Leonard Pitt intro

Paris Transforming - The beauty and the horror of urban reconstruction

During the 1850s and '60s, Paris underwent the greatest urban reconstruction program the world had ever seen. Much of the city's history was lost as Medieval and Renaissance quarters crumbled. The man appointed to carry out this task was Baron Georges Haussmann. What motives lay behind this massive urban redesign? How did Parisians react as they saw their old city swept away? With over 200 images you will walk through pre-Haussmann Paris to witness this transformation and then continue into the 20th century to see how succeeding generations have stamped their vision onto one of the world's great cities.

Pursuing the Irish Healer - A true story

In 1989, Leonard Pitt stumbled onto the 17th century Anglo-Irish healer Valentine Greatrakes. For the next eight years he traveled back and forth to England and Ireland digging into the archives as well as trodding Greatrakes's land in order to piece together the life of this enigmatic figure.

Followed by thousands wherever he went, Greatrakes was known for curing everything from cancer, to leprosy, and leukemia by the laying on of hands. His healing powers caused one of the great controversies of the age bringing him under the scrutiny of many of the great figures of the period including, scientist Robert Boyle, philosopher Henry More, and poet Andrew Marvell. They all ended up vouching for his talent.

In 1666, Greatrakes wrote a book defending himself against those trying to vilify him. Leonard saw an original copy of this book and decided he wanted one for himself. After searching the world and giving up, he found one, and in the most unlikely of places, San Francisco. From a stolen harp in Oakland, to an Irish street corner with Jasper the grave digger, to the Marquis of Hertford at his English manor, follow Leonard in his pursuit of the Irish healer.

Ballet, the earth, and the pain of being on the ground

While living in Paris in the 1960s, Leonard asked the question, "Why did the ballet choose to go up?" Why did the dance choose an aesthetic that took the body off he ground? Leonard was all the more intrigued after seeing concerts of Asian dance and theater where the body’s connection to the ground was so enhanced.

Pursuing this simple question for over twenty years lead to unexpected corners of our cultural history and answered questions that on the surface bear little connection to the original question. E.g., why do the French love Jerry Lewis? What do Elvis, Louis the XIV and the hula hoop have in common? What influence did the invention of the radio have in freeing the American body from the rigors of the Victorian era? Why did audiences weep when they saw Isadora Duncan dance? What is the connection between early Jazz, the suffragette movement and Sigmund Freud? Follow Leonard in this unique investigation of culture from the point of view of the body.

The Women are Burning - A brief history of the European witch-hunts

The tension between men and women has been played out for centuries in personal relationships, family dynamics, and community mores. No more dramatic example of this tension exists that the Church’s organized persecution of women during the infamous witch-hunt trials. How did women come to be perceived as evil, all-powerful, and in the service of the Devil? What was the Church’s logic as it carried out this program of repression? What were the consequences?

My Crazy Uncle – a reading

Once a week, for over twenty years, Leonard received a letter from his uncle Mort in Los Angeles. Mort’s passion for fruit, women, and getting Leonard married are a glimpse into the mind of an unparalleled eccentric. His obsessional pursuit of pleasure and attempts to escape loneliness are equal parts poignant, sad, touching, and riotously funny.

The Art of Face – a mask, a body, a movement

Leonard takes the audience on a guided tour of the body to see how quirks, foibles, fears, and fantasies are revealed through posture, gait and gesture. Working with a variety of handmade masks Leonard reveals the secrets and techniques of the art of physical theater.

"His lecture-demonstration . . . was the most interesting, informative and entertaining hour-and-a- half I've spent in the theatre in a long time."

– San Francisco Chronicle –

"Pitt turns an hour-long lecture into an amazingly entertaining excursion into the hidden diversity of mood and manner contained in each inanimate facial facade."

– San Francisco Examiner –

	1. Paris Transforming - The beauty and the horror of urban reconstruction During the 1850s and '60s, Paris underwent the greatest urban reconstruction program the world had ever seen. Much of the city's history was lost as Medieval and Renaissance quarters crumbled. The man appointed to carry out this task was Baron Georges Haussmann. What motives lay behind this massive urban redesign? How did Parisians react as they saw their old city swept away? With over 200 images you will walk through pre-Haussmann Paris to witness this transformation and then continue into the 20th century to see how succeeding generations have stamped their vision onto one of the world's great cities. 2. Pursuing the Irish Healer - A true story In 1989, Leonard Pitt stumbled onto the 17th century Anglo-Irish healer Valentine Greatrakes. For the next eight years he traveled back and forth to England and Ireland digging into the archives as well as trodding Greatrakes's land in order to piece together the life of this enigmatic figure. Followed by thousands wherever he went, Greatrakes was known for curing everything from cancer, to leprosy, and leukemia by the laying on of hands. His healing powers caused one of the great controversies of the age bringing him under the scrutiny of many of the great figures of the period including, scientist Robert Boyle, philosopher Henry More, and poet Andrew Marvell. They all ended up vouching for his talent. In 1666, Greatrakes wrote a book defending himself against those trying to vilify him. Leonard saw an original copy of this book and decided he wanted one for himself. After searching the world and giving up, he found one, and in the most unlikely of places, San Francisco. From a stolen harp in Oakland, to an Irish street corner with Jasper the grave digger, to the Marquis of Hertford at his English manor, follow Leonard in his pursuit of the Irish healer. 3. Ballet, the earth, and the pain of being on the ground While living in Paris in the 1960s, Leonard asked the question, "Why did the ballet choose to go up?" Why did the dance choose an aesthetic that took the body off he ground? Leonard was all the more intrigued after seeing concerts of Asian dance and theater where the body’s connection to the ground was so enhanced. Pursuing this simple question for over twenty years lead to unexpected corners of our cultural history and answered questions that on the surface bear little connection to the original question. E.g., why do the French love Jerry Lewis? What do Elvis, Louis the XIV and the hula hoop have in common? What influence did the invention of the radio have in freeing the American body from the rigors of the Victorian era? Why did audiences weep when they saw Isadora Duncan dance? What is the connection between early Jazz, the suffragette movement and Sigmund Freud? Follow Leonard in this unique investigation of culture from the point of view of the body. 4. The Women are Burning - A brief history of the European witch-hunts The tension between men and women has been played out for centuries in personal relationships, family dynamics, and community mores. No more dramatic example of this tension exists that the Church’s organized persecution of women during the infamous witch-hunt trials. How did women come to be perceived as evil, all-powerful, and in the service of the Devil? What was the Church’s logic as it carried out this program of repression? What were the consequences? 5. My Crazy Uncle – a reading Once a week, for over twenty years, Leonard received a letter from his uncle Mort in Los Angeles. Mort’s passion for fruit, women, and getting Leonard married are a glimpse into the mind of an unparalleled eccentric. His obsessional pursuit of pleasure and attempts to escape loneliness are equal parts poignant, sad, touching, and riotously funny. 6. The Art of Face – a mask, a body, a movement Leonard takes the audience on a guided tour of the body to see how quirks, foibles, fears, and fantasies are revealed through posture, gait and gesture. Working with a variety of handmade masks Leonard reveals the secrets and techniques of the art of physical theater. "His lecture-demonstration . . . was the most interesting, informative and entertaining hour-and-a- half I've spent in the theatre in a long time." – San Francisco Chronicle – "Pitt turns an hour-long lecture into an amazingly entertaining excursion into the hidden diversity of mood and manner contained in each inanimate facial facade." – San Francisco Examiner –

Leonard Pitt
	Lectures