Many different forms of Wayang are in Bali today, such
as Wayang Ramayana, Wayang Wong (a dance-drama genre in which the dancers speak
and emulate puppets), Wayang Gambuh (based mainly on the Panji cycle of
stories), Wayang Kulit Calonarang (focused on witchcraft and black magic),
Wayang Cupak and Wayang Kulit Sasak (based on Muslim stories) and some new and
experimental versions. These relatively new artistic explorations and
experimentations (mainly explored at ISI Denpasar Institute rather than in
villages), involve a wide range of puppet shapes and sizes (ranging from less
than 0.3 metres to 2 metres tall), many different lighting devices, from
traditional simple torches through to modern, elaborate lighting equipment that
produces special effects. Scenic backgrounds and settings are variously
featured through lighting, pictures and moving backgrounds like a diorama.
Video projection is also being explored as technology increases in availability
and decreases in cost. In place of the traditional leather Wayang puppets, the
performance may use plastic versions of these puppets with new designs and
characters, newly created rod puppets and human actors and actresses. Although
the themes and contents generally remain traditional, the forms have been
carefully and extensively developed. In Wayang, as in so much of Balinese
culture, little tension exists between those who wish to preserve and those who
innovate. In fact, often the younger custodians of tradition are those who also
innovate according to the appropriateness of the performance time, place and
circumstance.
The dominant type of performance throughout Bali,
though, is Wayang Parwa. Its performance is frequently held on many ritual and
religious occasions, both as entertainment and as a rite of passage. Broadly
speaking, this Wayang theatre consists of the sacred Wayang Lemah (day puppet,
without a screen) and the ceremonial Wayang Peteng (night puppet, with the
screen and oil lamp). All the stories are derived from the Indian epic
Mahabharata, including numerous related folk tales from which a dalang
frequently modifies and occasionally creates branch stories. Wayang Parwa is
the oldest standard puppetry in all aesthetics aspects of Wayang theatre in
Bali. Hence, dalang students in several training centres, especially in the two
government-sponsored schools (SMKI and STSI), are required to begin to learn
this type of performance before moving on to other types of Wayang. Lasting one
hour for the sacred Wayang Lemah and about two to four hours for the ceremonial
Wayang Peteng, the performance involves one dalang puppeteer, two assistants
and four musicians. The musical accompaniment is the quartet metallophone
(similar to, but taller than, the Western xylophone) Gender Wayang music
ensemble, although sometime it is reduced into one pair (two instruments) in
north Bali.
Before looking at a typical performance of this genre,
understanding what has happened in advance of the event itself is important
when examining Balinese performance – as much as the performance of a given
Shakespeare play will have been determined at the point of design and
conceptual decisions. The complex social, and sometimes religious, contextual
situation affects, in an intricate way, how the performance will be structured
and delivered. This applies not just to Wayang Kulit, the genre mainly under
scrutiny here, but for most performance situations in Bali. Even before a
specific performance is contemplated, the dalang has created the puppets and
thereby made decisions about style.
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