Performance in Bali

Performance in Bali Performance in Bali brings to the attention of students and practitioners in the twenty-first century a dynamic performance tradition that has fasci- nated observers for generations. Leon Rubin and I Nyoman Sedana, both international theatre professionals as well as scholars, collaborate to give an understanding of performance culture in Bali from inside and out. The book describes four specific forms of contemporary performance that are unique to Bali: • Wayang shadow-puppet theatre • Sanghyang ritual trance performance • Gambuh classical dance-drama • the virtuoso art of Topeng masked theatre. The book is a guide to current practice, with detailed analyses of recent theatrical performances looking at all aspects of performance, production and reception. There is a focus on the examination and description of the actual techniques used in the training of performers, and how some of these techniques can be applied to Western training in drama and dance. The book also explores the relationship between improvisation and rigid dramatic structure, and the changing relationships between contemporary approaches to performance and traditional heritage. These culturally unique and beautiful theatrical events are contextualised within religious, intel- lectual and social backgrounds to give unparalleled insight into the mind and world of the Balinese performer. Leon Rubin is Director of East 15 Acting School, University of Essex. I Nyoman Sedana is Professor at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) in Bali, Indonesia. Theatres of the World Series editor: John Russell Brown Series advisors: Alison Hodge, Royal Holloway, University of London; Osita Okagbue, Goldsmiths College, University of London Theatres of the World is a series that will bring close and instructive contact with makers of performances from around the world. Each book looks at the performance traditions and current practices of a specific region, focusing on a small number of individual theatrical events. Mixing first-hand observation, interviews with performance makers and in-depth analyses, these books show how performance practices are expressive of their social, historical and cultural contexts. They consider the ways in which theatre artists worldwide can enjoy and understand one another’s work. Volumes currently available in the series are: African Theatres and Performances Osita Okagbue Indian Folk Theatres Julia Hollander Performance in Bali Leon Rubin and I Nyoman Sedana Future volumes will include: Indian Popular Theatres Indigenous Australian Theatre Practices Polish Ensemble Theatre Shamans in Contemporary Korean Theatre Performance in Bali Leon Rubin and I Nyoman Sedana First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2007 Leon Rubin and I Nyoman Sedana All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Rubin, Leon. Performance in Bali / by Leon Rubin and Nyoman Sedana. p. cm. – (Theatres of the world) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Performing arts–Indonesia–Bali (Province) I. Sedana, I Nyoman. II. Title PN2905.B3R83 2007 791.09598′62–dc22 2007005435 ISBN 0-203-39240-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–33131–5 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–203–39240–X (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–33131–9 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–39240–9 (ebk) For Jum and Jasmine from Leon For Seni and Santi from Sedana Contents List of illustrations ix Preface xi Acknowledgements xiii 1 Past and present 1 2 Wayang shadow theatre 16 3 Sanghyang trance performance 51 4 Gambuh classical performance 79 5 Topeng masked theatre 103 6 The future 134 Travel advisory 139 Glossary 141 Selected bibliography 150 Index 153 Illustrations Figures 1.1 Figures from the Ogoh Ogoh parade 5 2.1 Behind the Wayang Kulit screen 17 2.2 A dalang manipulating Wayang puppets 18 2.3 I Nyoman Sedana (joint author) performing Wayang Lemah 19 2.4 Wayang Kulit 27 2.5 Wayang Kulit 46 3.1 Sanghyang deling performers entering trance through puppets 53 3.2 Two young Sanghyang deling performers in trance 53 3.3 Sanghyang deling performer walking through fire 58 3.4 Sanghyang deling feats of balance 71 3.5 Sanghyang penyalin ceremony 73 4.1 Gambuh male performers and orchestra 81 4.2 Gambuh 85 4.3 Gambuh performer 89 4.4 The temple of Gegaduhan Jagat 93 5.1 I Ketut Kodi, mask maker and Topeng performer 106 5.2 A typical set of masks from a Topeng performance by I Ketut Kodi 107 5.3 Topeng performer as Sidhakarya 115 5.4 Topeng performer 119 5.5 Typical Topeng stage 127 