Thanks to my super efficient hostess with the mostest – Mbak Ria I have had a three-week whirlwind tour of visiting and meeting the theatre makers of Yogyakarta.
So far on the tour: let’s work in reverse….
One night Ria and I went by motorbike to a village in outer Yogya called Kepek. It doesn’t take long to leave the thronging jalans of Yogya and ride into areas of glistening rice fields and trees waving enormous green leaves like flags of fecundity!
Grewo, a young theatre director who has also worked with Papermoon, and actor Benny met us and led us into the village to meet their theatre group.
Grewo started the group to for the youth in his village and was halfway through a rehearsal process to present a play. However, he was now a bit worried about the group - specifically how to keep them focused and motivated and still work on improving the play, so he asked if we could plan and run a session with him.
After asking lots of questions to ascertain where they were at the process, how it was going, who was doing what, rehearsal strategies, etc, we came up with a plan: to spend less time running the show over and over (the current main strategy) and take time to build the groups performance skills and group trust. We structured a session to combine these elements and a worshopping of two of the scenes and headed to the pendopo (a covered but open community space) to put it into action.
At the small pendopo made of rattan, bamboo, wood and concrete, twenty young people waited scripts in hands to rehearse their show…a story of love and adventure– in a Cinderella kind of style.
Other people gathered too. This village was flattened in the 2006 earthquakes and Ria and her performers came to work here with the kids as part of a local NGO’s recovery programme – so locals were eager to see what the young folk are performing this time.
Despite Grewo’s worries that the group isn’t focused enough (well tell me please - when and where in the world twenty 15-20 odd year olds are focused for three hours long!?) they were fantastic – clearly pleased to be there, participated in everything, had a lot of laughs and energy was high. We played games (the net of Zip Zap Boing continues to wrap around the world!), trust games and did some character walks. As much as possible, Ria and I encouraged Grewo to run the exercises, to take up with confidence the role he has given himself. This is a tricky path to negotiate, as most of the people are friends or neighbours or neighbours’ children. He has to tread gently yet still direct with firmness. Here the fluidity between work and friendship is less clear than in my culture(s) and I don’t fully understand how it affects the way people make theatre. Ria suggested to me that in an unfunded arts culture people are the resources and give of their time and skills and when they have it cash. Money is liquid here too. Whoever has it disperses it into the community. But what if someone does something wrong – does not pull their weight, or offends another artist/friend?– well, it seems they may simply be ostracized by the company or the community and have to leave town to make work. Harsh? Maybe not if that is how the support network to make theatre here works. If you are the weakest link you have to go quietly, without a fuss. However in this community theatre making context there are other relationships at stake and I imagine it will take a number of projects to gently initiate codes of practice (like – no smoking during rehearsals in the pendopo – something which amazed me as one young guy lit up 10 minutes into the session! Oh and switch those mobile phones off too…).
Ria did a super job of translating. She is a natural director – funny, incisive and sensitive. She’s a bit of an anomaly here, in this patriarchal society so I am learning and so I’m told, – but more about Ria later (ma’af Ria if you are reading this – nothing I wouldn’t say to you my dear Maria! J )
We watch and workshopped two scenes – one about four dancing crabs who negotiate with a group of beautiful girls to take them across the river (all to a live music played by a rock band). Terlalu lucu –too funny! And the other scene about a fairy who surprises an unhappy princess and helps her become a regular, common girl. The scenes were already learnt, roughly blocked and were being fortified with heavy doses of Javanese jokes (which I wish I could have understood!) The actors took the directing suggestions really well, the scenes became a little bit tighter and more importantly this showed that this structure of rehearsal should work effectively. I’d preciously suggested scheduling different actors in at different times when they had their scene but after seeing the collective joy in being there I changed my mind…much better to spend time building skills in focus, character, trust etc together and then spend a little time on the scenes. Plus, throughout the session from the edges of the pendopo came laughter, commentary and chat as villagers old and young watched the rehearsal with great interest. So isn’t just about putting on a play for the community -its about truly making theatre in the community.
Watching theatre making here I had flashes of memory from 1994-95 when working with Amakhosi Theatre in Bulawayo Zimbabwe. Then I was like Grewo – a bit green and yet mega keen. And the context was simillar: making work with local people for local people. It’s tough when you have had a taste of professional practice and then work with non-actors who have a more relaxed – senai - view on the whole making theatre affair. This is made tougher when you’re still discovering your style of direction. I still don’t know but I am a little bit closer 15 years later! What Brecht wrote about acting applies to directing it is a “Constant shedding of insight as it is gained”. Let it in to let it go. Then you begin to know what works when and where.
Anyway…
I hope to go back to Grewo’s group in a few weeks to see how things have developed; To see if Grawo’s new production schedule which we put together will help him pace the sessions and keep all that ebullience alive and in check. Unfortunately, I won’t get to see the show as it is in August but I will certainly never look at crabs in the same way again! Thanks Grewo, Benny and Crew for a such wonderful opportunity for me to work with you!
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