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.