The journey of local theatrical groups<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Opera Primadona (The Primadonna Opera), the 90th
\nproduction of Teater Koma, now playing at Teater Tanah Airku, an
\ninternational-standard theater at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
\n(Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature) recreation park, has confirmed
\nthe position of this theatrical group in the category of
\nentertaining drama groups of the past.<\/p>\n
Led by Robertus Riantiarno, 54, Teater Koma is following in
\nthe footsteps of drama groups of Indonesia's theatrical past.
\nSome 14 years ago, in a theatrical discussion, Riantiarno said
\nthat when he set up Teater Koma, he consciously imitated the
\ndrama groups in the days of yore, combining singing, dialog,
\nacting and humor.<\/p>\n
\"The secret of successful performances by Teater Koma, among
\nother things, is its imitation of the formula generally adopted
\nby drama groups of the past, like Dardanella or Bolero,\" he said
\nthen.<\/p>\n
As Riantiarno has revealed, his long-cherished dream is to
\nhave his own playhouse and to be able to give members of his
\ntheatrical group regular pay so that they will devote themselves
\nentirely to theatrical performances.<\/p>\n
This dream has in part come true because Teater Tanah Airku is
\nleft in Riantiarno's charge. This building is Indonesia's first
\nmultipurpose theater, equipped with special effects, laser beams,
\nlighting, acoustic equipment and stage mechanisms, which are all
\nof international standard.<\/p>\n
Few are as lucky as Riantiarno and his Teater Koma. With this
\nmodern theater under his charge, he can exploit high technology
\nin his performances to make his them spectacular with the
\ncostumes and setting sparkling brightly. Of course, the
\nimpression is that his performances will be oriented more toward
\nentertainment rather than pure art.<\/p>\n
'Recycle'<\/p>\n
It is simply a matter of choice if what comes out of
\nRiantiarno's creative processes are only entertaining
\nperformances, which may even look like rehashes of old successes.
\nThe late Arifin C. Noer, one of Indonesia's theatrical giants,
\nonce sad that it was quite all right for Teater Koma, which was
\nestablished in a city, to be oriented toward the commercial
\nentertaining industry.<\/p>\n
What counts is that Riantiarno is consistent with his own
\nchoice. It is clear that he realizes his position and knows well
\nwhat to do. Luckily, in today's map of Indonesia's theatrical
\nworld, all are developing in diverse ways. Teater Koma has not
\nimmediately been made a model and its formula adopted as
\notherwise there would be impoverishment in creativity and a
\nrecycling of performances.<\/p>\n
It is difficult to obtain valid historical records about what
\nforms theatrical performances assumed in the past, the traces of
\nwhich Teater Koma has imitated. Compared with other genres in
\narts, the theater in Indonesia is yet to have its own clear
\nhistory because documents available today are yet to have their
\naccuracy validated. Jakob Sumardjo, an art and historical
\nobserver, has divided the history of Indonesian theater into four
\nperiods.<\/p>\n
According to him, the history of theater in Indonesia can be
\ndivided into the Period of Modern Theater Pioneering (1885 to
\n1925); the Period of Modern Theater Awakening (1925 to 1941); the
\nPeriod of Modern Theater Development (1942 to 1970); and the
\nPeriod of Contemporary Theater (1970 to 1980s).<\/p>\n
After the last period, theater in Indonesia continued to
\nevolve and during the New Order era it was subject to stifling
\ncontrols. The scripts to be staged had to go through tight
\ncensorship and were sometimes banned. A prominent theatrical
\nfigure, Rendra, was even sent to prison because of a theatrical
\nperformance by him.<\/p>\n
More outstanding theatrical groups in these four periods,
\namong others, were Teater Bangsawan, Teater Stamboel, Teater
\nOpera, Teater Miss Riboet's Orion and Teater Dardanella Opera.<\/p>\n
Primadona<\/p>\n
In the beginning, the theatrical groups in days gone by were
\nnot managed by educated people and the stories performed were
\nusually long-winded. Then, Chinese journalists began to air their
\ncriticism, saying that these theatrical performances were not
\nneatly organized. These critics, such as Lauk Giok Lan and Kwee
\nTek Hoay, used a yardstick from Western theatrical books which
\nthey had read.<\/p>\n
Educated people began to manage theatrical groups. TD Tio Jr.
\nof the Batavia Commercial School, for example, established the
\nOrion group. Some of the group's performances were Black Sheep,
\nSingapore After Midnight, Saidjah and Barisan Tengkorak (Platoon
\nof Skeletons). Meanwhile, another theatrical group, Dardanella,
\nalso performed in its early years plays from the West such as The
\nThief of Baghdad, The Mask of Zorro, The Count of Monte Christo
\nand The Three Musketeers.<\/p>\n
At that time, influences from Hollywood were so strong that
\nactors and actresses were often called after famous Hollywood
\nstars, for example Shirley Temple van Bandung, Annie van Mendoet,
\nRoos van Serang, Douglas Fairbanks from Java and so forth. These
\ntheatrical groups also had their primadonnas, who were all
\ninvolved in rivalry, vying for applause, kudos, love letters,
\nbouquets and even biscuits and chocolate from their fans.<\/p>\n
It is this rivalry among primadonnas that inspired Riantiarno
\nto write his Opera Primadona, a play set in Batavia (now Jakarta)
\nof mid-1920s, a period when two operatic groups, Dardanella and
\nOrion were involved in tight rivalry and enjoyed their golden
\ndays. This play was performed at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ) in
\n1988. (Tuti Gintini)<\/p>",
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