In the Press

Interview with Kalaiselvi Grace

'After 12 years in theatre, I felt that something was lacking. I was drying up internally. I was getting my theatre knowledge & training only though small courses and from conducting classes. But I needed to explore myself further. So I enrolled in Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) to pursue a professional diploma in theatre acting.

It was awesome. I was exposed to the theatres of the world. Noh theatre, Kuttiyattam, Beijing Opera, Wayang Wong, Kalaripayattu, Tai Chi, Capoeira, Clowning, Bouffon just to name some. I was in theatre heaven. All of us literally dragged ourselves up Emily Hill for three years and worked from 8am -6pm practising various aspects of physical theatre. I did lose 10kg. Most importantly the amount of cultural exchange and exposure I received from classmates and teachers from all over the world was a humbling, unforgettable and valuable experience. In short, it was the toughest but best part of my life.'

- The Guru

View article

Two new shows tackle topics of mothers and racial stereotypes

'Grace Kalaiselvi and Nur Suhaili Safari Wijaya, both single and childless, spoke to 12 mothers to devise their multilingual work of verbatim theatre, Mother I - Amma Naan - Ibu Aku. It runs from May 5 to 8 at The Substation Theatre.

The actresses in Mother I - Amma Naan - Ibu Aku met a few years ago while studying at the Intercultural Theatre Institute co-founded by theatre practitioners T. Sasitharan - the dramaturg for this work - and the late Kuo Pao Kun.

Suhaili, who turns 30 this year, had to drop out of the drama programme to help support her family of seven, including two brothers, three sisters and their mother. She works as a preschool teacher.

Kalaiselvi, 39 and a regular in MediaCorp's drama Tanglin, remained keen to work with Suhaili and thought of expanding on their mutual respect for their mothers.

Her mother worked as a cleaner to support three children and was not reconciled to her youngest's acting ambitions until she realised Kalaiselvi could make a living at it.

She says: "Sometimes you have this tension with your parents. You don't want to talk to them, but you don't know what they've gone through."

Suhaili says: "The piece is not personal, but there's a similar thread in all the interviews we've done. We see similarities in how our own mothers struggled."

The performance includes the stories of single mothers, women who cannot have children and women who have chosen not to.

All the women interviewed have been invited to the performance, including Suhaili's mother, whose voice will be heard singing lullabies during the show.

There are discounts for viewers who want to buy tickets for one or both parents and Kalaiselvi plans to have her mother in the audience too.

"For a long time, my mother has been asking why I don't want to get married and have kids," she says. "She'll understand why I wanted to do this project."'

- The Straits Times

View article

十指帮新作 探讨剧场人的奉献与牺牲

'颜橦则在2003年毕业于“剧场训练与研究课程”（现名为跨文化戏剧学院）。'

Alumna Zelda Tatiana Ng is interviewed in Lianhe Zaobao.

View article

Expanding the theatre scene in Kota Kinabalu

'Seng Soo Ming is a perceptive individual. The graduate – from the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) in Singapore – noticed something many did not soon after returning to Malaysia.

He saw a lack of theatre companies and, by extension, performances, in the smaller cities in the country. His professional diploma in intercultural theatre (acting) from ITI would come in handy in taking his theatre work further.'

- The Star2

View article

Talents in mentorship scheme shine

Alumna Zelda Tatiana Ng directs Inheritance by Ellison Yuyang Tan in The Finger Players' two-year director mentorship scheme, Watch This Space.

'One of the first graduates of the acting programme set up by the Intercultural Theatre Institute (then Theatre Training Research Programme), Ng worked with The Necessary Stage and Drama Box. 

... She enjoys the challenge of working with Tan's script about two sisters and the traits they inherit from their mother.

"After this, whether or not I get directing opportunities, I can give myself a pat on the back," Ng says.'

- The Straits Times

View article

Mystery behind origins of century-old Mount Emily villa solved

 An article on the history of Emily Hill, ITI's home, by The Straits Times.

View article

“Discipline and Diversity”: Review of Simplicity

'Simplicity, created by Argentine director Guillermo Angelelli and ITI 2016 graduating cohort of seven students, is a highly disciplined work based on a poem of the same title by Jorge Luis Borges.

The graduating cohort comprises students from Brazil, Hong Kong, India and Singapore. Drawing songs and tales from their own culture, they reflect and construct segments based on the text of the poem.  The performers seem to have mapped their experiences onto the poem instead of being led by it. This makes the interpretation a dynamic and lively one to watch.'

- Centre 42

View article

Artistic complexity in Simplicity

'[Theatre director Guillermo Angelelli] is in Singapore to direct one of three shows put on this year by the graduating class of the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI).

The independent arts school offers a practice-based three-year course for students. Simplicity, running from today to Saturday at the Drama Centre Black Box, is devised by Angelelli with the seven student- performers he has worked with during two previous trips here.

Simplicity is inspired by a poem of the same title written by the acclaimed Argentine writer of surreal fiction, Jorge Luis Borges. Borges was a pioneer of magic realism and has influenced both philosophers and writers of fantasy fiction. He went blind in his 50s and Simplicity tells the relationship between a blind writer and his wife.'

- The Straits Times

View article

Class of its own: What makes Intercultural Theatre Institute different

'In 2000, Sasitharan and the late legendary playwright-director-activist Kuo Pao Kun founded the Theatre Training & Research Programme to produce artistes who work interculturally.

It trained diverse students in classical Asian and Western performance traditions, ideally resulting in creations of works that might not obviously contain Indian, Malay, or Chinese art forms, but instead come from conversations between cultures and thus, often be more authentically Singaporean.

Sixteen years on and a change in name — to ITI — later, the school continues in its unique focus, setting it apart from most schools who often embrace specialised art-forms.'

- TODAY

View article

《一團和戲》

Alumna Amy Tam speaks on-air on 關於 Action about her upcoming show and her theatre training at ITI. 

Listen to recording