Taylor’s University now teaches performing arts in collaboration with the Actors Studio, KLPAC!

Taylor’s University to offer Malaysia’s first performing arts conservatory programme in collaboration with The Actors Studio.

The rising support from private and public corporations, general masses – as well as the steady rise of young talents –  are all factors pushing the Malaysian performing arts scene into realizing its full potential. Education and opportunity creation is the ingredient necessary in supporting the growing needs of the arts industry. The Actors Studio and Taylor’s University are working together to establish  a quality provision of a world-class performing arts education right here in Malaysia – creating opportunities for more promising talents to quality training. An exclusive partnership between Taylor’s University and the Actors Studio was penned in a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to co-create and co-deliver Malaysia’s first Performing Arts conservatory programme.

The modules in the Bachelor of Performing Arts (Honours) will range from Performance, Directing, Voice and Speech, Movement, Technical Theatre, Stage Lighting, Stage Sound, Scenography, Dance and Music to name a few. The teaching faculty is filled with figureheads of the local performing arts industry, experts like Dato’ Faridah Merican, Joe Hasham OAM, Mark Beau de Silva, Tung Jit Yang and Omar Ali.

According to Professor Dr. Pradeep Nair, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer at Taylor’s University, “This is a truly exciting time for the education and performing arts industry. Arts-based students are still being told they will not be able to make a comfortable living pursuing their true passion. Even so, more and more people are consuming media content than ever before.”

“The Arts have an important role in shaping Malaysia’s future through education – in schools, higher education, and in the context of lifelong learning as a whole.  Yes, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers are vital to the progression of humankind, but researchers also know that the birth of human creativity plays a key role in our success as a species,” he said.

The programme caters for both the local and international market, as Taylor’s University will actively promote  the programme in the ASEAN region, as well as other parts of Asia.

Dato’ Faridah Merican and Joe Hasham OAM, co-founders of The Actors Studio shared their experience. “For the past three decades, The Actors Studio via our Academy has been at the forefront of making performing art education available and has had a hand in grooming the creme de la creme of the industry today.”

“Starting the country’s first Performing Arts Conservatory with Taylor’s University is a dream realised for us and will put Malaysian performing arts well on the road to sustainability. At the end of the day, artises and art workers are the heart and soul of the industry and so, this is the single-most important investment that will ensure that the industry will continue to flourish in Malaysia as well as on the world stage,” they added.

What the conservatory has to offer

Upon receiving the approval by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), the Bachelor of Performing Arts (Honorus) will be offered under the School of Liberal Arts in early 2019. This conservatory programme will provide world-class training in the performing arts and all of its aspects, namely two highly specialised tracks: Performance Theatre and Technical Theatre.

The lessons will take place in flexible leearning spaces of Taylor’s University’s Lakeside Campus in Subang Jaya, as well as at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre in Sentul. Internships will be available at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), as well as Performing Arts Centre of Penang (penangpac)

To make matters more convenient, The Taylor’s Curriculum Framework (TCF), which was just launched recently, offers flexibility for students enrolled in the undergraduate degree that may opt to expand their studies by pursuing a minor or an extension in other fields of interest such as : education, multimedia broadcasting, entrepenurship and more.

For example, students pursuing the Bachelor of Performing Arts (Honours) may complement their undergraduate degree with Minors in Business, Education, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Creative Media Design, Psychology, Management, Journalism, Event Manaagement, Broadcasting or Public Relations, and Extensions in Music, Dance, Performance or Technical Theatre.

In a bid to develop talents in a multicultural Malaysian setting, the programme will also train students who wish to pursue a career in the regional performing arts scenario in the Malay or Chinese language.