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Improvisation in Wayang Wong Panggung: Creativity within Cultural Constraints

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2019

Hardja Susilo
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Extract

Wayang wong panggung is a Javanese dance drama performed in a theater with a proscenium stage, accompanied by traditional Javanese “orchestra” called gamelan. Characteristic of this dance theater is the minimal specific preparation made for each of the nightly performances. The music is not composed specifically for this theatrical form nor for any specific story performed in this medium. It is spontaneously chosen from a pool of musical compositions which experts consider appropriate for this theater. The choice of composition and its “treatment” (i.e. which, where, when and how the tempo, dynamics, arrangement, tuning system, etc. are chosen and changed) is executed instantaneously. The dance movements are not specifically choreographed for a given performance; rather, they are drawn from a well-established pool of movement motifs and phrases. The monologs and dialogs are improvised, following a set format, using vocabulary suitable to the character represented, the relationship between this character and the character with whom he is communicating, the situation at hand, the story, etc.

Indonesian summary

Indonesian Summary

Sering-sering kita kagum apabila melihat pemain wayang wong panggung setiap malam dengan mudah berimprovisasi lesan. Sebetulnya setiap hari kitapun berkomunikasi lesan secara improvisatioris. Berbeda dengan improvisasi sehari-hari improvisasi di atas panggung tidak untuk kepentingan pihak-pihak yang berbicara (para pemain), tetapi untuk kepentingan pihak ketiga (para penonton). Demi kejelasan pesan yang ditujukan untuk pihak ketiga ini improvisasi di panggung harus runtut dan nalar.

Improvisasi yang runtut dan nalar dalam wayang wong panggung dimungkinkan antara lain oleh adanya peraturan main yang berujud batasan-batasan yang harus dianut oleh semua pemain. Batasan-batasan ini terdiri dari batasan tempat, waktu, ceritera, peranan, bahasa, struktur drama dan krawitan.

Improvisation atau improvisasi adalah istilah Barat. Dalam perbendaharaan kata-kata Jawa ada istilah kembangan, isen-isen, nggladrah, ngambang, sambang rapet, ngawur, dsb. Kalau dibahasainggriskan semua istilah-istilah tersebut adalah improvisation. Mungkin karena kekaguman terhadap modernisasi/kebudayaan Barat banyak pada waktu ini seniman-seniman muda yang lebih suka menggunakan istilah “improvisasi” untuk hal-hal di mana sebetulnya istilah-istilah Jawa memberikan pengartian yang lebih tepat.

Type
Articles
Information
Yearbook for Traditional Music , Volume 19 , 1987 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 by the International Council for Traditional Music

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References

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