Past Teachers

Adelbert van Dijk (New Zealand), Acting and Voice & Speech

Bert van Dijk is a theatre director and pedagogue of international repute, who has directed numerous productions in a great variety of genres: mime, devised theatre, physical theatre, bi-cultural, inter-cultural, musical, classics, community and outdoor theatre. After directing a number of productions using the Michael Chekhov technique (The Greeks, Company, Salome, Othello, Metamorphosis and Agamemnon), Bert refined his working knowledge of the MC method at the 2004 International Michael Chekhov Symposium in Croatia. He has taught various aspects of theatre including voice, acting, and movement since 1990. He has a PhD in Intercultural Theatre from the Victoria University of Wellington.

Adriano Luis Basegio (Brazil), Movement and Acting

Adriano Basegio has taught theatre and music in various schools and universities for 20 years. He is the founding director and teacher at the Theatre School of Porto Alegre (TEPA) – Centre of Production, Research and Cultural Education, and the co-founder of theatre company Cia do Giro where he produced, acted and directed over a dozen of works that have toured throughout South America. As an actor, he has performed in theatre productions, films and television series. His professional training includes acrobatics, modern and contemporary dance, corporeal mime with Thomas Leabhart and Ecole Philippe Gaulier, and the Suzuki and Viewpoints Technique at the SITI Company. Adriano has a Bachelor in Art Education from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

Alberto Ruiz Lopez a.k.a. Beto Ruiz Lopez (Mexico), Acting and Movement

Alberto Ruiz Lopez has previously been a teacher of various modules such as Acting, Movement, Graham’s Technique and Theatre Language for Dancers at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. He is also a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher.

A theatre practitioner who has directed and acted, he was the former Director of the Company of Theatre from Jalisco. As a director, he has helmed operas – Verdi’s La Traviata and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas – and plays such as Dario Fo’s Un Dia Cualquiera and Alfred Jarry’s King Ubu. His work extends beyond his home country of Mexico to Poland; Texas, USA; and Colombia.

A multiple award recipient, Beto is a 2008 graduate of Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), then known as Theatre Training and Research Programme (TTRP). Beto also holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. 

Alessandra Pauri a.k.a. Alessandra Fel (Italy), Acting – Full-time (periodic)

Alessandra is an actress, physical theatre performer, director, choreographer, and teacher. She trained in the Jacques Lecoq method at the London International School of Performing Arts as well as studied Butoh dance, acrobatic, and clowning. She was based in London for more than 10 years as a director and performer in various forms including physical theatre, devised theatre, dance theatre, site-specific works, opera, and short films. She relocated to Singapore in 2013 and founded TheatreLab. She has collaborated with Maya Dance Theatre, RDG Production and has participated twice in the M1 Fringe Festival, receiving an NAC Creation Grant for her work Under My Skin (2017), developed under the Centre 42 artist-in-residence programme. She has taught at LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and School of the Arts. She is also a member of the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) and a David Glass Ensemble associate. Alessandra has a Master of Arts in Contemporary Performance Making from Brunel University, UK.

Bambang Suryono (Indonesia), Wayang Wong (b. 1960, d. 2020)

Bambang Suryono has been a classical Javanese and contemporary dancer since the 1980s. He first trained at the famous Istana Mangkunegaran in Solo, Indonesia and later with Indonesian dance doyen Sardono Kusumo. He has performed internationally in works by Sardono Dance Theatre and in the 2000s, his own choreographic works have been staged across Indonesia and overseas. He has also collaborated with Singapore companies Arts Fission and Chowk Productions.

His research about vocal expressions of indigenous people around Indonesia regions has resulted in a specific method of body training called Besur’s Technique. It elaborates and intensifies the consciousness of body sensitivity of actors and dancers to detailed movements through breath, voice and movement. A very slow tempo, refined, and flowing movement is the core of the technique. He has taught his technique in workshops around the world. Bambang has a Diploma as an Artist from the Karawitan Arts Academy, Indonesia, and a Master in Arts (Artistic Creation) from the Indonesia College of the Arts, Surakarta.

