'Wayang Ukur' enriches shadow puppet play<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
In flashes of colorful lights, the arrows fly in the sky, hunting
\ndown their enemies. The arrows seem to have eyes and wings of
\ntheir own, fully cognizant of where they are going.<\/p>\n
On the battlefield, two knights -- Arjuna and Ekalaya -- were
\nstanding face to face. They attacked each other, fighting until
\nonly one remained.<\/p>\n
The scene was part of a Wayang Ukur performance entitled
\nDurna's Trap by puppet master Ki Sukasman at the Purna Budaya
\nbuilding in Yogyakarta recently.<\/p>\n
The performance was intended to further popularize the shadow
\npuppet play to a wider audience.<\/p>\n
According to the show's production manager Bambang Paningron,
\npeople are mostly familiar with the classical Purwo (leather
\npuppets), wooden or Balinese shadow puppet shows despite the
\npresence of other kinds of shadow puppet plays like Wayang Ukur.<\/p>\n
\"We hope this performance offers a breakthrough,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that Wayang Ukur was a manifestation of Ki Sukasman's
\nrestlessness<\/p>\n
The puppet master did not agree that the shadow puppet play
\nhad come to its esthetic peak and could no longer be improved. He
\nexpressed his restlessness by measuring his puppets, seeking the
\nideal, secret proportions. In his hands, new varieties of puppets
\nwere born, which were then named Wayang Ukur -- with ukur means
\nmeasure.<\/p>\n
His creative process started in 1987 and since then, Ki
\nSukasman has staged dozens of Wayang Ukur shows along with shadow
\npuppet artists of different styles. He also featured this shadow
\npuppet play at the International Puppet Theatrical Festival in
\nMagdeburg, Germany in 2000.<\/p>\n
In Wayang Ukur show, the screen (kelir) and colorful lighting
\nwere attractively prepared. The audience could also watch the
\nshow in front of the screen, enjoying dynamic images created by
\nthe puppets and three performing puppet masters.<\/p>\n
Though differently presented, Ki Sukasman still blends the
\noriginal Surakarta and Yogyakarta style of the shadow puppet
\nplay, but giving his special touch, like exaggerating body parts
\nof each puppet character.<\/p>\n
At the recent show, the puppet master even included a dance
\nperformance, giving a different but fresh nuance to the shadow
\npuppet show.<\/p>\n
\"By collaborating with other art genres, this performance will
\nbecome more lively. Newly created puppets by Ki Sukasman become
\ndifferent on the stage. These inanimate objects will come to life
\nand the screen will look three dimensional thanks to colorful
\nlighting,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
But the show, which was also supported by Hibah Seni Kelola
\ngroup, was not solid, flat while the puppet masters, musicians,
\ndubbers and lighting people failed to work harmoniously.<\/p>\n
Every time there is a change of scene, the screen was left
\nempty, and the use of Indonesian in dialogs, which made the show
\nunderstandable to most audiences, disturbed puppet show lovers
\nwho were familiar with the Javanese dialogs.<\/p>\n
In general, the performance, which took three months to
\nprepare, was not as successful as its previous shows, like the
\none at Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta
\nseveral years back.<\/p>\n
The story itself started with Durna who was teaching the art
\nof shooting an arrow to the children of Hastina Kingdom at the
\npalace's yard. From far away, a young man watched the practice.
\nHe was Ekalaya, the crown prince of Parang Gelung Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Ekalaya wanted to study with Durna but rejected, since the man
\npromised only to teach children of Pandawa and Kurawa. Still,
\nEkalaya was not angry nor revengeful. His strong will to study
\nfrom Durna influenced him go to the forest and create a statue of
\nDurna as a symbol of Durna's presence.<\/p>\n
With this statue as his imaginative teacher, Ekalaya learned
\nhow to shoot arrows by himself. The result was astonishing,
\nEkalaya turned very skillful in shooting arrows just like Arjuna,
\nDurna's favorite student.<\/p>\n
Ekalaya finally encountered Arjuna, who was hunting in the
\nforest. Arjuna was surprised to find than an arrow struck the
\nanimal he was hunting. It turned out the arrow belonged to
\nEkalaya. Innocently, Ekalaya said he was Durna's student.<\/p>\n
Durna was surprised when Arjuna told him about Ekalaya. When
\nhe met Ekalaya, Durna trapped him, saying he would admit Ekalaya
\nas his student if he cut off the thumb of his right hand as
\nevidence of his loyalty to his master.<\/p>\n
Ekalaya followed the request but then realized he had been
\ncheated. Angry and disappointed, he knew Durna did not want
\nanybody to rival Arjuna.<\/p>\n
Ekalaya became angrier when he was told by his wife that
\nArjuna was in love with her and challenged Arjuna to the duel.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wayang-ukur-enriches-shadow-puppet-play-1447893297",
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