Joe Hasham
Artistic Director (klpac)

Joe Hasham is co-founder and artistic director of The Actors Studio Malaysia and The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) as well as a director of TheatreSense. A graduate of the renowned National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, Hasham is a multi-award winning actor, writer, director and recording artist. His range of experience spans film, TV, radio and the stage. He was managing director of one of the largest film production houses in Malaysia, and his many accomplishments include serving as Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian Association of Advertising Filmmakers (PPFIM – Persatuan Penerbit Filem Iklan Malaysia) and Secretary of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia.

Dato’ Faridah Merican
Executive Producer (klpac)

Co-founder and executive producer of The Actors Studio Malaysia and The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), Faridah Merican is often referred to as the First Lady of theatre in Malaysia. She is on the Board of Directors at Ogilvy and Mather where she started her advertising career. She is also a director of TheatreSense. Besides broad experience as a teacher, broadcaster, programme host and national newsreader, Faridah has served various institutions including Majlis Akademi Seni Kebangsaan, Majlis Universiti Sains Malaysia, the Board of the National Art Gallery, the Board of Trustees of the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the performing arts NGO KasihSeni, which she helped launch with her husband Joe Hasham. She was recently honoured with the Cameronian Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the performing arts in Malaysia.

Christopher Ling
Director-In-Residence (klpac)

Christopher Ling trained in Drama and Theatre Arts at Middlesex University, London and with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. He is currently a Director in-Residence at klpac where he spearheads its Theatre for Young People (T4YP) programme. In his first year with klpac, Christopher directed The 100 Words Project, Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and The Secret Love Life of Ophelia for the 2someS theatre festival. For T4YP, he directed Ten: Theatrical Lightning Strikes Human Relationships and Love & Beauty: The Sonnets of William Shakespeare. He was recently received the Anugerah Seni Negara (National Arts Awards) Young Talent Award for Theatre Directing.

Nicole-Ann Frances Thomas
Movement & Vocal Work

Nicole can’t remember when or where she began trying to sing, dance or act. It was just a very long time ago. Since then she has been fortunate enough to have worked and trained with many prolific individuals in theatre, music, and dance that it’s overwhelming just thinking about it. Delving her skills in choral works like Handel’s Messiah and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, to operas like Puccini’s Turandot and Lehar’s The Merry Widow, and musicals like M! The Opera and Ismail The Musical, as well as tearing her brains out in complex works like Beckett’s Not I and Sartre’s No Exit, Nicole just wants to continue pushing the bar further for herself.

Nalina Samynathan
Company Manager & Stage Manager

Nalina was introduced to the world of theatre in 1997 when she went to England to complete her business degree. While there, she acted, directed and even dabbled in various aspects of technical and backstage work. She also had the opportunity of performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After a 10-year gap, Nalina jumped head-long into the theatre scene again beginning with a performance in the 24-Hour Project earlier this year, writing for and directing a play at the Short & Sweet Festival. She staged managed A Christmas Carol last December.

Ashraf Zain
Production Manager (klpac)

His involvement in theatre started as an actor in 2002 with Orang Baik in Universiti Malaya. Then on plays such as Tunku Kudin, an ensemble member in Artificially Intelligent: Improvholics Anonymous, Sybil (directed by Dato’ Faridah Merican), Kisah Gadis (directed by Megat Sharizal) and Jalan Mati (direccted by A. Qahar Aqilah). He has also directed a few plays such as Schizo (written by Idham Hadi) and Bilik (written by Noor Effendy Ibrahim). He is currently the Production Manager of klpac.