Daniela Carmona Pereira da Silva (Brazil), Movement and Acting – Full-time (periodic)

Daniela Carmona has over 28 years of teaching experience in Brazil and Argentina. She is the founding director, a researcher and teacher at the Theatre School of Porto Alegre (TEPA) – Centre of Production, Research and Cultural Education, and the co-founder of theatre company, Cia do Giro. Daniela is also a director, playwright and choreographer. She has directed extensively for the academic and professional stage and received numerous awards for her stage work, most notably for her work on Ghetto Bufo. Her professional training includes work with Irion Nolasco, Maria Lucia Raymundo, Ecole Philippe Gaulier, Thomas Leabhart, Lenard Petit, the SITI Company and the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. She also has training in the Michael Chekhov technique, mime, clowning, acrobatics, martial arts (Shaolin Kung Fu), classical ballet, jazz, modern and contemporary dance. Daniela has a Bachelor of Performing Arts by Federal University of Rio Grande du Sol.

David Zinder (Israel), Acting

A director, acting teacher and author, David Zinder served for many years as Head of Acting and Directing at Tel Aviv University and as the first Artistic Director of the University Theatre. His professional training began at the Theatre Arts Department of Tel Aviv University, followed by a BA in Drama at Manchester University and a PhD at the Drama Department of the University of California at Berkeley. Influenced by the work of Eugenio Barba and Joseph Chaikin, he developed his own unique system of actor training, ImageWork Training, which also has deep connections with the Michael Chekhov Technique.

Foo Shang Wee (Singapore), Taiji for Actors

A Taijiquan Master who has been teaching the art since 1969, Foo Shang Wee is a teacher-advisor who has trained under renowned Hai Nan Quan Master, Grand Master So Thing Xiong, as well as with other Grand Masters in different styles of Taiji. He has been a martial arts advisor in countries from Korea to England, and has instructed in Guang-Wu Club, Nanyang Girls’ School and Singapore Chin Woo (Athletic) Association. A holder of the Chuangtong Wushu 8th Degree Black Belt awarded by the International Wu Dao Association, Foo teaches fluently in multiple languages such as English, Chinese and Malay.

Goh Lay Kuan (Singapore), Taiji & Meditation

Mdm Goh Lay Kuan co-founded Practice Performing Arts School with Kuo Pao Kun in 1965. Trained in ballet and a former ballerina at Victoria Ballet Company in Melbourne, she was among the pioneers in Singapore to bring together contemporary dance and Asian dance forms. A distinguished choreographer and arts educator, she received the Cultural Medallion in 1995 for her outstanding contribution to the arts in Singapore.

Indira Salinas Pensado (Mexico), Voice & Speech — Full-time (periodic)

Indira Pensado is an actor, director and voice teacher.

Since 2000, she has conducted voice workshops in Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as Mexico. Some of the places she has taught at include Licenciatura de Teatro del Centro de las Artes, UAEH, Real del Monte; Centro Morelense de las Artes (CMA), Cuernavaca, Morelos; Laboratorio escénico La Rueca en Cuernavaca, Morelos; La Universidad de Sonora (UNISON) and Casa del Teatro and Argos Casa Azul. She also has served as vocal coach for several productions in Mexico for actors, and for personalities such as Cecilia Appleton (dance) and Juan Pablo Villa (music performer).

Indira trained with Kozanna Lucca from the Roy Hart Theater, with whom she has also developed a methodology for offering this work. She has also taken the following voice workshops: Intensive vocal training, with Derek Rosignol, David Goldsworthy, Anne Marie Letron and Judy Wilson, in the Roy Hart International Center in France (2001); Choreographic Theatre and Voice with Enrique Pardo and Linda Wise from the Pantheatre of Paris (2003); Harmonic singing with Robert Schwendeman; and singing lessons with Maria Huesca (2002), Ane Hegee (2004), and Verónica Ituarte (2008-2009). In 2009, Indira attended the VASTA conference in New York, where she took the masterclasses led by Kristin Linklater and Patsy Rodenburg.

She has been training in the Linklater Method since 2008 with Antonio Ocampo and Andrea Haring, and Kristin Linklater. She is presently a Designated Teacher at The Linklater Center for Voice NY, and is also a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) and a foundation member of Linklater Voice at Orkney, Scotland.

