Page 280 - Proceedings Collega2023

SARAWAK CULTURAL VILLAGE: UNDERSTANDING RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN AUDITORIUM DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE
STRUCTURE

Muhammad Azri Bin Ali* 1
Dr Atta Idrawani Bin Zaini* 2
Muhammad Qawiem Bin Hamizan * 3

1 Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Malaysia
2 Faculty of Built Environment, Malaysia
3 Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Malaysia
1 amazri@unimas.my
2 hmqawiem@unimas.my
3 izatta@unimas.my

ABSTRACT
The stagnancy of cultural performance structure in Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) since decades
ago may be influenced by numerous factors, including that of the physical limitations introduced by the
proscenium stage in its auditorium design. As a cultural village that prides itself to be the finest living
museum presenting portions of theatres with unique extravaganza, SCV could deserve much better
performance structure. We investigated the relationship between auditorium design and the
performance structure in SCV. Therefore, we embarked on the enquiry by observing other cultural
performance examples outside the state that can be used to understand the relationship, that eventually
may be applied to SCV. We first took Encore Malacca and Putrajaya Rainforest Show as case studies in
understanding the relationship between their auditorium designs and performance structures. The
established relationship was formulated as framework to theorize an ideal case for the auditorium design
in SCV for improving its performance structure. At the end of this research, we discovered that to
improve, SCV auditorium space need to update their seating arrangement, number of exit and entrance
for the stage and adding the latest advanced technology to incorporate with the design.

Keywords: Performance structure; Sarawak Cultural Village; auditorium design; theatre and drama.

1.INTRODUCTION
Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) is a popular destination among the tourists and locals to
experience the cultural diversity of various tribes in Sarawak. Quoting from SCV website, it is claimed to
be “possibly the finest Living Museum’ in Southeast Asia, (which) combines history, tradition, lifestyle,
and architecture with a dash of education and portion of theatre to create a unique multi-cultural

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