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"If a tree fell in the middle of the forest upon a mime, would anyone really care?". So reads the cartoon above Jude Parry's desk. Jude is a mistress of pantomime. Petite, with blonde hair cut in a curly bob, she is British and speaks with a throaty accent. Her face is classically dramatic, with arching Garbo eyebrows and pronounced cheekbones.

Jude's small body moves fluidly. She'll make waves with her arms, or kick her heels in the air, assume a Rodin "Thinker" pose, or stalk her cat in a feline crouch. Jude's face, her body, her eyes, her hands translate ideas. She can become anything in an instant; a plant, a bird, a king or a bag lady with a posture, a facial expression, a crook of her little finger.

She's fun to be around, but don't be fooled by her whimsical behavior. Behind the clown exterior beats the heart of a hard-headed businesswoman.

Jude founded the Gold Coast Theatre Company in 1982. At first she called it the Gold Coast Mime Company, but soon realized there is little interest in mime as it is perceived by Americans. So, before the tree fell on her, she changed the company's name to Gold Coast Theatre Company.

Taking the art of mime beyond the dimensions of Marcel Marceau and Charlie Chaplin, Jude has created a new sort of theatre of corporeal expression. She creates physical and spatial tableaux with movements akin to ballet, stylized, dramatic, often acrobatic and sometimes smacking of slapstick or whimsy.

To build a theatre company she drew into her circle other 'body expressionists' from Europe, South and Central America, and the United States. The core of performers include Argentine Graciela Binaghi, whose outsized masks are now a hallmark of the company. Panamanian Lela Lombardo, whose German heritage emerges as a young Lotte Lenya look, and who moves in harmony with Peter Kisliuk, a handsome, dancing mime whose specialty is Balinese Mask Theatre.

Jude's resume is exotic with studies in Liverpool, London, Zurich and Prague to performances in Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, England and the United States. From this she brings a strong sense of stability in the steady growth of Gold Coast Theatre Company and its mission, "to bring original, culturally diverse, professional theatre to people from all walks of life; to introduce American audiences to the unique genre of 20th century European mime, producing highly accessible, popular shows for traditional and non-traditional performing spaces; to raise social consciousness through the art of mime in classes and performances to the mutual benefit of its artists and the public it serves."

The Gold Coast Theatre Company received its first grant in 1990. Since then it has raised young consciousness among some 30,000 elementary school children, averaging 100 performances a year.

Jude and her company have developed their own version of adult theatre as well, such as Miami Meltdown which was performed at the Colony Theatre, an art deco jewel in Miami Beach's famed Lincoln Road.

But never forgetting its street heritage, the company plays to homeless shelters, juvenile detention centers, domestic abuse refuges and in events such as the Globescope Environmental Conference, youth Crime Watch National Conference, Very Special Arts and United Way. They also give back to the community by teaching classes as the Performing Arts Network studios, a space donated by the City of Miami Beach.

Despite her heavy workload, Jude manages to have a life rich with friends and socializing. So, if a tree fell upon a mime -- anywhere -- Jude wants the world to care.

The Gold Coast Theatre Company is located in Miami Beach. You can reach them at P. O. Box 402964, Miami Beach, FL 33140-0964. Or telephone: 305-538-5500; Fax: 305-538-6315 or e-mail JUDE PARRY.

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