Presenter Interview プレゼンターインタビュー
マレーシアの演劇・音楽を育てる
クアラルンプール・パフォーミングアーツセンター(klpac)
Malaysia
Nurturing theater and music in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac)
Joe Hasham (left),
Dato’ Faridah Merican
Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac)
http://www.klpac.org
Fifty years after Malaysia became an independent country, it is now the home of an increasingly vibrant development of the arts and culture with Kakiseni activities and new infrastructure for the performing arts scene, including art spaces being created in shopping malls and new theaters opening one after another. An organization that has continued to be a leading presence in this arts scene since it opened in 2005 as the country’s first full-fledged private sector theater, is the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac). The Centre’s building is a unique one once operated by Malayan Railways Limited (KTM) as a marshalling yard depot which was then renovated to included a 504 fixed seat theater and a 190 movable seat theater, a 100-seat free space, nine studios and a glass-walled workshop. The Centre is managed by The Actors Studio theater company launched in 1989 with the support of the infrastructure conglomerate YTL Corporation and the charity foundation Yayasan Budi Penyayang as partners. In this interview, klpac’s Joe Hasham OAM (Artistic Director) and Dato’ Faridah Merican (Executive Producer) speak about its programs that include the Academy for training young theater people, the productions mounted by its resident directors, inviting overseas artist performances to Malaysia, the klpac orchestra and other activities.
Interviewer: Ken Takiguchi [National University of Singapore]