In an era when wayang performances

In an era when wayang performances are barraged with pop music and slapstick comedy, some puppeteers stay true to wayang’s philosophical messages and keep innovating to lure audiences.

Among them is virtuoso dalang (puppet master) Ki Purbo Asmoro, who pioneered the garapan sedalu style, or all-night interpretive style, which features an intense dramatic structure that eliminates repetitive scenes.

In a brief wayang demonstration in Jakarta recently, Purbo and his gamelan ensemble presented the story of devotion and sacrifice in Palgunadi.

Prince Palgunadi comes from a far-away kingdom to learn archery from Durna, a teacher of the Pandawas and Korawas. Following Durna’s refusal to teach him, Palgunadi erects a statue of Durna and learns archery beside it as if being taught by the great teacher.

Palgunadi becomes a skillful archer, but is willing to give up his archery skills when Durna asks him to cut off his thumbs.

Unlike the classical wayang performance that starts with a scene featuring Korawas or Pandawas, Purbo opens his performance with the Palgunadi character, moved expressively to demonstrate that the prince is contemplating.

For Palgunadi and other stories, Purbo writes his own narrations and gamelan accompaniment.

“When I received the performance request, I immediately collected data, devised the order of the scenes and the gamelan music. Just last night, I rehearsed the music with the gamelan ensemble,” he said after the performance at Erasmus Huis in Jakarta.

“I am the one who made the order so I must remember it from A to Z. If I forget, it will be ruined. Thankfully, I got used to it,” he added.
“In this modern world, many dalang utilize wayang as mere entertainment. I am concerned about this, but I can’t blame them as they are just trying to earn a living.”

On the other side of the world, California-based performer Larry Reed and his ShadowLight Productions incorporates the art of Balinese shadow wayang with various forms of art and technology to create innovative shadow puppet shows.

Having learned Balinese and Javanese wayang in the 1970s, Reed collaborated with local dancers and dalang to create Wayang Listrik, an amalgam of wayang and live performance projected onto a giant screen.

A flickering fire, traditionally used to backlight the puppets, is replaced by colorful lighting.

“Instead of one dalang improvising, we now have seven to 12 shadow casters in an exacting choreography manipulating puppets, lights and scenery. We almost always have live music and often choose stories from local mythologies,” he said in an email.

Reed feels there is a lot that modern people can learn from ancient ways.

“A big part of my job is bringing the past to life in a way that helps the audience to feel connected to a bigger picture than they might have imagined previously.”

Among ShadowLight’s works are Kawit Legong centering on the birth of the famed Balinese Legong dance and Mayadanawa, a half god and half monster of Bali mythology, besides its performances derived from Chinese stories and also the contemporary Ghosts of the River, which touches on the issue of Mexican revolution refugees and narcotic rivalries.

“Personally, I am interested in discovering universal human truths through investigative performing.”

Through ShadowLight Education Program, Reed shares the art of shadow storytelling with schools and colleges in the US, where students and teachers can explore various issues — ranging from African diaspora to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) matters.

“As we speak, many students and their families are being evicted from their homes by changing demographics. Others might be experiencing domestic violence or difficulties with authorities or police. At times it is important to offer an escape into fantasy as a way of refreshing the mind.”

The program has reached at least 6,000 students.

While Reed’s work often delivers philosophy or a reflection of current issues, he said it was OK for dalang to use wayang for entertainment.

“Sometimes politicians and bureaucrats want to push artists to deliver a particular message. This rarely has a good outcome. The dalang must follow what he truly believes in. If it’s a moral message, so be it. If it’s pure entertainment, which often means outside of a ritual context, that’s OK too.”

Cahya Hedi, an advisor to Sena Wangi national wayang preservation and development organization, said that wayang innovations, in technical aspects, had developed steadily and managed to regain a wide-range of audience.

“The duration is shortened, the content is condensed and the aesthetical experience is revamped,” said Cahya, a lecturer of puppetry art at the Bandung Institute of Art and Cultural (ISBI).

Like the Javanese buffalo-hide shadow puppet, the Sundanese wooden puppet, wayang golek, has also been transformed, offering more characters and action.

“There are puppets of ancient monsters with a mix of modern popular characters. Dalang Asep Sunandar Sunarya invented a kind of spectacular aesthetical performance in which a puppet can vomit noodles or blow up its head through technical modification.”

While acknowledging the surging popularity of modified wayang, Cahya lamented that some dalang had omitted moral messages from their performances.

“There has been a lot of value erosion in performances. Philosophical and moral messages have been put aside. It is now just pure entertainment.”

