‘SEASONAL’ THEATRE PERFORMANCES SLOW DOWN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

With a theatre performance slated for next month, Sakrani Shamsuddin makes sure he is at the venue at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka building here at 10 am daily to oversee the production works including preparing the props and costumes.

Assisted by several members of the production crew, he only returns home late at night after supervising the rehearsals and training sessions for the cast.

The 56-year-old president of the Malaysian Theatre Association said his currently busy daily routine is a far cry from what it was like five months ago when the local performing arts scene was quiet and still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since mid-July I’ve been busy with the preparations for our forthcoming production ‘Lantai T. Pinkie’. Just before this, I was busy with the staging of our monodrama titled ‘Kopi Pangku’,” he told Bernama.

Both the shows are produced by Sakrani who is also kept busy attending various meetings related to performing arts or being part of a jury to judge theatre productions.

“I am not the only one who is busy. You can ask any theatre practitioner… an actor or a crew member, they have all been busy since mid-June (this year). This will go on until mid-October as various stage activities have been planned for this period. In comparison, the January to May period was dull… it was difficult to see even one theatre performance a month,” he said.

Sakrani expects the months following Oct 15 to be relatively “dry” as well, given the seasonal nature of Malaysian theatre productions.    

WHY SEASONAL?

Nevertheless, Sakrani, who has been involved in performing arts for over 30 years, said he is pleased the industry is showing signs of recovery as it was badly hit by the pandemic.  

It was reported in April 2021 that the culture and arts industry suffered losses of nearly RM85 million over the previous 12 months due to the movement restrictions imposed during the pandemic to stem the spread of COVID-19.

However, expressing his concern over the seasonal nature of theatre productions, Sakrani said a full revival of the industry is nowhere on the horizon if the stage is active only during certain parts of the year instead of all year round.

“There is a reason why the theatre scene is active right now. (This is because) We just received the cultural sector matching grant (from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture) which is given to us as a one-off payment to organise stage activities,” he said, adding that applications for the funding have to be submitted every year.

“Usually, the money is channelled to the successful applicants (theatre associations or arts companies) around May so that’s why we’re busy with stage productions from June up to Oct 15, which is the cut-off date for staging our shows as we have to submit a report to the ministry.”

The cultural sector matching grant (GSSK) is an initiative under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s Tourism Recovery Plan to ensure the nation’s cultural and arts ecosystem remains competitive in line with Malaysia Madani’s core goals and values.

This year alone, the ministry approved an allocation totalling RM9.675 million for 127 GSSK applicants.

DIFFICULT TO SECURE SPONSORS

Asked why theatre practitioners were overly dependent on GSSK with seemingly no avenue for other types of funding to enable them to stage performances throughout the year, Sakrani said there were other incentives for them but the capacity for applications is quite limited while the amounts given are small.   

“Besides GSSK, we can also apply for funds from JKKN (Department of Arts and Culture) but we can’t request for more than RM15,000.

“We can also apply (for funds) under the Think City programme. Under this, the government provides an allocation to a specific organisation from which we arts practitioners have to apply for funds. However, their criteria and requirement for a lot of documentation make it difficult for us to apply. The same goes for Yayasan Hasanah.   

“We used to get funds from CENDANA (Cultural Economy Development Agency) but no more as this year the agency is focusing on the music industry. So that’s why we have to depend on GSSK to revive our industry,” he explained.

He hoped the authorities would review the GSSK conditions and allow them to stage their productions till the year-end, adding that this would stimulate the growth of the theatre arts sector.  

He also hoped the GSSK could be given to them in the form of a long-term grant that can last them for up to five years, for example. This is to enable the sector to stabilise and generate returns that can be used to drive the theatre arts scene.

“Right now we are not even sure if we will continue receiving the grant next year. Moreover, the GSSK grant was reduced to RM300,000 from RM500,000 previously,” he said, adding it is also difficult to get sponsors for Malay theatre productions.

“Sponsors prefer to support English theatre as the latter practices a more liberal performance concept… this is because it’s not bound to the National Cultural Policy.”  

ISSUE FUNDS EARLIER IN THE YEAR

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Cultural Centre director Dr Norzuraina Mohd Nor said the government should release the GSSK funds earlier in the year as well as offer other alternatives to help those involved in the performing arts industry.

“When the grants are released in May, then all the shows have to be held between June and October. This is a positive thing but then our theatre-going crowd is quite small, so when the shows are held at around the same time they have to pick and choose which play they want to watch,” said Norzuraina, a theatre activist who goes by the pen name Ayudez Zuraina.

Dr Norzuraina Mohd Nor

She, however, sees a bright future for the local theatre scene based on several factors, among them being the support of the government through the National Cultural Policy 2021.

She also noted a rising interest in theatre productions among Malaysians.

“Different types of theatre have emerged like experimental, theatrical and so on. In fact, arts activists have started thinking of strategies such as getting mainstream artistes (television stars and singers) involved in helping to promote and encourage more people to watch their productions,” she said.

She added collaborations between educated youths and experienced activists have led to the making of high-quality stage productions, describing them as a starting point in shaping performing arts into a competitive industry.   

Head of the Bachelor of Theatre (Directing) programme at the Faculty of Theatre, National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA) Mohd Shahrul Mizad Asari, meanwhile, said the theatre arts sector can be nourished by exposing children to it in school.  

“Performing arts shouldn’t be seen merely from an entertainment point of view. The application of knowledge of the arts can actually train (children) to be more creative and improve their thinking power as well as shape their personality and instil positive values into them,” he added.  

Translated by Rema Nambiar