New Member Profile – Piti Theatre Company

Company brings ‘street theater’ to Shelburne and the world

(4/16/09) The goal of the Piti Theatre Company is “to create work which lends itself to the happiness of artist and audience.”

Jonathan Mirin and his wife Godeliève Richard founded the company in 2004 as a vehicle for making this ideal come to life.
The interdisciplinary performance collaborative is based in Shelburne and Les Ponts-des-Martel Switzerland, Ms. Richard’s hometown. The name Piti is an ancient Indian (Pali) word which can be translated as “joy” or “rapture.” The works the company creates weave together theater, music and dance to engage and involve the audience.

Richard is trained as a dancer and choreographer in Cannes and Montreal, and Mirin is an actor who trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and has a Master’s in Playwriting from Boston University.

At Riverfest the group will present a performance blending improvisation with a pre-scripted story tentatively titled “Salmon Falls” involving members of the community and students from the Buckland Shelburne school to relate tales about the history and life around the Deerfield River. The free performance will be staged outside the Arms Library June 13th at Riverfest after the parade.

The Riverfest performance will be the precursor to a performance series planned for weekends in September-October focusing on historical elements and events in Shelburne Falls and along the Deerfield. “This will be intimately connected to the village and it’s history. We’re planning to give the audience a map so they can visit locations described in the play,” says Mirin. “We’re now looking for suggestions about historical sites in the area around which we’ll weave our stories.” The couple is also hoping to find local musicians, actors and general volunteers who would like to participate in the productions and help the company grow.

The couple’s long term vision is to create a link between the U.S. and Europe with artists traveling “abroad” from both continents to share ideas and develop work. The first step took place when Richard’s sister Lise-Marieke spent 3 months here last winter and lived with a family in Shelburne Falls, taught French at BSE and interned at the company. They would also like to develop a more permanent performance space to house a summer theater for Shelburne. Jody Massa, a 1975 graduate of Mohawk Regional School, is the Piti education director and has helped develop workshops for young people.

In addition to improvisational and “street theater,” Mirin integrates his theater background with leadership development skills to conduct workshops for organizations and schools. He is currently running a series called Creative Leadership at Greenfield’s Market. The next workshop, Developing Your Vision takes place this Saturday 4/18 from 3-5 pm.

The company is now bringing their nature fable Elmer and the Elder Tree to Boston for the first 3 weekends in May. It will also be staged at the New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro on May 12th and in Shelburne Falls on June 17th. The show combines dance, clowning, and theater to tell the story of a man who loses his job in the city and then wanders out into a barren countryside where he receives a seed from a nomad and over time creates a lush new landscape. “It’s a message of hope – of a new forest and a good new life,” says Mirin. One can not help but see some parallels to Mirin and Richard’s lives – hoping to plant the seeds of creativity and spread joy and happiness to those around them.

Piti Theatre Company, 280 Colrain-Shelburne Road, Shelburne, MA
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www.ptco.org