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Dalam era ketika pertunjukan wayang barraged dengan musik pop dan komedi slapstick, dalang beberapa tetap setia pada pesan filosofis wayang dan terus berinovasi untuk memikat penonton.Di antara mereka adalah virtuoso dalang (wayang master) Ki Purbo Asmoro, yang mempelopori garapan sedalu gaya, atau gaya interpretatif semalaman, yang memiliki struktur dramatis yang intens yang menghilangkan adegan-adegan yang berulang-ulang.Dalam demonstrasi wayang singkat di Jakarta baru-baru ini, Purbo dan nya gamelan ensemble disajikan cerita pengabdian dan pengorbanan di Palgunadi.Pangeran Palgunadi berasal dari sebuah kerajaan yang jauh untuk belajar panahan dari Durna, seorang guru Pandawas dan Korawas. Mengikuti Durna's penolakan untuk mengajarinya, Palgunadi erects patung Durna dan belajar panahan samping itu seolah-olah yang diajarkan oleh guru besar.Palgunadi menjadi seorang pemanah yang terampil, tetapi bersedia untuk menyerah keterampilan panahan ketika Durna meminta dia untuk memotong ibu jari.Tidak seperti pertunjukan wayang klasik yang dimulai dengan sebuah adegan yang menampilkan Korawas atau Pandawas, Purbo membuka penampilannya dengan karakter Palgunadi, pindah tegas menunjukkan bahwa Pangeran merenungkan.Palgunadi dan cerita-cerita lain, Purbo menulis sendiri narasi dan iringan gamelan."Ketika saya menerima permintaan kinerja, saya segera mengumpulkan data, menyusun urutan adegan dan musik gamelan. Hanya tadi malam, saya berlatih musik dengan gamelan ensemble,"katanya setelah pertunjukan di Erasmus Huis Jakarta."Saya orang yang membuat urutan sehingga saya harus ingat dari A sampai Z. Jika saya lupa, itu akan hancur. Untungnya, aku sudah terbiasa untuk itu,"tambahnya."Dalam dunia modern, dalang banyak memanfaatkan wayang sebagai sekedar hiburan. Saya khawatir tentang hal ini, tapi aku tidak bisa menyalahkan mereka karena mereka hanya mencoba untuk mencari nafkah."Di sisi lain dunia, berbasis di California pemain Larry Reed dan produksi ShadowLight nya menggabungkan seni Bali bayangan wayang dengan berbagai bentuk seni dan teknologi untuk menciptakan inovatif bayangan pertunjukan boneka.Pelajari wayang Jawa dan Bali pada tahun 1970, Reed telah berkolaborasi dengan para penari setempat dan dalang untuk membuat Wayang Listrik, amalgam wayang dan hidup kinerja yang diproyeksikan ke layar raksasa.Api yang berkedip, secara tradisional digunakan untuk lampu wayang, diganti dengan lampu warna-warni."Bukan satu dalang melakukan improvisasi, kami sekarang memiliki tujuh sampai 12 bayangan kastor dalam koreografi menuntut memanipulasi wayang, lampu dan pemandangan. Kita hampir selalu memiliki musik live dan sering memilih cerita dari mitologi lokal,"katanya dalam sebuah email.Reed merasa ada banyak yang orang modern dapat pelajari dari cara kuno."Sebagian besar dari pekerjaan saya adalah membawa masa lalu untuk hidup dengan cara yang membantu para penonton merasa terhubung dengan gambar yang lebih besar daripada yang mungkin pernah mereka bayangkan sebelumnya."Among ShadowLight’s works are Kawit Legong centering on the birth of the famed Balinese Legong dance and Mayadanawa, a half god and half monster of Bali mythology, besides its performances derived from Chinese stories and also the contemporary Ghosts of the River, which touches on the issue of Mexican revolution refugees and narcotic rivalries.“Personally, I am interested in discovering universal human truths through investigative performing.”Through ShadowLight Education Program, Reed shares the art of shadow storytelling with schools and colleges in the US, where students and teachers can explore various issues — ranging from African diaspora to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) matters.“As we speak, many students and their families are being evicted from their homes by changing demographics. Others might be experiencing domestic violence or difficulties with authorities or police. At times it is important to offer an escape into fantasy as a way of refreshing the mind.”The program has reached at least 6,000 students.While Reed’s work often delivers philosophy or a reflection of current issues, he said it was OK for dalang to use wayang for entertainment.“Sometimes politicians and bureaucrats want to push artists to deliver a particular message. This rarely has a good outcome. The dalang must follow what he truly believes in. If it’s a moral message, so be it. If it’s pure entertainment, which often means outside of a ritual context, that’s OK too.”Cahya Hedi, an advisor to Sena Wangi national wayang preservation and development organization, said that wayang innovations, in technical aspects, had developed steadily and managed to regain a wide-range of audience.“The duration is shortened, the content is condensed and the aesthetical experience is revamped,” said Cahya, a lecturer of puppetry art at the Bandung Institute of Art and Cultural (ISBI).Like the Javanese buffalo-hide shadow puppet, the Sundanese wooden puppet, wayang golek, has also been transformed, offering more characters and action.“There are puppets of ancient monsters with a mix of modern popular characters. Dalang Asep Sunandar Sunarya invented a kind of spectacular aesthetical performance in which a puppet can vomit noodles or blow up its head through technical modification.”While acknowledging the surging popularity of modified wayang, Cahya lamented that some dalang had omitted moral messages from their performances.“There has been a lot of value erosion in performances. Philosophical and moral messages have been put aside. It is now just pure entertainment.”