8 Intercultural Actors Breaking Barriers
Seng Soo Ming: Making theatre against the odds
Sankar Venkateswaran: Artist and beekeeper
Regina Foo: Playmaker and facilitator
Peter Sau: Actor, director and disability arts advocate
Melissa Leung: Intuitive actor and dramaturg
Grace Kalaiselvi: Charting her own theatrical path
Felimon Blanco: Transforming theatre and policy
Al-Matin Yatim: Intentional and dedicated actor
8 Intercultural Actors
Al-Matin Yatim: Intentional and dedicated actor
Honing interdisciplinary craft over chasing trends
With the rise of social media, popularity and virality have become the new currencies. Matin observes that anyone can become an actor these days—it doesn’t necessarily mean they can act, but they can gain visibility and opportunities when they have amassed followers. The ITI alumnus who graduated in 2015 says,
If you take acting as just a way to build a
career around glamour, around becoming
popular or viral, my advice is: don’t.
Matin speaks from rigorous ITI training, which is physically and mentally demanding, but approaches acting as an artform, not a trend. “The training really lets you dive deep into the world of acting,” he says. “If you truly want to expand your craft and are serious about acting, then ITI is the place for it.”
And Matin’s distinct, intercultural training shows in his versatility. Since graduation, his work has spanned: animation in Super Mermaid directed by Thong Pei Qin, which toured to Manipulate Festival in Edinburgh; acting in Malay-language, text-based Hawa by Hatch Theatrics; and experimental, multi-disciplinary performance in Ho Tzu Nyen’s Ten Thousand Tigers which toured to Festival Theaterformen in Braunschweig.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Matin started working more in television. While the training at ITI doesn’t focus on acting for the camera, it sufficiently prepared him with the basic principles of acting—like understanding character and emotional work—and the skills to adapt. Today, Matin continues to share his unique skills and experience as a corporate trainer, voiceover artist and educator.
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