'Wayang orang' fighting losing battle against modern arts

'Wayang orang' fighting losing battle against modern arts

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): A six-hour wayang orang played by the Bharata
Group at a modest and decaying theater in Senen, Central Jakarta,
finally reached its climax and the curtain came down.

The 30 members of the audience, all faithful regulars, warmly
applauded the traditional Javanese dance-theater show even though
they had watched Anoman Obong (Hanoman Burned), a part of the
Ramayana epic, dozens of times at the 500-seat Gedung Bharata.

The visitors' sympathetic applause was so meaningful to the
accomplished wayang orang actors and actresses who have dedicated
their lives to one of the most Adi Luhung (highly refined)
Javanese performing arts.

Wayang orang stories are derived from the famous Ramayana and
Mahabharata epics.

Looking tired, bored and sleepy after playing similar roles
for several consecutive nights, a few players started to pack up
their belongings. Others were engrossed backstage in washing
heavy make-up off their faces.

"It is hard for us to attract larger audiences these days when
people are afraid to go out, especially at nighttime," complained
Sangadi, the director of Wayang Orang Bharata Troupe, one of the
few remaining professional wayang orang groups in Indonesia.

Sangadi, who joined the group in l972, admitted that the
social and political unrest that had blighted Jakarta in the last
few months had adversely affected not only the lives of many
Bharata actors and but also the very existence of the group.

"In normal times, we were happy with an audience of 40 to 50 a
night. Now, we are lucky if we have ten people watching our
performance," he said.

Tickets for daily shows cost between Rp 2,000 (27 U.S. cents)
and Rp 5,000. On Saturday nights the prices are double.

Sangadi said that running a wayang orang performance every
night in a metropolitan city such as Jakarta was indeed very
tough.

"We have to compete with so many glittering entertainment
centers, cafes and other venues and our traditional art hardly
appeals to many Western-oriented Jakartans," he said.

Set up in l972 by Djadug Djaya Kusuma, Bharata was an offshoot
of the Panca Murti wayang orang group. Wayang orang arts were
developed in the city by artists from Central Java, Surakarta in
particular.

Wayang Orang Bharata Troupe is now funded by the Bharata
Foundation and the Jakarta municipal government, as part of its
commitment to nurturing and preserving traditional arts in the
multiethnic city.

During its early years, the troupe was extremely popular.
Every night, hundreds of people flocked to the theater to watch
their favorite Ramayana or Mahabharata episode.

"We often received distinguished guests, such as the late Pak
Boediardjo (former minister of information) and Pak Soes (the
late Soesilo Soedarman)," he said.

Loosing battle

A number of prominent artists and scholars like
dancer/choreographer Sardono W. Kusumo, Bagong Kusudiardjo,
scholar Umar Kayam were also regular visitors.

But the popularity of wayang orang began to fade in the 1980s
in line with the rapid development of entertainment centers and
audiovisual technology.

"We are now fighting a loosing battle with modern and pop arts
and even with other traditional wayang performances such as
leather puppets," Sangadi pointed out.

Wayang kulit (leather puppet) shows gained popularity among
urban Jakartans during the New Order regime, which tried to use
the medium as a sociopolitical megaphone.

A number of favorite dalang (puppet masters) have become
millionaires and led glamorous lifestyles.

"Many dalang (puppet masters) own luxury homes and drive
Volvos or BMWs and were paid Rp 100 million per show, he said.

In contrast, the state of wayang orang groups in Jakarta,
Surabaya, Semarang and Surakarta is really miserable.

Bharata member Rodiah, not her real name, complained
that her honorarium as an artist was far below the government-set
factory worker's minimum wage or even most servants' salaries.

She receives Rp 3,000 per night if she performs minor roles
compared to between Rp 5,000 and Rp 6,000 for factory workers.
Senior performers make up to Rp 7,500 a night.

"The price of a cup of Indomie rebus (a popular noodle soup)
is now Rp 2,500. How can I live on such a meager payment in this
big city," Rodiah said.

Another artist, Sumi (also a pseudonym), explained that she
had to buy a set of cheap powder, lipstick, rouge, foundation
because the company did not provide the artists with these
necessities.

"If we want to perform, we have to make up our faces to fit
with our roles. Can you imagine how we buy such luxury items with
our own money?" Sumi said.

Sangadi agreed that Bharata artists were really underpaid
considering the high artistic requirements for wayang orang
performances.

Playing wayang orang is very difficult. Each artist is
required to master basic and advanced Javanese dance movements,
the antawacana (dialog) of each episode, pakem (the concise prose
outline of wayang stories), karawitan (the art of Javanese
gamelan and vocal music), according to Sangadi.

"Today, it is very hard to find good wayang orang artists;
they are a really 'endangered species,'" he says.

The troupe's income from the daily performances is also
completely inadequate considering the company's operational costs
can be as much as Rp 15 million per month.

"We receive financial assistance from the foundation and the
city government, but it is not enough to cover the expenses,"
Sangadi says.

Efforts

Efforts to improve the living conditions of Bharata performers
have been made by the foundation. Bharata's 80 performers
currently live in a modest housing complex in Sunter, North
Jakarta.

All members of Bharata are allowed to perform with other
groups and to work in other fields to compensate for the meager
honorarium given by the company.

"If you watch any dance or theater performance, be it modern
or traditional, you'll find members of Bharata there," Sangadi
boasted.

With their dance and theater skills, it is easy for any member
of Bharata to adjust to other forms of performing art.

Some work as dance trainers, radio presenters and film actors.

A number of Bharata artists are also hired by other groups
like Teater Koma, for its Opera Anoman performed at the newly
opened Teater Tanah Airku at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East
Jakarta. Others play in Ketoprak Humor broadcast on the private
RCTI TV station.

Help also comes from the management of Gedung Kesenian
Jakarta. Since l994, Wayang Orang Bharata has performed at the
sophisticated theater in Pasar Baru twice a month.

I Gusti Kompyang Raka, program manager of Gedung Kesenian
Jakarta, explained that the Bharata shows earned particular
acclaim.

"We are trying to capture a non-Javanese audience and
expatriates and the programs work really well," Kompyang said.

Now, Gedung Kesenian's patrons who are used to watching
Western-style performing arts are starting to watch wayang orang
and other traditional performances.

"Of course, Bharata has had to adjust to its new audience
which has a different cultural background. They have to modify
the stories, settings and so on," Kompyang explained.

Gedung Kesenian also plans to send the Bharata troupe to the
Netherlands to take part in an international traditional music
festival next March.

"Despite the hardship, the all the Bharata members are very
committed to the group. I am very proud of them," said Sangadi,
the director.