Going for laughs is a drag for 'Tessy'

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

On stage, it's the Hell's Angels look -- all leather from the boots to the hat, and metal chains worn as accessories. The twist is that he acts like a "she", a shrewd, shrill coquette who will do anything to get a man's attention.

The full, grandiose, breath-taking stage name is Tessy Wahyuni Riwayati Hartati Kabul, but almost everyone knows him simply as Tessy.

In real life, the cross-dressing, lisping Tessy is Kabul Basuki, a father of three and grandfather of six, a down-to-earth Javanese man whose main objective is to raise his offspring and make sure they lead comfortable lives.

Many have credited the transvestite character of Tessy, accompanied by her annoying bag of tricks, with breathing life back into the traditional comedy group Srimulat, now a prime-time staple every Friday on the private TV station Indosiar after several dark years when it was in danger of being eclipsed by younger comedians.

Kabul said that it was working as a team that kept the audience in their seats and had them coming back for more.

"I need my team, whether the team works or not, it is the audience who judges us," he said.

Kabul did not pluck his stage name out of the air.

"It came about spontaneously when I found the character and the identity. The name just came into my head. In fact, it's my daughter's name," said the 58-year-old Kabul.

It was in 1980, a year after he joined the popular comedy group, in Surabaya, East Java, that he decided by himself who Tessy would be.

"I found it (the character) myself without first consulting the director because I knew if I consulted him, he would never allow me to try it," said Kabul.

He was to play a hansip (civilian guard) but before his scene, Kabul snuck into an old bathroom where he applied his make-up.

"I hid in the bathroom until I was called on stage. The audience applauded and my director was stunned," he said.

"One can find any kind of character in Srimulat, from the transvestite figure to the smart-looking character. As I've decided to devote myself totally to this profession, I had to think what I could do to be noticed."

The successful debut of the stage Tessy, owing much to the ludruk transvestite performer tradition of East Java, was slightly costly on a personal level as his daughter, five years old at the time, did not want to go to school because she was so ashamed by her namesake.

Today, the grown-up Tessy is proud of her father.

"If we go out together and someone calls out Tessy, we turn around together," Kabul said.

He explained that he chose a life on stage simply to feed his family, but he had displayed no special talent as an entertainer when growing up. He said determination helped him succeed.

Born into a poor family in Banyuwangi, East Java, Kabul said he had no option after finishing school but to join the Navy.

"That was probably in my blood from my father," said Kabul, who was born shortly after his soldier father died.

He was sent to Surabaya to live with his uncle and work in the city, but he realized that he did not have much to offer a workplace with his limited educational background.

And he could only stand the discipline of the military for two years.

"I didn't know what to do and at the same time I still had to eat, so I had to act," he said.

In 1963 he joined a theater group in Surabaya, at a starting salary of Rp 75.

He became part of Srimulat in 1979, working with veteran comedians and competing with them to survive.

Srimulat and Kabul have experienced their ups and downs. After its heyday in the 1980s, Srimulat found itself losing out to a new breed of comedy groups. The debut of private TV stations in the early 1990s also took away some of their audience, but Srimulat rebounded by moving from its traditional arena of amusement parks to the lucrative world of television.

Kabul and his alter ego have become successful, but he remains surprisingly simple, except for the huge rings he wears on stage and at public appearances.

He lives in Kampung Makassar, East Jakarta, and continues to do his own cooking and laundry. He feels he has gained more than enough from his career, but he jokes that being famous can sometimes be a drag.

"I had a bad experience dining out. Once I went to a warteg (inexpensive food stall) near my house because I was so hungry. After ordering the food, I couldn't eat it when it was served because a lot of people came up to talk to me. I think it's better to eat with a bit of salt at home than starving at the food stall!"

What brings him satisfaction in life is the knowledge that he has done his best for his family.

"I sent them to school, married them off and built their homes. The three of them have their degrees now. That's what I am most proud of.

"I can die anytime knowing I haven't left any loans for my children. I've paid them.

"The stage has fed me and my family, I have to love it."

But will there come a time when he will have to put away Tessy's rouge and lipstick for retirement?

"I know when to stop. Being an artist is like driving a car. If one of our tires is flat, we can sense it and know when to stop."

And success for an artist is like winning the lottery, he says. One should know when the prize money will be gone.

"Frankly, I don't want to be abandoned by my audience. I want to leave them once my time comes," he said.