Theatre of Others Training in

Bali:

Tasku Theatre

with Budi Miller and Adam Marple

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Theatre of Other’s Bali Training

Every artist in Bali strives for taksu. The Balinese define it as the moment when the artist completely surrenders to the form of their craft and God appears. This energy has many names and is present in every culture. Indians call it Rasa, the Spanish call it Duende, and the Yoruba call it ase.

Co-Artistic Directors, Budi Miller and Adam Marple will introduce you to the concepts of taksu and how it interacts with Western Actor and Director theatre training with Balinese Performing Arts Training (BPAT). This workshop will be in collaboration and consultation with the master teachers of Bali. This 10-day theatre training workshop focuses on activating the ultimate performance energy of taksu in the body and composing spaces to activate and contain this tangible energy. Participants will work daily training in BPAT: kecak acapella choral chanting, Balinese gamelan orchestra, Fitzmaurice Voicework; mask work; the Viewpoints; Budi Miller Taksu Training (BMTT), and Composition and Director Training. All activities and housing will occur at the GEOKS Arts Center in the village of Singapadu.

Accommodation

We will be living in the Singapadu village homes of the Balinese. This is a crucial element of the training because the social environment of the Balinese is unique and feeds into the training. The Balinese are communal and understand that it is human nature to gather and share. To be social is literally an act of prayer. This is an invaluable opportunity to live, research, and experience the Balinese culture from the Balinese family compound rather than as a tourist at a resort.

Book List

Taksu: In and Beyond the Arts, I Wayan Dibia

“Whose Body is Dis: Taksu, ase, Black queer intersections, and the awakening of the actor’s spiritual practice,” Budi Miller in Stages of Reckoning: Antiracist and Decolonial Actor Training, edited by Amy Ginther

You Are That, Gangaji

The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers

When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron

Staging the End of the World: Theatre in a Time of Climate Crisis, Brian Kulick

“The Viewpoints as Transcultural Pedagogy.” Adam Marple in Western Theatre in Global Contexts: Directing and Teaching Culturally Inclusive Drama around the World. edited by Yassi Jahanmir & Jillian Campana

About the Workshop

**BPAT: Balinese Dance Training**

Balinese dance movements and awareness are at the heart of physical training. The female dance form, pendet, known as the offering dance, and the male dance form Baris, the warrior dance will be integrated as the foundational movement patterns. Participants will begin to establish a physical vocabulary of balance, control, and proprioception that will deepen their understanding of the Michael Chekhov techniques used on BMTT.

Lead by I Ketut Wirtawan

**BPAT: Kecak Training**

Kecak is probably the closest we can get to a modern Greek chorus. It is 5-7 parts vocal chanting that invokes the deep cellular vibrations of the primordial traditions of Balinese ritual. Participants will train in Kecak and deepen their connection to tempo/rhythm while finding new vocal placements and physical stamina.

Lead by Ida Bagus Alit

**BPAT: Gamelan Training**

Gamelan training will accompany the tempo/rhythm training of the body. The gamelan is tuned to the body’s chakra system. The tones and vibration will continue to support the physical opening of the performer’s energy body. Having to keep the time and precision of gamelan music will continue to balance out the thinking, feeling, and will body of participants, and increase the ensemble's ability to listen and sustain an objective. It strengthens the ensemble and trains the actor’s objective.

Lead by Ida Bagus Alit

**BPAT: Topeng Pajegan: Penesar Mask Training**

While gamelan promotes ensemble awareness of the performance atmosphere, *Topeng Pajegan* is a captivating traditional form of Balinese mask theatre that develops the presence of the individual further within the ensemble. *Topeng* means mask and *pajegan* refers to it being a solo performance. It integrates the refined craft of mask-making, metaphysical dance gestures, storytelling, and gamelan to present a complete theatrical experience. Training in *Topeng Pajegan* introduces the integration of physical embodiment, cultural heritage, and storytelling techniques as well as the possibility of performing alone as an autonomous unit within an ensemble.

