Theater gathering 2003 opens curtain to opportunity

Theater gathering 2003 opens curtain to opportunity

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

The Drama Committee of the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), for the
first time, organized a gathering of theatrical groups in
Silaturahmi Teater 2003, which brought together 14 drama troupes
from all over the country.

From Dec. 8 to Dec. 14 at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center
(TIM), Central Jakarta, the Silaturahmi Teater 2003 was held in
the still-lingering festive mood of the Idul Fitri holiday.

The program included drama performances, theatrical
discussions with noted playwrights WS Rendra, Afrizal Malna,
Radhar Pancadahana, Ratna Sarumpaet, Nano Riantiarno, Dindon and
Tonny Broer.

The 14 groups that took part in this gathering included such
notable troupes as Jakarta's Teater KOTA PL (Pangudi Luhur Group
of Deaf People), Teater Gapit of Solo, Central Java, Teater Kita
of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Sanggar Reje Linge of Takengon,
Aceh, and Teater GARAK of Padang, West Sumatra.

Drama Committee chairman Azuzan JG said most of the
participants were of the younger generation, as the committee was
aiming to encourage their enthusiasm for drama.

These groups, he said, had been rehearsing tirelessly and
staging theatrical performances in venues no matter what their
conditions.

"We hope that through this event, their keen enthusiasm and
spirit for drama will stimulate theatrical development in Jakarta
and nurture optimism for theatrical development throughout the
country."

There has been a feeling that Jakarta's drama groups have
slackened in their development in the past two decades,
especially in light of the performances staged at TIM in the
1970s -- usually considered the heyday of Indonesia's theatrical
world, but a period, according to Rendra, when the New Order
regime maintained an environment of repression, intimidation and
prohibition in its endeavor to strengthen Soeharto's rule. Rendra
is known among his peers, says Africal Malna, as one of the
reformers of modern Indonesian drama.

Silaturahmi Teater was different from similar events, such as
the Temu Teater Indonesia (Indonesia's Theatrical Meet) held
previously by the DKJ, for targeting younger dramatists. Past
events tended to feature only established theatrical groups in
the country. Still, this event is not intended to replace the
traditional theatrical meet, which will be revived in future --
as a direct response to the success of the Silaturahmi Teater.

During the event, the Teater Gapit of Solo performed Leng,
which means a hole dug in the earth in Javanese, at the Graha
Bhakti Budaya. The hall was packed, and the audience applauded
and cheered the performance, delivered entirely in the Javanese
language.

The dialog was a mix of ngoko Javanese -- or colloquial
Javanese, which is used among close friends, relatives or when
speaking to subordinates -- and kromo inggil, or high Javanese.

This combination lent strength to the play and bridged the
divide between the play and the audience of mixed ethnic
backgrounds.

The audience burst into laughter at the comedy that unfolded
on stage or at the witticisms, twists and turns in the plot of
the play written by the late Bambang Widoyo SP.

"I was greatly interested by the play, although I understood
only about 50 percent of the Javanese dialog," said the director
of Teater Koma, Ratna Riantiarno.

Leng tells the story of the grave of Kyai Bakal, a fictitious
Muslim cleric, which was sacred.

The graveyard keeper decided to make money off the grave, and
claimed to be a medium who could communicate with the Kyai.
Visitors, from ordinary people to government officials, started
to come to the grave to ask for luck, success, the winning
lottery ticket number and a prosperous life in exchange for
offerings of live goats and cows, as well as other riches.

Thus the graveyard attracted vendors, masseurs, prostitutes
and promotional activities. Later, a factory was built close to
this sacred grave, the noise of the machinery disturbing the
pilgrims.

The pilgrims eventually set fire to the factory, but the owner
rebuilt it, expanding it to include the graveyard, and restricted
entry to only once a week.

With such a successful and entertaining first showing, let us
hope that Silaturahmi Teater becomes an annual event to cultivate
and maintain Indonesia's unique theatrical art.