Page 199 - Proceedings Collega2023
P. 199
KLPAC building was an old warehouse. The site was abandoned in the early 90s before it was open
to the public in 2005 when The Actor Studio opened KLPAC there. KLPAC was also a railway depo and
workshop in the past, making the area far from other public buildings. Sentul Komuter train station is the
closest train station. Another train station is at Sentul Barat, also known as Sentul Wast, and there is a bus
stop at Sentul West. The distance from the Sentul Barat train and bus stop to KLPAC is about 15 minutes,
and the distance from the Sentul Komuter train station is about 10 minutes. Even though the walking
distance is more than 8 minutes, there is an attraction, Sentul Depo, that will be a place to visit before
arriving at KLPAC. The Sentul Depo is an event space. Some art events also have been done at the space.
The Yard, a restaurant, is also nearby. People can experience the historical buildings nearby while walking
around. However, the walking experience will be unpleasant because there are few buildings nearby, and
buildings in the area are warehouses, while Panggung Bandaraya has many things to watch around it. Thus,
the public transportation accessibility for KLPAC is not friendly and far from the performing arts building.
Most people prefer to drive to the performing arts space.
DPAC is in the Empire Damansara Mall. This factor gives the building more opportunities for people
roaming around the space looking for food, buying things, and enjoying the views. However, the mall has
fewer shops compared to most shopping malls. There are restaurants and cafes, but people must go
elsewhere in Damansara to buy clothes and other shops. The architecture is upstanding, but the mall is
different for most people. There is a bus stop at the Empire Mall. Despite that, train stations are remote
from the mall. MRT Mutiara Damansara train station is about two kilometres from the mall, which means
people will need to use a bus from the train station to the mall. Like KLPAC, people prefer to drive to the
theatre due to its accessibility. However, DPAC has better public transportation accessibility compared to
KLPAC. Soon, Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre (PJPAC) will be an alternative for theatre productions.
PJPAC is built in One Utama Shopping Mall and offers more exciting things for people. The public
transportation to PJPAC is one of the best since the train station MRT Bandar Utama is close to One Utama
Shopping Mall. The renting rate will be a crucial factor for theatre production still choosing DPAC since the
PJPAC rate is higher than DPAC.
Conclusion
Each performing arts space has its own objectives. Some are buildings for communities in the area,
the government’s policy, and some are business-oriented private theatre buildings. The characteristics of
the performing arts space attract different kinds of productions. Government buildings are more suitable
for most productions that align with government policies and guidelines. Alternative groups are looking
for a more liberty private theatre space since some of the work may be provocative for most audience
members in Malaysia. More performing arts spaces in Malaysia will be closer to public transportation. In
the past, most performing art spaces were built in abandoned buildings such as KLPAC. PJLA, PJPAC, and
DPAC are built in shopping malls, and most are getting closer to public transportation accessibility. PJPAC
is the best proof of this statement. A newly built performing arts space in One Utama Shopping Mall is
near the MRT train station. Before the Greater Kuala Lumpur MRT project, Istana Budaya, a Malaysian
national theatre, was remote from a train station. Most people prefer using cars to watch performances
there. The public transport accessibility will enhance chances for theatre in the country to get more new
International Conference on Local Wisdom of the Malay Archipelago (COLLEGA 2023) Page - 186 -