Indira holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Literature and Theatre from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Jane Margaret Gilmer (New Zealand), Acting and Voice & Speech — Full-time (periodic)

Jane Margaret Gilmer is an experienced performer, teacher, and director of theatre. She trained in the speech and drama techniques of Rudolf Steiner infused with the work of Michael Chekhov, at the Harkness Studio Sydney in the 1980s. Born in New Zealand, she has lived and worked with theatre internationally for most of her life. Most recently she spent the past 10 years teaching theatre in Singapore and lecturing at the National Institute of Education, an institute of the Nanyang Technological University. Jane performed with the Rose Theatre Company based in England for several years in the 1990s touring international performances of Shakespeare and giving workshops.

In 2008, Jane attained a diploma in Holistic Psychotherapy to deepen her pedagogical approach to teaching theatre. Her studies include the in-depth psychological work of C. G. Jung, particularly his work in psychological alchemy, and how this might be aligned with Steiner’s indications on Speech and Drama and Michael Chekov’s theatre technique. Currently, she is in the final stages of completing a book titled The Alchemical Actor: Performing the Great Work, to be published by Rodopi Press. Jane holds a B.A. in Theatre and Drama Studies and a PhD in Theatre from Murdoch University, Western Australia.

Jarrod Benson (Australia), Voice & Speech; Western Theatre Canon (Chekhov, Shakespeare)

Jarrod Benson has taught voice at the National Theatre Drama School, Melbourne University, Swinburne University, Northern Metropolitan Institute of Tafe, Actor’s Lab and the Actor’s Showcase. He also runs his own workshops and private practices.

Jill Brown (Australia), Voice & Speech

Jill Brown was formerly a lecturer in acting and course advisor at the Department of Performance, School of Communication Arts, University of Western Sydney.

John Clark (Australia), Western Theatre Canon (Greek Theatre)

Director and educator John Clark was previously the Director of the National Institute of Dramatic Art In Sydney.

John Saltzer (Australia), Technical Theatre (b. 1941, d. 2021)

John Saltzer, now retired, has worked as an actor, stage manager, stage director and production manager. He was for many years Head of Technical Production at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.

Kok Heng Leun (Singapore), Acting; Improvisation/Individual Project/Post Modular Labs; Individual Project; Workshops (Biomechanics); and Mentor for i-Perform (November 2004)

Artistic Director of Drama Box, Kok Heng Leun has extensive experience in Mandarin and English plays, having directed some 40 plays. He has established Drama Box as one of Singapore’s leading theatre companies, known for works that address social issues relevant to Singapore society.

Kuo Jing Hong (Singapore), Movement; Improvisation/Individual Project/Post Modular Labs; Individual Project

A choreographer, director, performer and teacher, Kuo Jing Hong has a BFA (Dance) and BA in Psychology from the University of Iowa, which was later followed by an MA in Theatre from the University of Exeter. She has performed extensively and taught movement and dance in Singapore and the region.

Leow Puay Tin (Malaysia), Voice & Speech

Leow Puay Tin has been an active playwright and actress since 1981. She was the first to play the title role in Emily of Emerald Hill in 1984. She has also worked as a journalist and taught vocals at Akademi Seni Budaya & Warisan Kebangsaan (National Academy of Arts, Culture & Heritage), Malaysia. She currently heads the Department of Performance and Media at Sunway University College, Malaysia.

Ma Hui Tian (China), Acting; Chinese Speech; and Director, Tiger Tally (May 2003)

Ma Hui Tian, now retired, was senior professor at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing and taught the Stanislavskian line of acting. He was the institute’s first recipient of their special academic award, and the Chinese government has recognised him as an eminent national expert.

Mallika Prasad (India), Voice & Speech

Mallika Prasad has extensive experience in teaching, training, independent  research, and filmmaking. Her professional career as an educator has spanned over 16 years. She was responsible for the inception of two arts and educational organisations and has taught at various institutes such as Azim Premji University, Bengaluru; the National School of Drama, Sikkim; and the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, Hyderabad University. In 2007, she founded the Actors Ensemble India Forum (AEIF), which she leads as its artistic director. Other than being an actor, Mallika is also an award-winning director. She believes that theatre and performance should be relevant, exciting and transformative. Mallika holds a Master of Arts in Performance Making from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Ong Keng Sen (Singapore), Director, Lim Tzay Chuen (November 2003)

Ong Keng Sen has been Artistic Director of TheatreWorks since 1988 and is now Artistic Director of performance space 72-13. Known for his interdisciplinary works, which have been presented at festivals and venues around the world, he directed the Tokyo premiere of Lear in 1997 to critical acclaim. Ong is the first Singapore artist to have received both the Young Artist Award (1992) and the Cultural Medallion Award (2003) for Singapore.

