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
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 co ...
(ITI), formerly known as the
Theatre Training & Research Programme (TTRP).
Life and career
For more than 30 years, Sasitharan, has been actively involved as an actor, director and producer in the Singapore theatre scene.
From 1983 to 1989, he taught philosophy at the
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in th ...
.
He was the theatre and visual art critic with
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...
from 1988 to 1996, where he also served as the arts editor for the ‘Life!’ Section. He had 14 articles ranging from commentaries on Singapore culture and the arts to reviews of performances, exhibitions, talks and catalogue entries published both in Singapore and overseas.
He then became the second Artistic Director of
The Substation
The Substation (Chinese: 电力站) is Singapore's first independent contemporary arts centre. It was founded in 1990 by Kuo Pao Kun. The Substation is centrally located in the city's civic district and was the first building under the Nati ...
from April 1996 to August 2000 before he founded ITI with the late
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 ...
in 2000. ITI is now a private school under the
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 ...
.
In 2015, Sasitharan starred in the segment "The Flame" of
omnibus film
An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...
''
7 Letters
''7 Letters'' is a 2015 Singaporean anthology drama film directed by seven different directors. It comprises seven short stories celebrating Singapore's 50th anniversary. The film was selected as the Singaporean entry for the Best Foreign Lang ...
''.
Personal life
Sasitharan is married to Kavita Kumari Ratty, an associate director at a university research institute. The couple have 2 daughters.
Awards and honours
In 2012, he was awarded the
Cultural Medallion
The Cultural Medallion is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography
Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating dur ...
, the highest award for the arts in Singapore.
Bibliography
* ''Lessons to be Learnt from a Cat''
traits Times ‘88* ''Advisory Committee of Arts and Culture Report''
traits Times ‘89* ''Vincent van Gogh’s Death Centennary Exhibition''
msterdam traits Times ‘90* ''Opening of The Substation''
traits Times ‘90* Adelaide Arts Festival Coverage
traits Times ‘92* Singapore Festival of Arts Coverage
traits Times ‘90/’92/’94* ''Art Here: What Price Space?''
pace, Spaces and Spacing. Ed Lee Weng Choy ‘96* ''The Boot and The Butterfly''
traits Times ‘96* ''A Bridge Not Too Far''
unday Times, Sunday Review Mar 98* ''The Arts: Of Swords, Harnesses and Blinkers''
.Koh and Ooi G. L., (eds.), State-Society Relations in Singapore, Singapore: Oxford University Press. 2000* ''Cultural Exchange and the New Asian Identity''
pressions No. 4 October 22, 1998, Hong Kong* ''The Relationship of Art Discourse and Communities of Art Practice in General''
ingapore Art Museum, ASEAN Art Workshop, Exhibition &Symposium on Aesthetics‘01* ''Visions''
elves, National Arts Council, 2002, Singapore* ''Capturing the World sub specie aeternitatis or Why Do Art?'' in ''Singathology: 50 New Works by Celebrated Singaporean Writers'', Editor: Gwee Li Sui, Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd, 2015,
* ''Why Dance? A symposium on the multiple trajectories of Indian dance traditions''
eminar, Issue 676, December 2015*
Special issue on ‘intercultural’ acting and actor/performer training' (Vol. 7, Issue 3) Phillip Zarrilli, T. Sasitharan & Anuradha Kapur, Pages 335-339 Taylor & Francis, 31 Oct 2016
*
Capturing the World — sub specie aeternitatis'
pringer International Publishing AG 2017, Published online: 26 June 2017,
References
External links
T. Sasitharan's profileIntercultural Theatre Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasitharan, T.
Living people
Singaporean people of Tamil descent
Singaporean people of Indian descent
Singaporean educators
Academic staff of the National University of Singapore
Victoria School, Singapore alumni
National University of Singapore alumni
Singaporean dramatists and playwrights
Recipients of the Cultural Medallion
1958 births