Teater Mandiri: 33 and going strong

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Teater Mandiri is, without a doubt, analogous to and inseparable from Putu Wijaya, as the theater would not exist without the playwright.

"This is my theater, no other's, because if anyone else led it, then it would be an entirely different theater," Putu said recently.

So what would happen without Putu Wijaya and his drama troupe? Would the country lose one of its finest theater companies to date?

Teater Mandiri was established 33 years ago, initially to videotape plays for television, and later became an outlet for Putu's drive to effect social change through a technique he calls "mental terror". The dramatic form is often unpleasant and shocking, and aims to force viewers to reconsider all that they take for granted.

Against the backdrop of an ever-present white canvas screen, Putu manipulates his stage to communicate his unique perspective, turning conventional logic upside down.

"The screen is my vocabulary. If anyone says they're bored with it, then that's something I'll have to overcome," he said.

The first time Teater Mandiri used a screen as its central prop was during a 1991 performance in Seattle, Washington. As the theater representative of the Indonesian cultural exhibition, Putu wanted to put on something that was distinctly Indonesian, but also distinctly his.

He came up with Yel (Shout), in which actors perform behind a huge screen as in a traditional wayang kulit (leather puppet) performance.

"From then on, it became our trademark to use visual, not spoken, language," Putu said. As visual language was more universal, he believed it more appropriate for a foreign audience.

Another trademark of Teater Mandiri is its one-word titles: Anu (Um..., 1974), Edan (Mad, 1979), Awas (Beware, 1980), Aum (Roar, 1982) and Ngeh (Understand, 1998).

"I find that short words convey meaning so much better than a long poetic title," he explained.

Teater Mandiri's brand of theater is one of continuous experimentation and growth. No performance is ever the same, even if it is the same play. The actors are trained to improvise and to always be on the lookout for improvisational moments, an emphasis that places Teater Mandiri closer to traditional folk theater than contemporary drama.

Putu's theater is based on the idea "berangkat dari yang ada", or a departure from what exists. "We accept the reality of our situation and pull out the potential of what 'is' into what we are trying to achieve."

"I want people to look again and again. There is so much more to see in our plays. Watch the performance one more time and you will uncover different aspects in it," he said.

To mark its 33rd anniversary, Teater Mandiri will stage its 2003 play, Zero, on April 10 at the GoetheHaus, Central Jakarta.

Based on the Buddhist concept that the cause of all human suffering is desire and that suffering can be eradicated by the elimination of earthly desires, Zero reflects upon this wisdom of returning to nothingness.

"Too many people are complaining, blaming others on the ills of the world. Why not reflect all this upon ourselves, look inside, solve (problems) from the inside? In this sense, the screen is the inner self, the egg or something, with everything else going back to zero," Putu said.

Aside from Zero, Teater Mandiri and the Goethe Institut will also organize a two-day workshop from April 10 to April 11, closing with a monologue by Putu Wijaya on the night of the 11th.

So, will Teater Mandiri disappear with Putu Wijaya?

"You could say that it (Teater Mandiri) is an ideology, a concept, a train of thought, that is very personal and attached to me," he said.

"As long as people still agree with this concept and ideology, I believe Teater Mandiri will go on. When people no longer believe this, then it will simply disappear, which is okay."

Zero: 8 p.m., April 10 at the GoetheHaus, Jl. Sam Ratulangi 9-15, Menteng, Central Jakarta. Theater workshop: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., April 10 and 11, also at GoetheHaus; participation is free. Putu Wijaya's monologue: 8 p.m., April 11, at GoetheHaus. For more information call GoetheHaus at 021-23550208 or Teater Mandiri at 021-7444678, 78886179 or 4308174.