Phillip Barry Zarrilli (USA), Acting and Movement (b. 1947, d. 2020)

Phillip Zarrilli is the founding Artistic Director of The Llanarth Group in Wales, UK. He is internationally known as a director, actor and actor-trainer. His directing credits include Kaite O’Reilly’s The 9 Fridas with Mobius Strip Theatre at the Taipei International Festival 2014, and Ota Shogo’s The Water Station at Nordland Teater in Norway. He is Professor Emeritus of Performance Practice at Exeter University, UK, and teaches regularly at Intercultural Theatre Institute. His publications include Psychophysical Acting: An Intercultural Approach After Stanislavski and Kathakali Dance-Drama: Where Gods and Demons Come to Play. He has a PhD in Theatre and Drama from the University of Minnesota.

Richard Emmert (USA/Japan), Noh Theatre; Arts & Culture of Japan

Richard Emmert is a certified Kita school Noh instructor, who has studied, taught and performed all aspects of Noh performance in Japan since 1973. He has composed or arranged music for, as well as directed and performed in, numerous English Noh plays. He teaches Asian Theatre and Music at Musashino University in Tokyo, and is the co-author of seven Noh Performance Guides published by Japan’s National Noh Theatre.

Robin Payne Papazoglou (New Zealand), Voice & Speech

In a career that has spanned over 40 years, Robin Payne has worked as an educator, director, voice coach, drama trainer and actor around the world. She was formerly Artistic Director of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. Her exploration of indigenous theatre forms in New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Greece has led to her strong interest in multilingual theatre, which draws on the cultures and backgrounds of the performers. Robin has trained at Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art and studied with renowned figures in voice and theatre such as Cicely Berry and Jerry Grotowski. She also has a Certificate for the Advanced Course in Speech and Drama (directing/teaching) from Central School of Speech and Drama, London.

Sardono W. Kusumo (Indonesia), Wayang Wong

Since the 1970s, not only have the works of director, choreographer and filmmaker Sardono Kusumo seen acclaim in his home country, they have been critically received in tours to Asia, Europe and the Americas and at major international festivals. Formally trained in classical Javanese dance, Sardono has researched and explored multidisciplinary and intercultural pathways and worked with a diverse group of artists around the globe, whether it is the people in Bali, East Kalimantan and Nias, or contemporary artists such as Peter Brook, Arianne Mnouchkine and Eugenio Barba. His long-standing relationship with the villagers of Teges, Bali, has resulted in remarkable stage and film works. His environmentally-based pieces between 1979 and 1987 were the direct result of a relationship he had developed with the Dayak tribesmen of East Kalimantan. He has also created solo pieces for himself with Japanese composers Yuji Takahashi, Kauze Sawai and Takehisa Kosugi which have been seen in Jakarta, Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe. A recipient of national and international awards for his contribution to the arts, Sardono was formerly the Rector of the Jakarta Institute for the Arts (IKJ). He has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Gadjeh Mada, Yogyakarta.

Sim Pern Yiau (Singapore), Taiji for Actors

An actor and taiji teacher, Sim Pern Yiau is a graduate of ITI. He also teaches drama at Singapore schools, and has acted and directed for many theatre companies including The Finger Players, The Theatre Practice and The Necessary Stage. He is currently a Black Belt 5th Dan disciple of Grandmaster Sim Pooh Ho of the Nam Wah / Wu Tu Nan Taijigong system. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from the National University of Singapore.

Sirlei Terezinha Alaniz a.k.a Leela Alaniz (Brazil), Acting and Movement

Leela Alaniz is a Brazilian-born actress and Co-Director of Paris-based theatre company Pas de Dieux. Her career consists of a constant round-trip movement between the practice and the theory of theatre. With over 20 years of research in Theatre Anthropology and Corporeal Mime practice, she has directed several shows and has taught courses in California, France, Spain, the UK, Italy, Argentina and Brazil. In 2008, she directed a devised work, The Divine Wind and Tears Lost in the Rain, for ITI.

