David Glass Ensemble set to make children the stars

David Glass Ensemble set to make children the stars

By Chris Brummitt

JAKARTA (JP): After taking their most recent work to over 40
countries in the past three years, David Glass and his ensemble
have recently arrived in Jakarta.

The multidimensional nature of their trip to Indonesia will
ensure a busy few weeks, including as it does theater
performances, many of which will feature Indonesian street
children, workshops for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and
an exhibition of writing and art work.

Residents of Jakarta can catch the ensemble's own work, Hansel
Gretel Machine, part of The Lost Child Trilogy this weekend (Oct.
30 and Oct. 31) at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) Arts center in
Cikini. The Saturday show starts at 8 p.m, while the Sunday show
is at 2 p.m.

The David Glass Ensemble is here at the invitation of The
British Council, Indonesia, in association with the British
Embassy, together with the main sponsor HSBC.

The following week will be devoted to assisting a group of
local street children in creating their own dramatic work. The
finished piece will then be performed on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 at
TIM, again with a Saturday evening show and a Sunday matinee.
After this, the Ensemble will split into two groups to perform
similar works with street children in Yogyakarta and Bandung.

These workshops will culminate in performances at the Bandung
Arts Institute and Benteng Vrederburg in Yogyakarta on Nov. 13 at
7:30 p.m.

Jakarta audiences can count themselves lucky to be having the
opportunity to see this British theater group: Last year's tour
of Great Britain by the same show drew rave reviews from the
nation's theater critics.

As the name suggests, the piece is based on the Hansel and
Gretel fairy tale. Glass uses this tale, featuring the birth,
rejection and eventual survival of two children, as a starting
point to explore childhood and its inevitable loss of innocence.

He says it is a very archetypical and mythical interpretation
of the fairy tale, concentrating on the child's experience,
adding, "There is a great deal written in newspapers about the
plight of children, but what we want to focus on is the very
center of it. What does it feel like to be that child."

The international success of Hansel and Gretels Machine rests
not just on the universality of its theme, but also on the highly
visual nature of the performance. Words are relegated to a very
minor role; extensive use of mime, live music and dance take
their place. Glass stresses that even though it is an
experimental performance, its human side is not lacking.

He says of the piece and the trip to Indonesia in general,
"Its really an experiment in communication. Globalization is
often to do with the Internet and technology. Whereas ... (what
we use) 'warm' technology is to do with theater, music, things of
the spirit. We try to cross a lot of boundaries."

In line with the British Council's policy of promoting
cultural exchange and cooperation between Great Britain and
Indonesia, Glass is not here just to perform this work. Drawing
on his experience of working with lost children (abandoned or
abused children) around the world, the series of workshops that
he and his ensemble are holding for NGOs and individuals who work
with abused children are equally important.

The aim of the series is to help them use drama and creativity
in their work with the children.

At the workshop held on Wednesday at the TIM Arts Center
titled Childhood Explored Through Play, Glass' theatrical
background was apparent in the ease in which he held the
attention of the participants, some 40 people seated in a large
circle. This was a workshop with games and role play, so
entertaining that those present applauded when Glass broke for
lunch.

Mayke Tedjasaputra, a lecturer at the School of Psychology at
the University of Indonesia, is experienced in individual child
therapy. She said she was very impressed with the mornings work,
adding that she had come to learn group-work techniques for use
in a planned crisis center for traumatized Acehnese and East
Timorese children at the University.

Glass, now 41 and based in Islington, North London, has been
acting since he was 16, having been born into a theatrical
family. Growing up in America during the Vietnam war and his
studies in Paris left him with a strong sense of the social role
of the actor, which he says has reached its climax with this
trilogy and the NGO work that goes with it.

Don't expect, however, to find a detailed examination of the
issues surrounding child abuse or street children in either his
work or the children's performances. Although necessarily
knowledgeable about these topics, he says that "issues is not
where theater belongs, theater is about the heart".

His workshops and performances for children are an integral
part of this social role. In Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta he
plans to work with groups of 30 to 50 street children who will
attempt their own version of the Hansel and Gretel myth. As much
as possible it will be the children's feelings and ideas which
will be voiced. He says that "the kids are the makers and
performers of their own work. We're really there to facilitate
it, make it look good and to make them feel affirmed".

He downplays the ability of this kind of activity to remedy
social ills, conceding that the "bottom line is that the kids
enjoy it". However, his and the ensemble's frequent return visits
to countries betrays a more than fleeting commitment to social
welfare.

After leaving Indonesia they are making their third trip to
Hanoi where they are still working closely with NGOs. Here, they
will assist the children to produce pictures and writing based on
their personal experiences, which will form the basis of an
exhibition at the performances and will later be used to make
educational material.

For the David Glass Ensemble then, the hard work has only just
begun. Thanks to the ensemble, a bunch of lucky Indonesian
children will get a chance to star in their own show, and over 20
Indonesian NGOs will get to learn new skills. And for the rest of
us? We get a chance to experience the many fruits of a highly
acclaimed theater group at the height of their creative powers.

Tickets for all performances and further information is
available from the British Council (Tel. 2524115) or directly
from the box office at TIM Arts Center (Tel. 334740).