'Wayang Orang' Sriwedari neglected

'Wayang Orang' Sriwedari neglected

Bambang M, Contributor, Surakarta, Central Java

Everyone knows that nothing lasts forever. This also seems to
apply, tragically, to the once popular wayang orang -- or
traditional Javanese masked dance -- group, Wayang Orang (WO)
Sriwedari, which has performed every night for decades at the
same old theater in the Sriwedari entertainment center.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the 1,500-seat theater was always
packed. The performance was an integral part of evening
entertainment in Surakarta, also known as Solo. But today, when
the group performs, only 30 seats or so are occupied.

During its most recent show, Romo Widura Krama, only 50 fans
showed up and sat at the front. A closer look at the audience
showed that most of them were students of the Dance Academy at
the Indonesian Arts Institute in Surakarta (STSI).

"Every night, there are only 25 to 30 people in the audience,"
said a ticketing officer. The entrance ticket costs a meager Rp
3,000 (U.S. 35 cents).

Backstage, the performers are busy readying themselves for the
show.

Generally, the dancers do not need to rehearse. Sometime
before the show, they merely ask the director, Hartono, for their
roles and the dialog in that day's performance.

"What will the government pay us to rehearse?" Hartono asked.

His concern is also shared by the performers as well as
traditional art buffs. The performers prefer to have a second job
to augment their income rather than waste time rehearsing, for
they are not paid.

As a result, the performances go on stage without any practice
nor polish. There was no expression of admiration among the
audience. The poor performance is a logical consequence of the
lack of public awareness and appreciation for the traditional
arts.

What's the use of performing well if, first of all, there is
no audience?

Traditional art performances have become less popular among
Indonesians, who prefer to go to cafes and cinemas, or watch
DVDs. The main reason for the lack of interest is because the
shows lack innovation.

The Surakarta Tourism and Culture office, which manages WO
Sriwedari, emphasizes that the show must go on, as it is a
unique, cultural form particular to Surakarta. The show is held
every night for locals who are interested, or for the foreign
tourists who might happen to be visiting.

In the 1950s and 1960s, before the television invaded all
homes here, the WO Sriwedari was a favorite performing group. The
audience who packed the theater came not only from across the
city, but also from areas outside Surakarta. And they came to
watch the show, based on the classic Ramayana and Mahabharata
epics and highlighted with dances.

"Our main challenge to reviving wayang orang is the dominance
of television," said Agus Irianto, head of the Preservation of
Cultural Assets at the Surakarta Culture and Tourism office.

Jamrud Haryo Yekti, a member of WO Sriwedari, agreed.

"Less and less people have come to watch wayang orang as the
operation of private television stations has expanded," he said.

Hartono said he had recruited younger performers to his group,
and the Culture and Tourism office had tried to attract more
viewers by organizing a joint show with the wayang orang group
belonging to RRI Surakarta, the local state-run radio station.

These efforts had positive results, as more people came to
watch the show, said Yeti Koryati, head of Art and Cultural
Assets at the Culture and Tourism office. However, the program
could not be continued because of a lack of funds.

The office also invited Surakarta school groups to perform
wayang orang as an introductory number before WO Sriwedari, and a
number of schools responded enthusiastically, said Agus.

However, when the agency appealed to the schools to make it
mandatory for students to watch the show, they gave a cold
shoulder, even though the national curriculum requires the
development of local-based educational materials -- which could
have been fulfilled with an appreciation of wayang orang.

Although the efforts to improve the public's appreciation of
wayang orang have not been fruitful in the long run, at least the
group still exists, and continues to perform nightly.

Several other wayang orang groups, like WO Ngesti Pandawa in
Semarang and WO Bharata in Jakarta, also suffer the same
challenges -- but these groups are no longer able to perform on a
nightly basis. Agus said the Semarang group performed once a
week, while the Jakarta group performed only once a month.

WO Sriwedari survives partly because most of its 71 members
are civil servants, and all of its operational costs are paid by
the Culture and Tourism office. The office allocates Rp 22
million toward those civil servants who join the group.

Meanwhile, entrance tickets sales do not provide much profit.
If the average number of viewers is 30, and the show is performed
27 times a month, the agency only rakes in Rp 2,430,000 a month.

"If we were a private group, we would have disbanded many
years ago," Hartono said.

What about the future of WO Sriwedari, which was established
by Pakubuwono X, king of Surakarta Palace?

Without an improvement in public appreciation, it is unlikely
that more people will come to see the show.

But for the performers themselves, the most important thing is
that they can perform regularly, because they are paid to do
that.

"When I dance, I never look at the audience. Whether there is
an audience or not, I will keep on dancing," said Jamrud, a star
performer at WO Sriwedari.

This appears to be the fate of WO Sriwedari -- The spectacular
show has lost its beauty. It only exists because the show must go
on, and the performance is no longer a matter of artistic and
cultural expression, but merely a means to make money.

The theater, which was renovated in 1994 with financial
support from the Japanese government, is thus no more than a
workplace, like an office.