Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

INTERMINGLING OF CONTINUITY AND DISCONTINUITY79THEATER CHRONICLES: LESSONS IN THEATER DOCUMENTATIONFROM TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY THEATER PRACTICESIN THAILAND AND INDONESIAGlecy C. AtienzaIntroductionThis four-month study focused on two areas—Bangkokin Thailand and Solo City or Surakarta in Central Java,Indonesia. Data gathering was primarily done throughobservation, watching performances and rehearsals,as well as interviews and informal conversations withartists from different groups. Libraries and museumswere also visited as sources of initial readings aboutthe local theater forms. In Thailand, interviews wereconducted with a total of 64 traditional/contemporaryartists-directors, writers, musicians and puppeteers; threetheater critics/researchers; and five museum/archivesspecialists and art curriculum specialists. Furthermore,10 rehearsals, five classes on traditional theater and 10performances were attended and 12 performance areas,four libraries and four museums were visited. In SoloCity, interviews were conducted with a total of 35artists; 15 performances and performance rehearsalsand three theater criticism sessions were attended; andthree libraries, two temples and six performance venueswere visited.“Creating” theater in Thailand and IndonesiaTheater’s “live” quality has worked towards itsconservation and transformation. Primarily, theater hasbeen kept alive through continuous performances. Ithas also been preserved through icons, popular imagesand physical monuments. Institutions such as museumsand libraries have served as repositories of theaterartifacts. Private collections of individuals and homeswith theatrical motifs have also helped in creating livingmonuments to theater practices.The practice of passing on the art of theater fromone generation to another has kept the tradition alivewhile innovations have enriched the role of theater incontemporary life. Theater is “created” through variouslevels of engagements, with the artist at the core of thecreative experience and the audience, social institutionsand society in general as participants and partners in thecreative process. Artists have evolved various ways andpractices of documenting and preserving their theaterpractices. Each approach has its own strengths andis closely related to the nature of artistic practice andknowledge dissemination that the artists employ.Institutionalizing theaterIn Thailand, the conservation and preservation of theaterpractices have been done through state-institutionalizedprograms to keep traditional theater performances of themost revered and popular theater form, the Ramayana,a part of people’s daily life. Theater practice is markedand supported by the decisive role of the state ininstitutionalizing traditional theater forms such as theRamayana to symbolize the state. Ramayana characterscan be seen in almost every corner of the country—fromofficial logos to street designs and key chains. Schoolsinstill in young artist-students the importance ofcontinuing the tradition of the Ramayana, while masterartist-teachers have dignified the form by giving muchcredence to learning the tradition before exploringinnovations to the form.The Ramayana, one of the world’s most loved epicstories, has been one of the main sources of traditionaltheater performances in Thailand and Indonesia. Itsopenness to re-interpretation in regional texts andoral tradition has found its way into the Ramakienand reflects the various concerns of people at differentplaces and in different times. The Ramayana’s traditionof many different tellings has paved the way for thecreation of various versions.The Ramakien, the Thai version of the classic Ramayanastory from India, has been the source for theatricalperformances presented for the royal audience, as wellas for the audiences who frequent the National Theaterand the famous Sala Chaleurmkrung in downtownBangkok. Ramakien places much importance on therole of the white monkey army leader Hanuman,who helped save Sita from the evil Ravana. The Thaiversion supports Paula Richman’s observation thatthe Ramayana has been adapted by Asian culturesto suit their cultural needs. The dance theater piece“Hanuman” has been playing for years in the localtheaters and various versions of this play have beendone by government-supported institutions such as theBangkok College of Dramatic Arts. Performers, whoinclude actor-dancers and musicians, have been trainedAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows