Theater festival explores gender-sensitive themes

Theater festival explores gender-sensitive themes

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The All-Bali Theater Festival at the island's arts center in late
April promises to provoke thought on the roles that women play in
a traditionally patriarchal society, which is insensitive toward
gender issues.

Organized by the Kelompok Tulus Ngayah, a Denpasar-based
theater company founded by accomplished writer, actress and
activist Cok Sawitri, and the island's Werddhi Budaya Arts Center
the festival will feature six plays, a book launching, an
exhibition of photographs and discussions.

"It will be a joyous moment for the island's theater
community, a moment to be together and to learn from each other's
experiences," Sawitri said.

"Most importantly, it is a moment of celebration, of embracing
the birth of the island's new generation of playwrights and
actresses," she added.

She was referring to the six participating theater groups --
Komunitas Pena Patah, Kelompok Raka Rai, Komunitas Boekoe, Teater
Seribu Jendela and Kelompok Adorasi Kiaq Miten -- which are run
and staffed mostly by young theater workers.

Moreover, the six dramas were written by the island's young
playwrights: Frans Wisnu Murti, Ni Ketut Ayu Puspita Dewi, I
Gusti Komang Ayu Willyani, Maliana and Kadek Sonia Piscayanti.

Most of them were born in the early 80s whereas the majority
of the island's established dramatists and actors were born in
the early 50s or mid-60s. This generation gap of some 20 years is
apparent in the comparison of their work.

"My general impression is that they have a straightforward
attitude in dealing with reality. They substitute their
predecessors' poetic power of symbolic narratives with the
emotional immediacy of their true-to-life characters. Metaphoric
allusions are replaced with poignant, down-to-earth words," noted
playwright Mas Ruscitadewi said.

Furthermore, these young writers are more preoccupied with
social injustice than the psychological journeys of individuals.
For instance, the struggle of women against the oppression of a
male-dominated society takes center stage, whereas the trials and
tribulations of female protagonists linger as a supporting
backdrop.

"They possess a heightened social sensitivity compared to
their seniors. Their ages apparently play a pivotal role in
determining how strongly they voice their awareness and stances
on social issues, such as gender inequality," Sawitri pointed
out.

Gender inequality is undoubtedly the main theme of the
festival as seen at an advance performance of the plays attended
by The Jakarta Post.

Sonia Piscayanti's Negeri Perempuan (Country of Women)
portrays a bloodless revolution led by a prostitute who succeeds
in overthrowing an oppressive, male-controlled regime. By
launching a massive strike, which involves no work, no cooking
and no sexual intercourse, the country's women reclaim
their long-lost freedom.

Meanwhile, Puspita Dewi's Aib (Disgrace) explores the life of
a Balinese girl. Raped and impregnated by her father, she must
deal with personal loss, sorrow and humiliation inflicted by a
prejudiced community.

The desperate girl eventually resorts to violence, murdering
her father before taking her own life.

Arik Sariadi's Nyunnyan...Nyunyen is undoubtedly the
most solid script among the six. It narrates the journey of an
intelligent, strong-willed girl who refuses to fit the mold.
Overcoming her personal weakness and embarrassing past, the girl
manages to elude a forced marriage, a violent boyfriend and a
manipulating father without discarding her loving, trusting
nature.

Surprisingly, the 21-year-old Sariadi managed to weave the
ancient legend of Ki Barak Panji Sakti -- a mighty warrior and
founder of the Buleleng Kingdom, who spent his childhood without
the presence of both his parents -- and the Hindu myth of the
Birth of Kala, which portrays the justified infidelity of Goddess
Uma and the wrath of her insensible husband Lord Siwa, into the
main story.

The two sub-plots give the script a haunting, dramatic
intensity and maturity.

The festival is the culmination of Tulus Ngayah's
six-month-long effort to build a strong, gender-sensitive
theatrical community on the island.

In October 2004, Tulus Ngayah organized a theater skills
workshop for the island's actresses and female theater workers
that focused on production. It included sessions on writing,
directing, lighting and setting, production management and
literary appreciation.

The workshop was soon followed by a script-writing competition
at the end of 2004.

"Twenty-three scripts were submitted from all over the island.
In January 2005, the judges picked six scripts, which were later
produced for the festival. We have also published them in a book
titled Nyunnyan...Nyunnyen," Sawitri said.

All-Bali Theater Festival

April 21 until 27, performances start on 7 p.m. at the Werddhi

Budaya Art Center, Jl. Nusa Indah, Denpasar.

For further information: Kelompok Tulus Ngayah,

+62-361-7426289, ktulus_ngayah@yahoo.com