The Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), formerly known as

Theatre Training & Research Programme The Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), formerly known as Theatre Training & Research Programme (TTRP), is a specialised, independent actor-training school in Singapore that offers a three-year full-time programme that trains actors through con ...

(TTRP), is a specialised, independent actor-training school in Singapore that offers a three-year full-time programme that trains actors through contemporary approaches and classical Asian theatre training. It is currently under the aegis of Singapore's

Committee for Private Education The Committee for Private Education (CPE) is an agency under the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and was previously a statutory board under the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Singapore. The Singapore Workforce Development Agency and Council for Pri ...

. Founded by dramatist

Kuo Pao Kun Kuo Pao Kun (193910 September 2002) () was a playwright, theatre director, and arts activistKwok, Kian-Woon. "Remembering Kuo Pao Kun (1939–2002)." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 4.2 (2003): 193–201. in Singapore who wrote and directed both Man ...

and current director,

T. Sasitharan Thirunalan Sasitharan (born 23 February 1958; also known as T. Sasitharan) is a Singaporean theatre educator and the co-founder and director of Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), formerly known as the Theatre Training & Research Programme (TTR ...

in 2000, the school takes in a maximum of 12 students every year from all over the world. The institute is currently located at 11 Upper Wilkie Road, near

The Istana The Istana ( eng, The Palace) is the official residence and office of the president of Singapore. The palace is open to the public and is where the president receives and entertains state guests. The Istana is also the office of the prime mi ...

within the city limits of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

History

TTRP was founded in 2000 by the internationally known director, playwright, and father of contemporary theatre in Singapore,

, and

. It started operations as a division of arts charity Practice Performing Arts Centre Ltd (renamed The Theatre Practice Ltd in 2010), with seed funding from the Lee Foundation and Sim Wong Hoo. It was located at the

Creative Technology Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singaporean multinational technology company headquartered with overseas offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Dublin, and Silicon Valley (where in the US it is known as Creative Labs). The principal activities of the compa ...

building in International Business Park and was later awarded a grant from the

Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respons ...

for the years 2001 to 2003. In 2003, the pioneering cohort of students graduated. In 2008, TTRP moved to 11 Upper Wilkie Road as an anchor tenant and co-founded Emily Hill Enterprise Ltd, together with four other artists and organisations. As part of its research work, TTRP also organised the inaugural Asian Intercultural Conference with the theme “Theatre Today: Seeking New Paradigms”. The same year, TTRP suspended teaching and training activity. In 2011, TTRP relaunched with a new name, Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI). In 2015, ITI was named a recipient of the National Arts Council Major Grant award.

Approach and objectives

ITI's acting programme is characterised by its performer-centred, practice-oriented training that emphasises intercultural work and original creation. It immerses students in classical theatre forms from Asia – such as

Beijing Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

Kutiyattam Koodiyattam ( ml, കൂടിയാട്ടം; IAST: kūṭiyāṭṭaṁ; ) is a traditional performing art form in the state of Kerala, India. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of ''Koothu'', an ancient perfor ...

Noh Theatre is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

and

Wayang Wong ''Wayang wong'', also known as ''wayang orang'' (literally "human ''wayang''"), is a type of classical Javanese and Balinese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the '' Ramayāna'' or '' Mahabharāta''. Performances ...

– and juxtaposes these intense interactions with Stanislavskian and post-Stanislavskian actor training techniques. The process of skills acquisition and recombination takes place in a plural, intercultural environment with a variety of languages, multiple cultures and a broad, inclusive theatrical palette. Its aim is to train professional actors and performers capable of working in a variety of contemporary theatre genres and forms as well as the creation of original, critically aware and socially engaging works.

Notable faculty members

Aarne Neeme Aarne as a surname may refer to: *Antti Aarne (1867–1925), Finnish folklorist * Els Aarne (1917–1995), Estonian composer * Johan Victor Aarne (1863–1934), Finnish metalsmith As a given name it may refer to: *Aarne Ahi (born 1943), Estonia ...

* Alberto Ruiz Lopez * Bambang Besur Suryono * Gopalan Nair Venu * Jane Margaret Gilmer * Kanze Yoshimasa (Japanese: 観世喜正) * Kapila Venu *Kuwata Takashi (Japanese: 桑田貴志) * Lim Chin Huat * Li Qiu Ping (simplified Chinese: 李秋萍) * Phillip Zarrilli *

Guillermo Roberto Angelelli Guillermo () is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the male given name William (name), William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manage ...

Notable alumni

Yeo Yann Yann Yeo Yann Yann (born 20 February 1977) is a Malaysian actress. She has worked in theatre, television, and film. Her credits include ''Singapore Dreaming'', ''Thunderstorm'', '' 881'', ''Ilo Ilo'' and ''Wet Season''. She is a pioneer-graduate ...

– Actor (Class of 2003) * Peter Sau – Actor, director, educator (Class of 2003) *

Andy Ng Wai Shek Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

– Actor, director, educator (Class of 2003) *

Miyuki Kamimura Miyuki is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Miyuki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *, "beautiful fortune" or "beautiful happiness" *, "deep snow" *, "beautiful snow" *, "beautiful reason for history" ...

– Actor, educator (Class of 2005) *

Sreejith Ramanan Sreejith Ramanan is an Indian contemporary theatre director, actor, theatre maker, researcher and theatre-trainer who has been described by the media asa versatile Indian contemporary theatre actor. Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he ...

– Actor, director, researcher (Class of 2006) *

Sankar Venkateswaran Sankar Venkateswaran (born 1979) is an Indian theatre director. Education Venkateswaran graduated with a first rank in theatre direction from Calicut University School of Drama & Fine Arts, Thrissur in 2002, after which he trained at Theatr ...

– Actor, director, producer, dramaturge and composer (Class of 2008)

Board Members

* Arun Mahizhnan (chairman) – Special research advisor, Institute of Policy Studies Members *

Kwok Kian Woon "Guo", written in Chinese: 郭, is one of the most common Chinese surnames and means "the wall that surrounds a city" in Chinese. It can also be transliterated into English as Cok, Gou, Quo, Quach, Quek, Que, Keh, Kuo, Kwo, Kuoch, Kok, Koc, ...

– Associate provost (student life), Nanyang Technological University *

Chew Kheng Chuan Chew Kheng Chuan (; born 1957), also known as KC Chew, is a Singaporean fundraiser. The first Singaporean admitted to Harvard College, he is known for pioneering fundraising in Southeast Asia and for his involvement in Operation Spectrum in 1987 ...

– Independent consultant in philanthropy; Chairman, The Substation * Tan Tarn How – Playwright; adjunct senior research fellow, Institute of Policy Studies * Winifred Loh – Director, LeadForte Consulting * Nazry Bahrawi – Senior lecturer, Singapore University of Technology and Design

External links

Official website

Class of its own: What makes Intercultural Theatre Institute different

References

{{authority control Drama schools in Singapore Educational institutions Higher education in Singapore