Wayang shadow theatre In Bali Part 15

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.