Lead by Ida Bagus Alit

**Fitzmaurice Voicework**

Fitzmaurice Voicework® is part of the daily practice. The release breath work of Fitzmaurice Voicework® was created by Catherine Fitzmaurice and influenced by the work of Alexander Lowen's Bioenergetic Tremors, yoga stretches, shiatzu, and reiki. There is an expansive release of the respiratory system, vocal tract, and accompanying skeletal musculature with the aid of physical ‘dynamic efforts’ and is where actors are introduced to the energy of the breath. Participants will begin to experience the power of a free torso while discovering the different passageways of breath throughout the body and how they connect to the imagination. Participants will be guided through a moment-to-moment flow of consciousness where actors surrender to their images and inspired inner voices while engaging with their inner landscape of the simultaneous expression of body and voice. Actors begin to tap into powerful impulses to harness in their acting.

Lead by Dr. Budi Miller

**Mask Work**

Masks show the important connection between body, voice, and embodiment. The Latin word persona means mask. The persona was a sonically projected image through the voice. Training in masks requires us to find the internal power of our most creative selves. Masks unlock the deep knowledge of the physical, emotional, and intuitive body, which directly interacts with taksu. Activating the energy of taksu opens, and frees the imagination to move past the linear experience of average thought rooted in personality or ego-dominated points of view. This is a unique opportunity to work with Budi’s mask training pedagogy. Many of the ensemble exercises are influenced by the work of Michael Chekhov who developed his techniques out of philosophical spiritual practices of the East.

Lead by Dr. Budi Miller

**BMTT**
Budi Miller Taksu Training (BMTT): Dr. Budi Miller, over 20 years of research and development, offers performers a safe environment where they can tap into parts of themselves that they haven't yet explored, as well as releasing the parts of their artistry that have been restricted while performing. Participants will integrate the practices of self-inquiry: the perception of the actor-self and the character-self and how they interact with imagination, performance, and the relationship with the audience.

Lead by Dr. Budi Miller

**The Viewpoints**
The Viewpoints are a vocabulary used to describe some of the specific underpinnings of the performing artist (actor. dancer, performer)—whether solo or in an ensemble. By training with The Viewpoints, the performer gains a set of tools with which to address the spatial and temporal challenges of a performance event. The Viewpoints are a non-psychological approach to performance that provides a vocabulary for thinking about and acting upon Time and Space. Using the tools of Tempo, Duration, Kinaesthetic Response, Repetition, Spatial Relationship, Topography, Shape, Gesture, and Architecture, The Viewpoints are a practical approach to creating staging with performers where the performer is canvas and painter at the same time. The Viewpoints do not act as a supplement to another training form for the performer, rather it acts to complement and empower the performer to think about the choices that they make to tell the story and embody the character. One of the quickest tools for creating an ensemble, The Viewpoints also act as a full body, voice, and imaginative warm-up.

Lead by Adam Marple

**Composition and Director Training**
Composition is a postmodern non-hierarchical approach to directing and writing using the elements of Time and Space. This workshop examines the theatrical event from the perspective of moments of theatrical time. Exercises address the process of developing a theatrical work through an internalized understanding of compositional principles in the theatre. Principles examined include Image, Movement, Shape, Repetition, Gesture, and Spatial Relationship—uses of Time, Space, and Action. Complemented by outside readings and discussions, this class provides the performer, director, choreographer, designer, or writer opportunities to engage with large and small group ensembles in the creation of theatrical events. Composition in the theatre is a matter of developing a theatrical language capable of expressing something integral about our lives. Composition as a practice is the equivalent of sketching. When we sketch we are recording our ideas for later development, we are testing our ideas, or purely pointing at expressive possibilities. Composition is a means of training but also a means of conducting research, exploiting otherwise hidden possibilities within a text or an idea. As we seek to express ourselves on the stage, we are confronted with the potential of the theatre to amplify our perceptions of reality, our interpretation of the necessity of fiction or tragedy, and our understanding of the text of a play. We are compelled to make use of the language of the stage as a means of satisfying our desire to express something essential about our existence. To be able to develop the ability to recognize and synthesize theoretical considerations of theatre in space and time will not only help the performers understand and use what is given to them in performance but will also introduce a way of working that allows them to become creators themselves.

