Surabaya abounds with comedians

Surabaya abounds with comedians

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

The capital of East Java province, Surabaya, has popularly become
known as comedy central as its produced a batch of successful
comedians.

Tessy, who always appears as a transsexual, portraying Tarzan,
and Asmuni, who always appears as a wise old man, are just a
couple of examples of Srimulat Surabaya's comedians that have
enjoyed nationwide popularity.

Though they are not native to Surabaya, the three are all
"graduates" of the Srimulat Laughing Company, which was initially
founded in Surakarta by musician Teguh.

Today, many young comedians have also emerged from Surabaya as
evidenced by the ongoing talent scouting program run by Televisi
Pendidikan Indonsia (TPI), the Audisi Pelawak TPI more known by
the acronym API, with a number of groups from the city.

Surabaya, with a population of nearly three million, has also
made a name in the international comedy world as world-famous
comedian Charlie Chaplin performed here in 1932 during the
opening ceremony of the Taman Sampoerna, the first factory owned
by PT Handjaja Mandala (HM) Sampoerna Tbk.

The site is now known as the House of Sampoerna. Chaplin's
visit was made at the request of Liem Tjiang Nio, the wife of
Liem Seeng Tee, the founder of the giant tobacco company.

It is noteworthy that Srimulat, which was initially founded in
Surakarta, Central Java, prospered so well in Surabaya because
Srimulat comedians frequently used people of Surabaya's habits of
referring to someone as something that represents his or her
characteristics.

As it is very usual in Surabaya to dub someone according to
his or her own physical characteristics -- a fat person, for
example, will be called a genthong (a large earthenware for
water) -- Gus Dur is known to the people of Surabaya as a
political comedian.

Srimulat, founded by Teguh and named after his first wife, had
its first performance at Balekambang Amusement Park in Surakarta.
It was originally a musical group, but changed gears a decade
later into a true comic company.

In the 1950s Srimulat performed in Surabaya and that was
followed by the establishment of a the Srimulat group in
Tegalwaren, Central Java, with Jakarta (Slipi) being the most
recent.

According to Didik Mangkuprojo, one of Srimulat's senior
comedians, the group gained a lot of popularity in Surabaya
because it could provide the people of Surabaya with an
alternative to ludruk, the original East Javanese folk theater
performed by all males.

In its position as an alternative to ludruk, Didik said,
Srimulat was specially designed to present things that the
audience had never got from a ludruk performance. A ludruk
performance is more expressive and structured as it uses a
script.

Srimulat, on the other hand, stresses improvisation. All the
comedians in Srimulat memorize their lines or ad lib as they are
given all the freedom to spontaneously express their jokes.

"The strength of Srimulat is that the comedians must be
creative in expressing fresh, spontaneous jokes," he noted.

Meanwhile, noted Surabaya artist and elder, Cak Kadar, said
that the language style of the Surabaya people is flexible and
open. It is this language style that has greatly influenced the
development of comedy here.

In this context, Teguh was right to pick up the language style
of Surabaya people for his group. In this way, Srimulat could
easily win the hearts of the people of Surabaya.

"The people of Surabaya not only enjoy comedy, but they also
like to create fresh jokes or parodies," he added.

In a parody, the comedians must create a comic atmosphere with
humor, without necessarily mastering a theatrical technique.
Besides, a parody needs neither a particular setting or a fixed
plot.

Cak Kadar added, that the people of Surabaya have the
potential of a comedian because of their habit of creating a
humorous atmosphere in their day-to-day lives.

"Interestingly, few people in Surabaya have a penchant for a
real comic art. Once a school to groom comedians was set up here
but it had to be closed down because it failed to attract
participants," he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Edyson, an anthropologist from Surabaya's
Airlangga University, agreed that Srimulat prospered in Surabaya
and later became a new icon of the contemporary art of comedy in
Indonesia. He also agreed that Surabaya was a storehouse of
comedians as many of Indonesia's famous comedians used to perform
in Srimulat building in Surabaya.

Yet, he added, it was too early to conclude that Srimulat was
a reflection of the Surabaya people's penchant for parodies. A
special study is yet to be conducted on this matter, he added.

Comedy is not only found in Surabaya, but also in other places
across the country, In Jakarta, for example, the indigenous
Jakartans are familiar with their Lenong, which is close to a
Srimulat performance.

Unfortunately, as the native Jakartans, known as the Betawi
people, have become marginalized with the massive arrival of
people from outside the city, this indigenous art form has barely
survived today.

Srimulat is different. The style is greatly influenced by the
culture of Mataraman -- based in towns like Jombang, Nganjuk,
Kediri, Madiun and Ponorogo. This culture is still part of the
people of Surabaya, who mostly come from those areas.

However, Edyson argued that Srimulat could thrive in Surabaya
because in the years when the group enjoyed its greatest fame,
not many people owned televisions or radios.

"In those years, electronic media could be enjoyed by the
well-off families. Those who were below the middle class could
only watch a Srimulat performance," he said. That's why, he
added, Srimulat shows were always full.

He also said that while Surabayans like humor, they get fed up
with the Srimulat-style jokes now. A more complex social
development demands a change in entertainment. In addition, the
public can easily enjoy entertainment on TV.

"So, Surabaya's comedians are facing the challenge to create a
new form of comedy that meets the needs of the public," he added.