Wayang Innovatif

Innovative Shadow Puppet

English

1. The innovative wayang is shadow puppet entertainment which its medium is restructured (the puppet, the music, the story structure, and the show, sometime including the puppeter). Often the innovative wayang is categorized as the secular entertaintment even though most of the main entertainment structures are still intact.

2. The experiment of this shadow puppet utilizes many new types of media. For example, the size of the puppet is enlarged two or three times. The puppet is made from buffalo skin and papers. Sometimes three dimensional puppets are made. The screen becomes as long as about 4 to 6 meters. They might use a combination of lights from modern light design, traditional, flashlights, or even a slide projector. The gamelan is also updated with the use of Gong Gede and Gong Luwang.

3. This kind of art experimentation was often performed by The Indonesian School of Dance and Art at Denpasar. The shadow puppets were combined with modern theater. The basic aspects of the shadow puppet's performance were often shifted. This new form of art has not been substantially institutionalized yet. It is still an intermediate product in the process of searching for lively art.

Quoted and processed from the STSI magazine, Denpasar 1995.

Indonesian

1. Wayang innovasi adalah pertunjukkan wayang kulit yang mengalami pembaharuan terhadap mediumnya (wayang, iringan, struktur cerita dan pertunjukkannya) serta dalangnya sendiri. Dikatakan bahwa pertunjukkan wayang inovasi sering kali bersifat sekular meskipun berbagai "pakem" pertunjukkan wayang masih tetap dijalankan.

2. Eksperimentasi terhadap pertunjukkan wayang ini antara lain menggunakan berbagai media baru. Misalnya ukuran wayang dubah menjadi 2 atau 3 kali lipat. Bahannya dibuat dari kulit dan kertas. Kadangkala dibuat wayang tiga dimensi. Kelirnya menjadi panjang, atau sekitar 4-6 meter. Tata lampunya bahkan menggunakan kombinasi dari tata lampu modern, traditional, lampu senter, bahkan slide proyektor. Gamelannya juga diperbaharui dengan menggunakan Gong Gede dan Gong Luwang.

3. Karya seni experimentasi ini banyak di gelar oleh Sekolah Tari dan Seni Indonesia Denpasar. Wayang kulit dipadukan dengan pertunjukkan teatetrikal modern. Aspek dasar dalam pertunjukan wayang kulitpun seringkali bergeser. Bentuk baru yang tercipta secara substantif masih belum membumi. Ia masih merupakan produk antara dari sebuah proses pencarian kesenian yang berjiwa.

Dikutip dan diolah dari Majalah STSI, Denpasar 1995.