Tamara makes her path in theater

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

That night, actress Tamara Bleszynski looked tense, rushing from her makeup room to the restroom several times. But when the gong rang three times, she steadied herself, entered the stage and transformed herself into Syarifah.

That particular night, Tamara took center stage at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, playing the beautiful, smart wife of Commander Cik Awang in a comedy titled Musang Berjanggut (Bearded Civet).

In the play, staged for two consecutive nights, she performed alongside experienced actors like Jose Rizal Manua, who also directed the play, Nizar Zulmi, Rachman Jacob and Soultan Saladin.

On the first night, she performed adequately but on the second, the audience loved her, unable to stop laughing and cheering.

"I always feel tense before appearing on stage; that's why I had to go to the restroom several times," Tamara said in an interview after the show while being congratulated by friends and relatives.

But it was natural, as other players felt tense too, she added.

The play marked her second taste of the theater world. In 1997, she took part in Julius Caesar, a drama produced by Jakarta Arts Institute's Teater Lembaga group and directed by Josep Ginting at Ismail Marzuki arts center, Cikini, Central Jakarta. In the play, she performed as Calpurnia, Caesar's third wife.

"But these two plays have different challenges," said Tamara, who is blessed with a son.

When playing in Julius Caesar, she said that she was adapting to the country's theater world, although it might not have been too difficult for the woman as she had taken speech and drama lessons while studying in Perth, Australia. At that time, she took part in several performances such as Shakespeare's Macbeth and Julius Caesar.

In the new play, which was staged late December, she faced a different challenge since the dialog was entirely in Malay verse, something really new to her.

Fortunately, her husband, Teuku Rafli, is an Acehnese while director Jose Rizal Manua is a native of Padang, West Sumatra. Both have a good knowledge of Malay verse and could help her.

Now that she has become familiar with these verses, she has grown to like them very much.

"You know why I like drama; because there is a process of learning culture and life," Tamara said.

Her husband praised her wife's hard work for the play.

"My wife is a serious person. During the two months of rehearsals for Musang Berjjangut, she often tried to memorize the verses in bed. She often discussed with me the content of the verses and how to recite them," said Rafli, a businessman.

Though Tamara has yet to become as experienced as her seniors, such as Ratna Riantiarno or Ratna Sarumpaet, one must admit that her acting deserves credit.

Following the successful Musang Berjanggut, she will again appear on stage in Cleopatra, due to be performed this April. In the upcoming play by Jose Rizal Manua, Tamara will be Cleopatra herself.

Born in Bandung, West Java, at Christmas 1974, she was given the name Tamara Natalia Christina Mayawati Bleszynski Pasya by her Czech father and Sundanese mother.

Starting out as a photo model in a youth magazine, she became a model for a famous soap brand. In 1996, she went into TV film production until now and has starred in many TV series like Doa Membawa Berkah (A Blessed Prayer), Wah, Cantiknya (How Beautiful), Opera SMU (Senior High School Opera) and TV film Jendela Astrid (Astrid's Window).

Her career has run just like flowing water, her philosophy in life. Her late father earlier wanted her to go into business but to the contrary, she found her love in acting. Once, she enrolled at Indonesia's Esa Unggul University's business development school but dropped out after only a year. Still, she could use the knowledge she acquired there to manage her late father's hotel in the Puncak, Bogor, West Java.

She has also stuck to her philosophy in her beliefs. "Before, I was a Christian, but now I'm a Muslim. Everything has flowed simply but I believe God's guidance is in everything," she said.

Now, deep down, the woman, who always wears perfume when she is in a sexy mood, has a wish.

"I'm longing to have a second child but God has yet to grant me this wish," Tamara said.