Students bring pantomime out of shadows

Students bring pantomime out of shadows

Kartika Bagus C., Contributor, Surakarta, Central Java

Unlike dance or theater performances, which attract large
audiences, pantomimes enjoy less popularity. A pantomime
performance, especially a solo act, often has a very small
audience.

But Gadhang theater group of Sebelas Maret University's (UNS)
School of Economics in Surakarta tried to counter this situation
by holding the Central Java Students Pantomime Festival on their
campus at the end of February.

Pantomimes are mostly staged in an open space with the absence
of lighting. But this time it was held on a brightly lit stage
with colorful lights. The result was surprising and proved
effective in luring a large audience.

Some of the festival's participants included the Fajar theater
troupe of Muhammadiyah University in Magelang, Central Java,
which performed Tetes Nitis Stress (Drops of Falling Water that
Cause Stress) and Temis of the Semarang-based Diponegoro
University's School of Law, which staged Mbak Susi.

Those taking part from UNS included the Sopo theater of the
School of Social and Political Sciences, which performed Hujan Di
Malam Minggu (Rain on a Saturday Night); the Tessa theater of the
School of Literature, which performed Tubuh Kita (Our Bodies);
and the Peron theater of the School of Teachers' Training, which
gave their rendition of Supri Hero (Supri the Hero).

Participants from other universities in Surakarta included the
Lugu theater of Muhammadiyah University's School of Psychology,
which staged Alam Bawah Sadar (the Subconscious Mind) and Hitam
Putih theater of Setiabudi University with Halte (Bus Stop).

Tetes Nitis Stress highlighted the flood problem, which
recently hit most cities in the country, including Jakarta. The
performance was quite interesting, especially the part about
Jakartans who never expected they would be badly hit by flooding.

Halte, meanwhile, dwelled on what happens to people while they
wait at a bus stop. The show managed to capture some strange
expressions of people waiting at a bus stop. All had gloomy faces
mixed with fatigue and great hurry.

Some of the pantomimists, mostly members of the campuses'
theatrical groups, performed well and could bring out the
audience's emotion. Other pantomimists, for instance, focused
only on creating a humorous atmosphere.

Yogyakarta's veteran pantomimist Jamek Supardi said that on
the average, participating actors were still looking for their
own identity as a pantomimist, giving the impression that they
were wandering aimlessly. He attributed this weakness to the
participants' lack of preparation.

He also criticized the actors' makeup, an essential accessory
of the pantomimist, which made them look more like clowns than
pantomimists. Actually, the makeup, he said, was intended to
conceal the roles of a pantomimist, who is supposed to be able to
play any role using the makeup.

Moreover, he saw the need to minimize the use of symbols in
the shows since, in his opinion, a pantomime is successful only
when it uses less symbols.

The strength of the pantomime, he said, lies in gestures, and
through his gestures, an actor can convey his social criticism
and other things.

"Gestures in a pantomime present something that the eyes
cannot see but that are understood by the viewers. Of course, the
movement of the eyes, hands and other parts of the body may
sometimes be needed to make the purpose clearer," said Supardi,
49.

The veteran actor has presented many works laden with social
criticism, like the show along Jl. Malioboro in Yogyakarta where
he condemned police for failing to solve the murder of journalist
Muhammad Safrudin of the local Bernas daily.

Supardi, however, realizes that many still view pantomimes as
a form of the performing arts that does not have a bright
prospect, and instead prefer to pursue dancing, singing or
theater acting.

"Only a few have decided to take up pantomiming seriously. I
believe pantomimes are the worst off financially, but in terms of
artistic style, it is better than other art genres."