Lead by Adam Marple

Dr. Budi Miller

DR. BUDI MILLER is the former Head of Acting at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne (UoM), Australia (the 1st black person to hold this position at one of the top 3 drama schools in Australia). He is the Co-Artistic Director of The Theatre of Others; a Lead Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework, a certified integrative studies practitioner; and an UNESCO designated master teacher of mask work. He teaches acting through Balinese Performing Art Training (BPAT) with Mask Work, Fitzmaurice Voicework, Michael Chekhov, Clown, Viewpoints, and Grotowski. He holds a B.F.A. in theatre from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a Ph.D. in Practice-as-Research from the University of Melbourne.
He has been an actor-director-writer-teacher in the United States, Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Indonesia since 1992. He is a Balinese mask dancer and the first teacher to bring Fitzmaurice Voicework to Denmark, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia.
He coached Michelle Williams for her Academy Award-nominated performance in Ang Lee's movie Brokeback Mountain; Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country: HBO, The Harder They Fall: Netflix, Ant-Man III: Marvel, Creed III: MGM, Magazine Dreams: Tall Street Productions); and works extensively with Julian Elijah Martinez (Wu-Tang: An American Saga: Hulu). He has had the privilege of coaching and inspiring actors in many mediums: Broadway, HBO, Marvel Films, Netflix, Showtime, major international film markets, and theatres around the world.
He has been on the faculties of The Victorian College of the Arts UoM (2017-2023), The Chautauqua Theater Company (2004-2018), and LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore (2009-2017). He has taught at Yale School of Drama, The Juilliard School, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, The Actors Center, Wayne State (MFA), The New School (MFA), SUNY Purchase College, University of Southern California, The Bill Esper Studio, Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts, The National Theatre Institute, Howard University, Western Michigan University, The National University of Singapore, The Queensland Theatre Company (Brisbane), Curtin University (Perth), and the Michael Chekhov Conference 2002.
He was the Executive Director of the International Antonin Artaud Fringe Theatre Festival 2008. He was a featured presenter at the International VASTA conference in Mexico City in 2010 and London in 2014. He was the conference director for the first VASTA conference in Asia (Singapore) in 2017.
Published Work:
“Artist Text” GABAN, (in process video Still) 2022, Brook Andrew, The National 4 Australian Art Now, 2023
“Whose body is dis: taksu, ase, Black queer intersections, and the awakening of the actor’s spiritual practice,” Miller, A, (2023), Stages of Reckoning: Antiracist and Decolonial Actor Training, Amy Ginther (ed)
“The Lion and the Breath: Combining Kalaripayattu and Fitzmaurice Voicework Techniques Towards a New Cross-Cultural Methodology for Actor Training” de Roza, E., & Miller, B. (2018). Journal of Embodied Research, 1(1), 1 (20:41).
Documentary Video: Robert Wilson and Budi Miller in conversation: 23 August 2019 (In this documentary video, Robert Wilson talked with Budi Miller (Head of Acting at the Victorian College of the Arts) as part of the series In Conversation at the Victorian College of the Arts.)
Adam Marple

