Supermodel Tamara treads the boards in 'Julius Caesar'

By Elisa Tobing

JAKARTA (JP): Artists as famous and successful as Tamara Bleszynski rarely deign to perform in theater.

With their commercial contracts for TV films, advertisements and appearances, there is usually little reason or time for them to turn their attention to treading the stage boards.

In Indonesia, there is the added stigma that theater is considered unprofitable. Big business rarely sponsors theatrical projects.

Tamara, one of Indonesia's top models and now an actress in television dramas (sinetron), has turned all these perceptions around by announcing she will act in a stage adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

"I like to perform on stage because I know that it is the basis of all acting," she said.

Tamara is regarded as one of the most beautiful women in Indonesia. In addition to her stunning face, she has thick, lustrous dark brown hair. She stands 1.74 cm tall and has a lithe, sensuous figure.

The Teater Lembaga stage group, an off-shoot of the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ), offered her the role of Calpurnia, Julius Caesar's wife.

Directed by Joseph Ginting and A. Azuzan J.G., the play will be staged at the Graha Bhakti Budaya building at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), on July 11, 12 and 13.

The costumes are prepared by designer Harry Dharsono.

Tamara says her interest in the theater is genuine and not just a publicity stunt. The theater is not new to her as she performed in Shakespeare's Macbeth when she was a high school student in Australia.

"I was closely connected with the theater for six years when I was a junior and then a senior high school student in Perth, Australia."

Fellow cast members include experienced actor and comedian Didi Petet in the title role. Calpurnia may be an acting stretch as she must play a woman in her fifties living amid the intrigue of life in ancient Rome. But Tamara says she is rising to the challenge, completely immersing herself in Calpurnia's character.

Joseph Ginting viewed Tamara's potential not solely from her beauty. He says he was more impressed by her willingness to surrender herself completely to the role. He added that Tamara does not mind learning and will seek guidance from the director.

Tamara is not planning to give up her successful roles in TV series. She considers the stage performance will hope her hone her skills for her future acting endeavors.

"If I was stuck with TV films, I'm sure that my acting would not improve a lot, even if I could play in many TV series," she said.

Tamara was born on Dec. 25, 1974, and given the beautiful name Tamara Natalia Christina Mayawati Bleszynski. Her mother hails from West Java, her father from Poland.

Tamara spent most of her childhood in Puncak, West Java, and went to high school in Australia. In 1993, she returned to Indonesia. People of mixed Indonesian and foreign parentage often find it difficult to lose the Western lilt to their accents, particularly if they have spent several years abroad. But Tamara speaks West Java's Sundanese dialect perfectly and is a connoisseur of Indonesian food, especially cuisine of West Java and West Sumatra.

She began modeling almost immediately upon her return to Jakarta when she joined a local casting call for a shampoo advertisement.

"The advertising agency which tested me happened to have the Lux soap account. They chose me as their Lux soap model," she said.

She said the photo shoot for the Lux ad was held in London. Her two-year contract was extended, with a new location shoot in Malaysia. Her contract has since been extended a third time.

Last year, she was appointed a spokesmodel for Guess in Indonesia. Nadya Hutagalung, the MTV VJ who is also based in Singapore, later joined her in the assignment.

TV films

The public got to know her because of the much televised Lux soap ad and through her appearances on television. She was given the leading role in the TV series Anakku Terlahir Kembali (My Child is Reborn), directed by Ennison Sinaro.

At the moment she is busy with two serials entitled, Perjalanan (The Journey), directed by Arturo G.P., and Kisah kasih Asmara (Love Story) by Agus Ellas

Tamara, who likes painting, reading and swimming, also realizes that education is important for her future. She plans to complete a university degree before joining an acting school. Tamara studied English literature at Atma Jaya Catholic University and management at Universitas Indonesia Esa Unggul, but never completed her studies.

"I realize that school is important. But I have to defer my desire to return to school because of the ongoing TV contracts and several other activities," she said.

As a public figure and a beautiful one at that, Tamara is often the subject of gossip. She adamantly denies rumors that she was a girlfriend of Hutomo Mandala Putra, the President's youngest son who got married last month.

"Scores of journalists asked me to comment on Tommy's wedding. I told them the truth, that I am not Tommy's girlfriend and that I do not know him well," she said.