he was. Pitti said he asked his father is he liked his work, to which his father replied, "No." "That's the difference between us. I love my work," Pitti told his father. The love for his work shows as Pitti describes the faces of his young audiences. "It's great to be on stage seeing hundreds of kids watching and reacting. Sometimes I can hear them talking, saying 'Look at that,' or 'Did you see that?' I see them leave the auditorium trying to mimic me. It's great." Since his first experience Pitti has worked with the best including Marcel Marceau. He moved to Utah from New York nine years ago, and now feels right at home. When he's not on stage, Pitti enjoys en-joys oil painting, mountain biking, and camping. He recently completed com-pleted two television commercials. The first was made for HUD, and he plays the part of Charlie Chaplin. The second was filmed for 7-Up in front of the State Capitol and will be released soon. Although it is hard work, Pitti always returns to his first love, mime. He spends "very intense" hours in front of a mirror perfecting his craft. "The great thing about teaching children to mime is that everyone starts at the same level. You don't have to be tall or strong as in some activities," he said. His only disappointment is that "Some people don't know what mime is. It's still an educational process. It's kind of like lifting up an old dinosaur," he said. Pitti plans to slay his dinosaur in the future by continuing to teach mime, and he hopes to get involved in high school drama as a teacher. He loves working with students, and is booked through the end of the school year. "At almost every school I see a couple of kids who remind me of me. They're so fascinated by mime. I know it's just the beginning for them," he said happily. WOODS CROSSIf an Olympic Gold Medal could be earned in the art of mime, Joe Pitti would earn the prize. "Brilliant," "incredible," "outstanding" and "great" are just a few of the comments from Woods Cross Elementary students and adults who have worked with Pitti during the past two weeks. Part of the Davis County School District's Artist in Residence program, pro-gram, Pitti has worked with the children to teach them the art of mime and "to get them to laugh at themselves." His goal is always reached as he moves his 5'7" lean frame across the stage contorting it into a wide variety of poses, and his impish face into hundreds of expressions, speaking speak-ing to his enthralled audience without words. One of his favorite routines is "Bubble Gum," during which he transforms his imaginary bubble gum into a ladder, a cane, a rope, a shelf and a myriad of other objects. "I always use the bubble gum routine. It was one of my first, and it is a great teaching tool," said Pitti. A new routine, "Joe Blow," is a favorite of the students. During the routine, Pitti matches wits with a leaf blower, blowing himself around the stage. The segment always brings squeals of delight from the children. Pitti said he is still refining the routine. At a recent performance a young man shouted, "Why don't you put it up under your shirt." Pitti said he used the suggestion, and it became an immediate hit and is now a permanent part of the act. In his evening performances, Pitti incorporates a serious routine. "I show the regression from man to machine. It asks the question, "Where are we going in life," he said. During each school performance, Pitti asks a few students to assist him on stage. "I try to choose students who don't get asked very often," said Pitti, "kids who remind re-mind me of me." The "me" Pitti sees is a shy, introverted in-troverted 12 -year-old. A caring teacher in his home town of Long Island, N.Y., tricked Pitti into his first mime class. "She kept me late one day until I had missed the bus, then she told me I 'couldn't just I S -. I ; I ' S a I Hi I i K J y .... y : ( ' - r S 0 - ! ! - v I j f - 0 Photos by Roger Tuttle K It I 1 " if i n rm n "tijii mum iwmmmmywiwmwm L I M I . $ I 1 ' l tf y v " - ' - T r r r ' ' ' ' J X I a ' I H |