ADAM MARPLE has directed over 50 productions and interdisciplinary works Regionally and Off-Broadway in the Americas, Europe, The Middle East/North Africa (MENA), Australia, and Asia. He has directed over half of Shakespeare’s canon and frequently adapts classic texts for modern audiences. He has written, devised, or adapted 16 new works. His latest production, Steven Gaultney’s Bright Light Burning, performed at the UN COP28 Climate Conference held in Dubai. The Earth Turns- a Climate-Inspired Performance for COP27, performed at the COP27 Climate Conference held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It was additionally released as an Audio Play to mark the opening of COP28
He is also the founder of The Sustainable Theatre Network, an organization dedicated to addressing resource management and practices but also creating sustainable models for creation without losing aesthetic value. Accessible as an Open Source/Creative Commons website (https://www.sustainable-theatre.org) dedicated to sharing best practices in sustainable theatre-making alongside a platform where organizations from the network each share their research and productions
He has been on the faculties of LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore, was a Senior Associate Professor of Theatre at Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP) in Mexico, and is an Assistant Professor in Directing at American University in Cairo. He’s taught internationally at the Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, as well as the Center for Cultural Decontamination (CZKD)- Serbia, Orvieto Sperimentazione Teatro- Italy, La MaMa Umbria-Italy, Kyoto University of Art and Design-Japan, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Chulalongkorn University- Bangkok, National School of Drama-India, Goldsmiths University of London, The American University of Beirut, and The University of Tennessee. He continues to mentor and teach composition and directing to students from the Yale School of Drama, Accademia Teatro Dimitri, The Juilliard School, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) amongst others in his own workshops.
He has been practicing and teaching The Viewpoints for over twenty-five years having worked with its founders Mary Overlie, Anne Bogart, and Tina Landau. His research centers on the expansion and testing of The Viewpoints as an Interdisciplinary and Transcultural pedagogy. He holds an M.F.A in Directing from Columbia University in the City of New York
Published Work:
Marple, A. “The Viewpoints as Transcultural Pedagogy.” Western Theatre in Global Contexts: Directing and Teaching Culturally Inclusive Drama around the World. edited by Yassi Jahanmir & Jillian Campana, Abingdon, UK: Routledge Press, 2020, Chapter 8.
Marple, A., et al. “New Narratives for a Healthy Planet: Creative Writing and Art Projects Reveal We Still Have a Chance.” The Lancet Planetary Health, August 2023, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(23)00144-4/fulltext
Marple, A., et al. “Applying 'The Viewpoints' to Multimedia Performance.” Global Performance Studies, 1 July 2020, http://www.gps.psi-web.org/issue-3-2/gps-3-2-2/.
Marple, A. “Does Singapore Theatre Have a Directing Problem.” Arts Equator, 7 May 2019,
https://artsequator.com/does-singapore-theatre-have-a-directing-problem/
I Wayan Dibia

I WAYAN DIBIA, born in the Singapadu village of Gianyar, is an artist and scholar specializing in Balinese performing arts. Trained in a family of artists, he has studied various forms of classical Balinese dances from different masters on the island. From 1970, Dibia started to experiment with elements of traditional Balinese performing arts to create new works for a contemporary audience.
His formal education and training includes the Conservatory of Balinese Performing Arts (Kokar), Indonesia Dance Academy (ASTI) Denpasar. He joined the faculty of dance at the Indonesia Dance Academy in Denpasar in 1974, received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council New York in 1982 to do his MA in Dance, and from The Fulbright Hays in 1987 to pursue his Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Performing Arts, both at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dibia has written several books and articles, both in English and Bahasa Indonesia. As a performing artist, he has toured Asia, Europe, Australia, and The United States of America. From 1997 to 2002 he served as the Director of STSI Denpasar. While teaching at STSI or now ISI Denpasar, Mr. Dibia has recently opened a house for performing art creativity, GEOKS, in his home village. From Fall 2005 through Spring 2007, he was a visiting fellow of Balinese performing arts at The College of Holy Cross, Massachusetts, to teach Balinese music and dance. In 2011 he was invited as a consultant to the exhibition entitled “Bali Dances for The Gods” at the Horniman Museum in London (UK).