Theater performances sluggish despite no banning<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): No banned theater performances but this year's
\nactivities were sluggish, albeit interspersed with some good
\nperformances.<\/p>\n
Putu Wijaya's Geer, staged at the Schouwburg festival was
\ncertainly among the best productions. With his group Theater
\nMandiri, Putu staged Geer, a tragicomedy on the death and
\nresurrection of the eponymous protagonist and snobbery in his
\nfamily.<\/p>\n
The play, which Putu himself wrote and directed, was first
\nperformed here in l982. In l985, the play was staged in Madison,
\nWisconsin, the United States, under the title Geez.<\/p>\n
The theme of the play focuses on an individual's struggle for
\nfreedom against the desires of corrupt people in a world where
\nmaterial wealth and powerful position hide a thousand flaws.<\/p>\n
In Geer which literally means roar or laughter, Putu has
\nsucceeded in depicting human anguish with techniques commonly
\nused for comedy, thereby letting the audience easily digest the
\ndifficult theme of the play while enjoying it as an entertaining
\nshow.<\/p>\n
Although Putu's presentation was not as good as his previous
\nworks, he was, at least, willing to help develop the country's
\nperforming arts.<\/p>\n
Another performance was Teater Koma's Cinta yang Serakah
\n(Greedy Love), the company's 79th production.<\/p>\n
It centers around the family of Triadi, the owner of several
\nlarge companies who never hesitates to justify his means of
\namassing more wealth.<\/p>\n
In Cinta yang Serakah, playwright\/director Nano Riantiarno
\ntried to focus on serious dialog and a sparing use of skits to
\ncriticize human greed and hypocrisy, as well as more down-to-
\nearth acting and character portrayals.<\/p>\n
Despite his great efforts to remain true to realistic drama,
\nthe audience may well have found the influence of Bertolt
\nBrecht's "epic theater" style, where members of the audience are
\nleft to grapple with emotionless acting, exhausting.<\/p>\n
In April, playwright Ratna Sarumpaet and her group Satu Merah
\nPanggung, staged Terpasung (Shackled), at Taman Ismail Marzuki
\nArts Center. The play portrays the trauma and suffering of a rape
\nvictim while protesting the male-dominated criminal justice
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
Ratna has long been pondering women's rights issues and the
\nproblems of a traditional society where men assume more dominant
\nroles. Despite some awkward performances and the absence of
\nexperienced actors, except for Ratna, the play was well
\npresented.<\/p>\n
A number of theatrical performances and monologues also
\nappeared at the November Festival. Teater Kubur and poet Danarto
\npresented Mengembalikan Kegembiraan Berpolitik. Ikranegara and
\nAbubakar from Teater Saja also presented some of their works, but
\nTeguh Karya failed to perform anything.<\/p>\n
In October, Indonesian theater aficionados held the 11th
\nNational Theater Forum in Taman Budaya Jawa Barat (West Java
\nCultural Center) in Bandung.<\/p>\n
The meeting, as usual, was attended by numerous prominent
\ntheater figures such as Putu Wijaya, W.S. Rendra, Jacob Sumardjo,
\nTatiek Maliyati, Suyatna Anirun, Sapardi Djoko Damono.<\/p>\n
About 25 theater groups from several provinces including West
\nJava, Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java, Bali, West Sumatra,
\nNorth Sumatra, South Sulawesi used the gathering as a showcase
\nfor their theatrical endeavors.<\/p>\n
Some theater observers and critics from neighboring countries
\nsuch as Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the
\nPhilippines also participated in the event.<\/p>\n
The gathering brought together theater people, government
\nofficials and those involved in the performing arts to tackle
\nage-old problems that have been hampering the development of
\ntheater in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The theater community hoped the government would stop banning
\ntheir creations. Complex and confusing bureaucratic procedures
\noften prevent local theater groups from developing as they might
\nwish. Unclear regulations over the issuance of permits for
\nvarious performing arts also cloud theater stages in the country.<\/p>\n
Continual financial support from the government as well as the
\nprivate sector is also needed to boost theater activities in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
In an era when the entertainment industry is dominated by
\nHollywood films, radio and television programs and video games,
\nmany people find theater less amusing and as a result audiences
\nare often limited.<\/p>\n
Theater groups need a lot of money to produce and perform
\nplays. Sponsors are rarely found as they do not want to risk
\ntheir money on theater activities, especially those which explore
\nsocial and political issues.<\/p>\n
Professional theater groups based in Jakarta like Nano
\nRiantiarno's Teater Koma, Putu Wijaya's Teater Mandiri and Teguh
\nKarya's Teater Popular have to work hard to finance their
\nproductions, to say nothing of theater groups in provincial
\nareas.<\/p>\n
The theater meeting discussed these problems and the committee
\nhas set up special campaigns to encourage the development of
\ntheater companies in provincial areas which are badly in need of
\nartistic as well as financial and managerial improvements.<\/p>\n
The government and art institutions in the country have
\npromised to provide these provincial theater groups with training
\nand scholarships.<\/p>\n
Other plans include holding annual regional-scale theater
\nfestivals in each of the country's 27 provinces to provide forums
\nfor local artists to perform their own creations.<\/p>\n
The skeptics, however, thought the plans would not work
\nproperly since the previous theater meetings had always produced
\na heap of suggestions but hardly any follow-up action. (raw)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/theater-performances-sluggish-despite-no-banning-1447893297",
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