November 2013, Singapore – The actor training model conceived and developed in Singapore’s very own Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) will be the focus of an international symposium in Berlin, Germany, next month.
Featuring keynote lectures by international theatre schools, demonstrations by ITI teachers and students and presentations of work created in Singapore, the event will be an opportunity for European drama and theatre school teachers to learn about the unique intercultural model of actor training pioneered in Singapore by ITI.
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T. Sasitharan, ITI’s Director and Singapore Cultural Medallion recipient states: “For the last 10 years, we have faced different pressures to fit our programme into existing pedagogical and institutional structures for accreditation and funding. The invitation to showcase our work in Berlin is a validation of the intrinsic worth of ITI’s curriculum and philosophy.”
Sasi, along with ITI faculty members, Robin Payne Papazoglou, Philip Zarrilli, and Gopalan Venu, Master Teacher in Kutiyattam (a form of Indian Theatre) will be making presentations about their work in intercultural training.
7 ITI actor-students in their second year of training have also been invited to Berlin to showcase their training in Voice & Speech, and Acting. The 7 come from Bolivia, India, Italy, and the Philippines as well as Singapore. Lina Yu, a Singaporean student, says: “I am looking forward to learning about other acting schools and I feel honoured to represent ITI in this international symposium.”

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