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."