Table 2.1 Wayang Kulit 28 Preface This book is the end result of conversations that have taken place over more than ten years between the two authors. We are both academics and pro- fessional theatre practitioners; one is an international theatre director and the other is a performer and dalang (master puppeteer). Through our conversations, we tried to enter each other’s minds in an attempt to understand Balinese performance from inside and outside. Whilst the Balinese author has searched for the right ways to describe and analyse the mind of the performer, the Western critic has tried to place this analysis within a context that the Western reader can understand. We have discovered many points of parallel thought between Bali and the West (in particular Elizabethan England), but also areas that are com- pletely different in meaning and intention. The Elizabethan reference point is especially useful to Western readers as it gives a recognisable parallel that facilitates understanding of an otherwise very distant and unfamiliar world. We have tried to describe, explain and record the Balinese understanding of events and ideas and at the same time move the lens outside and look in. We have witnessed many performances together and exchanged our under- standings of what we saw and what we think we saw. In addition, much of the detailed descriptions and observations throughout the book have been examined in the light of discussions and verification with many of the leading scholars and performers in Bali. The result is a collection of ideas, beliefs and approaches to performance that are drawn from multiple sources of information. We need to thank many in Bali and overseas who have contributed indirectly to this book; they are too numerous for us to list them all here, but several are members of the faculty at ISI Denpasar Institute. The strong oral tradition of transmitting information means that many different perspec- tives exist on every aspect of Balinese thought and technique; our discussions have helped us to produce an overview that reflects the main streams of opinion alongside ours. xii Preface This book concentrates on four genres of performance that most clearly demonstrate the past and present and the continual flow between the two in Balinese culture. They are all forms that exhibit well the performance techniques and skills that are at the heart of Balinese performance traditions as a whole. In addition, there is a focus on performance training and prepa- ration and comparisons with some Western methods and approaches. The book also offers some ideas of what a Western student or performer might gain from understanding the Balinese way of learning their craft or art. Very often the Eastern student of performance is exposed to Stanislavsky, Brecht, Meyerhold, Shakespeare, Checkhov and the work of the other major figures that dominate performance technique and culture, but the Western student remains unaware of processes that exist on the other side of the world. Many of the techniques developed and explored over centuries in an environment such as Bali, as well as many other parts of Asia, contain a richness of thought and process that could well influence and help evolve new ways of working and thinking in the West. All chapters are jointly researched and written, although Chapter 2 on Wayang (designed to explain from the inside out the complex thought and physical processes of the dalang at work) is built around the unpublished doctoral thesis of I Nyoman Sedana, and in Chapter 1 the outside observer, Leon Rubin, tries to make sense of the main patterns of Balinese thought from the outside looking in. Leon Rubin and I Nyoman Sedana Acknowledgements We are indebted to numerous performers and scholars in Bali for sharing their points of view, giving us the opportunity to witness their performances and providing their advice. In particular, we thank I Made Sidja, I Madé Bandem, I Nyoman Sumandhi, I Wayan Widja, I Wayan Nartha, I Ketut Kodi, I Nyoman Ganjreng, I Nyoman Catra, I Made Sidia, I Wayan Dibia, I Gst Nr Serama Semadi, I Wayan Loceng, I Gst Nr Seramasara, Dewa Ketut Wicaksana, Dewa Made Darmawan, I Wayan Nardayana and Cokorda Raka Tisnu. We also acknowledge the research help, during field study, of students from the MA/MFA Directing programme at East 15 Acting School, University of Essex, England (formerly delivered at Middlesex University), Henriette Baker, Athina Kasiou, Justin Martin, Arlene Martinez, Devon de Mayo, Jeremy Catterton, Euripides Dikaios, Sarah O’Toole and Jen-Ru Wang.

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