Putu strives to save theater<\/p>\n
By Yusuf Hartono<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Although performing irregularly, Teater Mandiri,
\na theatrical company set up in 1971, has made it to the present
\nreform era of Gus Dur, which is characterized by social tumult,
\nafter safely cruising through Soeharto's repressive New Order era
\nand the brief period under Habibie.<\/p>\n
How did it survive? Answer: By waging a \"guerrilla war\". This
\nis the strategy used by I Gusti Ngurah Putu Wijaya, a dramatist,
\nwho was born in Tabanan, Bali, but grew up in Jakarta. Better
\nknown simply as Putu Wijaya, he set up Teater Mandiri 30 years
\nago, while still working for Tempo news weekly, and has been its
\nimpresario since.<\/p>\n
For Putu, this \"guerrilla\" tactic means to keep appearing and
\ndisappearing, a hit-and-run of sorts. He has two effective
\nweapons. First, the philosophy of using what is at one's disposal
\nand the second, terror.<\/p>\n
Adopting the philosophy of using what is at one's disposal,
\nTeater Mandiri, when facing its limitations or financial
\nproblems, has never lost its resourcefulness, with regards to
\nproperty, human resources, funds and rehearsals.<\/p>\n
Take for example Luka (Wound), its latest play held at the
\nJakarta Arts House between March 23 and March 25 to mark the 30th
\nanniversary of this theatrical company. There were no glossy
\ncatalogs although the play marked the 30th anniversary of the
\ngroup. A modest leaflet folded into three had sufficed. The
\nproperty consisted of a used banner and sun hats which had been
\nrepainted. Even the Balinese-styled headband that Putu wore was a
\npiece of cloth torn from the used banner. Even the song sung by
\nHarry Roesli in the performance was used in Ngeh, a play by
\nTeater Mandiri at the Art Summit II in 1998. A span of three
\nyears did not matter to Putu.<\/p>\n
With respect to using old objects, once Teater Mandiri
\nperplexed immigration officers when it took a lot of garbage from
\nIndonesia to be used as stage property for its play, Yel
\n(\"Yell\"), in New York in 1991. When the garbage became part of
\nthe performance on stage, the Caucasian audience could only watch
\nin bewilderment, their mouths agape.<\/p>\n
Putu, who is married to Dewi Pramunawati, is now mostly
\noccupied with the shooting of his TV films, and did not have
\nenough time to drill his performers for Luka. At first he asked
\nthe troupe to rehearse by themselves, but the result was
\nunsatisfactory.<\/p>\n
Putu had time for a rehearsal only a few days before the play.
\nThat's why he was unable to inject fresh ideas into Luka. So,
\nthis play, which was once performed in Japan, was staged just
\nwith whatever the group had. Even the absence of the slide on the
\nfirst day did not matter. The audience were oblivious of these
\ninadequacies anyway.<\/p>\n
Keep changing<\/p>\n
\"Our philosophy of facing a situation with whatever is at our
\ndisposal is sort of our resistance against limitations. I believe
\nwe will never be free of limitations. To get through this
\nsituation, we need a working strategy. This is the source of the
\nlight that gives us strength,\" he writes on the leaflet for Luka.<\/p>\n
Putu, usually sporting a white cap, is also known as a short-
\nstory writer, a novelist, a screenwriter, a theater\/film\/TV film
\ndirector and a columnist. He believes nothing remains unchanged.<\/p>\n
Egy Massadiah, who has been with Mandiri for 20 years, said
\nPutu's works keep changing. Although they stage the same play,
\nthe performance is different each night.<\/p>\n
Egy added that Mandiri relied on the spontaneity and self-
\nconfidence of the actors on stage (even when a mistake is made,
\nit will seem right if the actor can convince the audience that it
\nwas right).<\/p>\n
The plays which Putu writes give room for such an
\nimprovisation. When Front was performed in Bandung, for example,
\na later scene could be moved forward and then moved back again.
\nFor such critical moments, the actors have to be always on the
\nalert. These critical moments are part of the performance.<\/p>\n
Singer Silvana Herman (Ario), who first joined Mandiri in
\n1983, added that Putu Wijaya did not teach a Mandiri member how
\nto act, but how to live. He teaches his members how to live
\nmandiri (independently), ready for any circumstances. Also, he
\nteaches them how to lead a good life.<\/p>\n
Terror<\/p>\n
Putu's second weapon is terror. He really enjoys himself when
\nhe can mentally terrorize his audience, shocking them to a
\ncatharsis. This terror can come from the theme of the story or
\nblown-up visualization in the style of pop art or shadows.<\/p>\n
For over a decade, Putu has explored shadows as his theatrical
\nidiom. This idiom was derived from the leather puppet shadow
\nplay. He was infatuated with this idiom even before he went to
\nthe United States. On his return, he intensively explored the
\nshadows through Aib (Disgrace, 1986). Before optimizing the use
\nof shadows, he performed his plays verbally.<\/p>\n
Lately, however, Putu has begun to doubt his skill in
\nintroducing mental terror. The country is now in the grips of a
\ngreater terror -- street rallies, ethnic conflicts, bombing of
\nplaces of worship, the loss of a spirit of brotherhood, and mud-
\nslinging and denunciations through the mass media -- as a result
\nof the multidimensional crisis that is sweeping across the
\ncountry. \"I give up. I cannot compete with such a terror,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
His fear of the street rallies in Jakarta, which he says is
\nthe real terror, had prompted him to skip a rehearsal. Once, his
\ntroupe, tired of rehearsing by themselves, took advantage of his
\nfear to get some rest. They told Putu that a terrifying street
\nrally was going on. Putu, in a fatherly manner, told them to end
\nthe rehearsal and go home right away.<\/p>\n
So, it appears that in this reform era, Putu and his Teater
\nMandiri have \"lost\" to the \"theater of the masses\" on the
\nstreets. He is not alone as other theatrical companies are also
\nfacing a similar situation.<\/p>\n
Putu has even admitted that he has lost his energy. In the
\npast year, for example, he has not been able to get himself to
\nread the newspaper. He would like to lodge a protest against the
\n\"grand theater\", but he would be powerless against the loss of
\nbrotherhood now prevailing in the country. His heart bleeds. \"The
\ntheater of the masses is too powerful for a stage theater to
\nfight against,\" he said.<\/p>\n
As for how the Indonesian theaters are faring, Putu said that
\neven before the reform era was ushered in, it was already on the
\ndecline. One of the basic reasons, he said, was there was no
\nstrong market in the country. There is a lack of people
\ninterested in mastering art marketing\/management like did Amna
\nKusumo and Ratna Riantiarno of Teater Koma.<\/p>\n
If this is a defeat, then this defeat should not make our
\ntheatrical workers disloyal to the vocation. Putu, especially, is
\ndisposed to continuously exploring his shadows in a guerrilla-
\nlike manner.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/putu-strives-to-save-theater-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}