Afi Noor (seated) performing 'Can You See Me?', a new piece about a K-pop fan meeting her idol. Photo: Dominique Teoh
The inaugural Cipta Seni Incubator wrapped up earlier this month with a lively celebration, as the pioneering cohort showcased their works-in-progress at Five Arts Centre, GMBB in Kuala Lumpur.
Four Malaysian creatives – Afi Noor (34), Yee Heng Yeh (28), Ashley Marilynne Wong (29), and Kevin Bathman (49) – were selected to participate in a four-month programme that included workshops and both joint and one-on-one virtual mentoring.
Funded by the British Council’s "Connections Through Culture" grant, the programme concluded with 15-minute “scratch performances” from each participant. These showcase sessions allowed the artists to present portions of their work to a closed audience, aiming to gather constructive feedback for further development.
“We were fortunate to have such committed and enthusiastic participants for our first round – they were so open to ideas and suggestions, and really approached the incubator with the right spirit: of wanting to experiment and develop their ideas," said Sharmilla Ganesan, Cipta Seni Incubator co-founder, writer and arts advocate, who is based in Kuala Lumpur.
Wong, who is visually impaired, performed excerpts from her poetry series 'Late, Relate, Regulate, Articulate'. Photo: Dominique Teoh
“It was fulfilling to see each participant's journey in the past four months, and how much their ideas had evolved by the time they staged them,” she added.
The programme, which featured a series of online workshops, also had a strong British connection.
“I feel passionate about how important these types of programmes are for independent artists. They offer support, networks and focus. It’s been incredible to see how this programme has inspired such discipline in the artists to create and bring into life inspirational stories and ideas,” said Tom Curteis, Cipta Seni co-founder, who is based in England.
As an arts manager and producer of contemporary performance, he brought a unique perspective to the Cipta Seni Incubator. The collaboration also included input and discussions (sustainability, marginalised communities, etc) with arts practitioners from Malaysia and Britain.
'I focused on creating a compact performance for the audience,' says Bathman. Photo: Dominique Teoh
With the first cycle of the Cipta Seni Incubator concluded, the founders are planning ways to continue the programme.
"Running one round of the incubator has really shown us the value of having a process like this for local independent artists. So we'd love to be able to continue the programme, to benefit more Malaysian creatives. We're actively looking for both funding and potential partners who might be interested in helping us keep this going," said Sharmilla.
Seeding the diverse projects
Bathman, a cultural activist, presented a streamlined reading of his verbatim play, Emergency Wedding, which was brought to life brilliantly by actors Gregory Srikrish Ramanado and Krystle Lim.
Verbatim theatre is a form of documentary theatre which exclusively uses the words of real people, often taken from interview transcripts, and this excerpt was based on one of several interviews he did with Chinese-Indian couples in Malaysia.
"Condensing four interviews into one and cutting that hour down to 15 minutes was tough," shared Bathman during the joint Q&A. "I focused on creating a compact performance for the audience," he added.
'What made it even better was working alongside other creatives and getting feedback, so it didn’t feel so isolating,' says Yee about the project. Photo: Dominique Teoh
Next was Wong, who performed excerpts from her poetry series Late, Relate, Regulate, Articulate. At times raw and poignant, while at other times tongue-in-cheek, the poems were inspired by her own experiences in friendship break-ups.
Wong – who is visually impaired – recalls being forced to gesture with her hands when she performed poetry as a school student.
“I don’t normally communicate through hand gestures, so when I performed as a child, it felt hollow and inauthentic. I applied for this programme because I wanted the chance to just be authentically myself as a poet, so I’m grateful to have gotten the chance to explore different approaches I could use to make my performance more multidimensional – without the need for hand gestures,” said Wong.
Penang theatremaker Yee presented an excerpt of Rhino! Rhino!, a Mandarin play featuring Anthony Lee, Ashley Yap, Lee Chin Kuan, and Rachel Kong. The story follows a family's reaction to a sudden change in their son, with English subtitles adding context and nuance.
The Cipta Seni Incubator co-founders Curteis (left) and Sharmilla are open to opportunities to continue this arts initiative. Photo: Dominique Teoh
Yee has been developing Rhino! Rhino! for over three years, initially through Instant Cafe Theatre's FirstWorks programme. After hitting a creative block, joining the Cipta Seni Incubator gave him the confidence to keep pushing the project forward.
"There aren’t many opportunities like this in Malaysia, where you can really dive into an idea intensively over several months, with room to experiment and even fail," said Yee.
"What made it even better was working alongside other creatives and getting feedback, so it didn’t feel so isolating," he added.
Afi Noor closed the event with two poetry performances: Gold Teeth, a reworked piece about being a hijabi, and Can You See Me?, a new piece about a K-pop fan meeting her idol.
“I’ve performed poetry before, but it’s usually straightforward – just me and the mic. Cipta Seni gave me a safe space to experiment, use props, and engage the audience in a more immersive way," she said.
