By SHAFIQUE DANIAL JOHARI

From as early as June right till mid-December this year, 10 talented creative minds had undergone a 6-month Arts Managers Apprenticeship (AMA) program specifically focusing on performing arts. It is aimed to showcase snippets of life as a manager of the arts and giving the apprentice an experience of being in a performing arts organisation. Upon completion, he or she will eventually gain fruitful knowledge and experience that can be useful in their daily lives regardless of what background they come from. 

On a recent peaceful Saturday, 6 extraordinary apprentices (4 could not make it due to unforeseen circumstances) together with some of the host arts organisations gathered at the rooftop theatre of Sunway University to share their journey with the team at MyCreative Ventures. The session started with Ali Alasri, MyCreative’s representative in charge of the program giving a short brief and introduction about the AMA program, what it entails, the duration and some other basic information regarding MyCreative Ventures and also the program. 

Then the time came, for the apprentices to take the stage and share their journey with everyone. Everyone had an interesting story no doubt, each one had their own unique experience as each apprentice experienced different host arts organisations. From theatre to classical and modern dance, everything was discussed there on that day.

However we at BASKL were intrigued by two persons a little bit more than the rest. One of them is actually an F&B entrepreneur and the other one actually is quite an established theatre performer. These two were Izat Izwan Idzian, 33 and Shahrul Anwar bin Sallehuddin, 32. Shahrul Anwar or his stage name Anwar Rusdini has performed on multiple stages across the country. On the other hand, Izat has his F&B business and his own animal and pet insurance venture. 

Anwar shared that he simply wanted to gain new experiences, he felt that his performing arts career so far has not really challenged him and through this programme he learned about teaching performing arts. “Through this AMA program, I had the chance to put together a syllabus of musical theatre classes for various age groups. This has given me the opportunity to learn from DAMA (DAMA Asia Productions) and to also understand arts education,” he shares.

On the other side of town, Izat had his stint with Revolution Stage where he had the chance to experience a full cycle for the staging of “Teater Ratna Kadhal” from the inception of the idea to staging it till the very end. “It gave me a holistic understanding of theatre production and the elements that must merge to create a successful performance. He also acknowledges the finer details into a successful production, “this experience was not just about the end product but also the journey, the collaboration and the meticulous attention to detail required in arts management. It solidified my commitment to the field and deepened my appreciation for the transformative power of live theatre.”

Anwar also mentioned that this AMA program must continue, in fact he thinks it should be taken outside the Klang Valley as well. “In states like Penang and Johor, they often have a variety of creative programs so they might need this AMA program to help spur the industry even more.” Meanwhile, Izat suggests for this AMA program to happen more frequently. “A higher frequency of this AMA program would allow for a consistent flow of fresh ideas and talent thus ensuring the program remains relevant and adaptable to the dynamic nature of the arts.”

The session ended with a group photo-op before everyone went back to continue the final laps of their Arts Managers Apprentice Program 2023.

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