After a double major in Physical Education and Theatre Studies in Brazil, she received a scholarship grant to participate in UTA, a centre of research for Theatre Anthropology in Brazil. In 1994, she founded Casa de Artes BAKA, a multicultural arts centre, and for her direction and management she received the coveted SATED prize.

Leela has two Masters, one in Performing Arts from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis and the other in Research for Theatre and Performing Arts from Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3. Her masters thesis concerning “The dynamo-rhythm of Etienne Decroux” was published in Mime Journal, Pomona College (California). She also has a Doctorate in Theatre Studies from Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3. Her doctoral dissertation entitled “The Thinking Body, the Dancing Mind – The Actor in his Quest for the Lost Unity” will be published by Editions Deuxième Époque (Paris) in 2019.

Sumit Mandal (Malaysia), Seminars on Southeast Asia

Sumit K. Mandal is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, a recipient of the Asian Public Intellectuals (API) Fellowship, and a member of the advisory board of the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia. He is an author of many articles on his area of research, which is cultural diversity with a focus on Southeast Asia, in particular the connections of its Muslim societies with the Indian Ocean world. He is also interested in contemporary cultural politics, especially language, identity and the arts.

Tan Li-Erh Sharon Maria (aka Sharon Tan) (Singapore), Taiji for Actors

Sharon is a practitioner and instructor in traditional Taiji Gong, who has been teaching since 2007. Certified by the World Nam Wah Taiji Gong Association, a member of the Nam Wah Pai Federation established by Grandmaster Sim Pooh Ho in 1964, she continually pursues training and study in the art with Grandmaster Sim, a lineage holder disciple of the renowned late great Master Wu Tu Nan of Beijing. Sharon is also a writer by training and has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Trinity Western University.

Terence Crawford (Australia), Acting; Directing; Improvisation/Individual Project/Post Modular Labs; Individual Project; Western theatre Canon (Chekhov, Shakespeare)

A freelance actor, director and lecturer, Terence Crawford was the former Head of Acting at Theatre Nepean, University of Western Sydney.

T. R. Sooraj (Sooraj Nambiar) (India), Kutiyattam

T. R. Sooraj was initiated into Kuttiyatam at the age of nine by Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar. He has performed widely within India and overseas. He presently works as a Kutiyattam artist at Natanakairali performing leading roles in the traditional works as well as newly composed Kutiyattam plays.

Uichiro Fueda (Japan), Workshops (Suzuki Method of Actor Training); and Director, Hamletmachine (July 2008)

Uichiro Fueda performed with the Suzuki Company of Toga and was instrumental in the formulation of the Suzuki Method of Actor Training. In 1998 he established the Uichiro Fueda Theatre Office. Since then, he has composed, directed and performed in numerous productions. He is the author of The Principal Theory of 21st Century Theatre.

William Sun Hui Zhu (China), Western Theatre Canon (Brecht); Arts & Culture of China; and Director, The Caucasian Chalk Circle (May 2005)

William Sun is a playwright, director and author, who has also taught extensively in China and the USA. He is Vice-President at Shanghai Theatre Academy and a contributing editor to TDR. His books include The Fourth Wall: Structures and Deconstructions of Theatre, Clash of Civilisations and Conflict on Stage and Performance and Image Making.

Yoo Jeung Sook (Korea), Movement

Yoo Jeung Sook is a Korean actor, director and researcher with interests in traditional Korean aesthetics and its application to acting. She is a co-founder of Theatre P’yut, which explores Asian perspectives in relation to its intercultural and interdisciplinary approaches to theatre-making. As an actor, she has performed in Playing ‘the Maids’ and 4.48 Psychosis. Her practice includes DahnHak, a form of Korean meditation, traditional Korean dance and Phillip Zarrilli’s psychophysical performer training method. She has taught at East 15 Acting School, University of Essex, UK, as Head of its BA World Performance Course. She has a PhD in Performance Practice from the University of Exeter.  

Yu Xiang (China), Beijing Opera – Full-time (periodic)

Yu Xiang teaches at Shanghai Theatre Academy, covering modules such as Selected Performance Pieces (Acting), Physical Training, and Sparring Techniques (Martial Arts). He has won awards for his work as an outstanding teacher. Yu Xiang has a Bachelor's degree in Performance from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in China.