Fayra Teeters

Fayra Teeters (Board Member since August 14, 2022.)

I was opened in Subud on April 16, 1969 in Berkeley, CA – Risa Toor, Vivana Brody, & Roukmini House were the attending Helpers. (Was I lucky, or what??) I was 21 at the time & going through a crisis brought on by the San Francisco State University student strike. Risa Toor was an arts-classmate and my best friend. Both the latihan and Risa pulled me through my crisis so I could graduate with a BA in Theatre.

I started acting at the age of 9 years and for me it was the same as praying – a potent devotional path to connect with God, whenever I was “in the zone”. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was a latihan experience. I’ve been affiliated with Subud groups in Los Angeles, Berkeley, Carmel Valley, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Seattle, and Albuquerque. I have always sought deeper answers afforded from Testing as to which roles or projects to pursue, fellow-artists to align with, insights as to solving problems that crop up during any project.

I devised a series of theatre exercises based on my receivings during my own testing on how to harness the power of an archetype, leading with different parts of the body, how to channel inner images into physical wisdom expressed in performance – and liberally shared these exercises with everyone in my Masque Alfresco company. I founded Masque Alfresco in 2002 as a purveyor of commedia dell’arte theatre technique, with Benedict Herrman as a founding member – playing lead roles. After getting our feet on solid ground, Masque Alfresco set out to become a fund-raiser for all things Subud, raising $1250 (?) for SICA, and $1500 for Subud Portland (over the years).

Also, over the years, we’ve applied for and received $500 SICA grants to mount theatre projects that otherwise would NOT have been possible. I am an experienced, knowledgeable grant-writer, with an 85% record of receiving grant awards – and would like to pass this knowledge on to up-and-coming Subud culture groups. I would also like to give workshops on how to start-up a cultural group and allow it to grow in good time – as I’ve done with Masque Alfresco these past 20 years. I would be thrilled to share insights as to how to bring the latihan into cultural expression.