What is TERASIA?

TERA×ASIA travels Asia without crossing borders

TERASIA: Theatre for Traveling in the Age of Isolation is a collaborative project between Asian artists that started in 2020 in the wake of a pandemic. Artists based in different areas across Asia re-create and present the theatre piece “TERA,” first performed in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo in 2018.

The artistic plans of Japanese, Thai, Myanmarese, Vietnamese and Indonesian versions of “TERA” have a commonality; to explore questions around death, as well as invisible beings such as gods, buddhas, and spirits, by using poetry, storytelling, music, religious concepts and spaces.

– Who are we?
– What do we believe in, and where do we go?
– What is life? What is death?

While confronting such universal questions, each team brings original ideas and inspirations to create their version of “TERA,” reflecting the values and history of the people they encounter in their communities.

An open platform for multidisciplinary experimentation

This website showcases TERASIA’s international collaborative process in multiple languages. What will the project members encounter and discover through their distanced creative exchanges? Over time, “visible” outputs will be accumulated in this virtual space.

At the same time, as the nature of human contact is dynamically changing, TERASIA will continue its experiments to explore the “invisible.” In other words, the purpose of this journey is to approach the core of humanity shared across cultural boundaries, while looking forward to the day we can actually meet at the final destination.

As of 2023, the TERASIA collective consists of practitioners of diverse backgrounds from Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan. The project keeps transforming through new encounters. Therefore, we welcome participation from various angles, regardless of background.

Project timeline

2018.11
Festival/Tokyo18 In the City Performance Series “Tera” premier in Jodo School Saiho-ji Temple, Tokyo, Japan

2019.12
“Tera” tour in Tunisia for Carthage International Theater Days Festival (Performed in Tunis, Monastir, and Zaghouan)

2020.05
“TERASIA: Theatre for Traveling in the Age of Isolation” formed online by artists from Japan, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia

2020.10
Project presentation in two performing arts courses at Meiji University (Lecturer: Rina Tanaka)

2020.10
“TERA เถระ” premier in Wat Phalat Temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand

2020.10
“TERA เถระ” online viewing and artist talk with Japanese translation

2020.11
“TERA เถระ” viewing and presentation at Kyoto Art Center

2021.02
Project presentation at TPAM (Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama)
> Vietnamese artists join TERASIA

2021.03
“TERA in Kyoto” premier in Rinzai School Kosho-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan

2021.10
Project presentation in international conference & workshop A/R/P (Art/Research/Practice) 2021

2021.11
Online mini-fest “TERASIA Online Week 2021”

2022.05
Exhibition “Masking/Unmasking Death”

2022.09
Research and workshops in Indonesia

2022.11 – 2023.01
“TERASIA Online Week 2022 + Onsite” online and onsite in Yangon, Tokyo, Chiang Mai, and Jakarta

2024
Transnational Arts Festival “Sua TERASIA” in Indonesia