Chapter 4. The World of Stories: Integration of Music, Dance, and Drama in Traditional Balinese Theater

Transcription

1 Chapter 4 The World of Stories: Integration of Music, Dance, and Drama in Traditional Balinese Theater (1) (E, 7-12) Pages Stories 1. What stories are you familiar with in your culture that explains why things are what they are, or stories that explain how things such as superstitions and daily practices came to be? Share examples of these stories with other students in the class. 2. Write a short story that explains a daily occurrence or superstition, such as why the stars appear to sparkle in the sky at night, or why it is bad luck to walk under a ladder. Find other resources that feature stories such as these from around the world. Sources: Bryan, Ashley. Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum. NY: Macmillan, (Includes the stories: Why Bush Cow and Elephant are Bad Friends, Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together, and How Animals Got Their Tails. Milford, Susan. Tales Alive! Charlotte, Vermont: Williamson Publishing, (Includes the story: Why Hare is Always on the Run. ) Rosen, Michael (Ed.). South and North, East and West. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, (Includes the story Why Do Dogs Chase Cars.) (2) Pages Instruments Played Only by the Initiated 1. Explore the idea of sacred instruments, ones that only the initiated may play. Can you think of other cultures where instruments are sacred, thereby giving them power? For example, consider Native American drums that medicine people play for ceremonial healing.

2 (3) Pages Organization of Music: Old, Middle, and New 1. How is music of your culture organized? Are there divisions between sacred and secular music? What about historical time periods? Select a genre of music such as rock or pop, the many classical, periods such as Gregorian chant in Latin, Bach Fugues and Chorales, Beethoven symphonies. Debussy, electronic music, or country and prepare a chart, similar to Figure 4.1, Balinese conception of the periods of gamelan, dance, and theater, page 73, that illustrates old, middle, and new time periods and characteristic traits of the music.. 2. Consider the Balinese view that five periods of history ought to be represented at any complete ceremony. Compare and contrast this idea with music performed in a religious context, such as a church, synagogue or other sacred venue. Are different historical periods represented? (4) AA CD Tracks: 2, 5,8,6 & 7,10, 11, 39 & Listen to each track listed above and follow the chart outlined in Figure 4.3, Historical Associations of the Performing Arts, page 77. Choose a performing art of your culture and make a similar chart that indicates historical time periods and a selection from each genre associated with that era. For example, using concert hall symphonic music repertoire as a model, select a piece of music that represents each time period: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, and Contemporary. (5) AA Pages Balinese Theater Genres 1. Do an internet search to find information and/or pictures of the barong, a dragonlike creature that acts as protector of the village. Source: Additional Sources:

3 Belo, Jane. Rangda and Barong. Monographs of the American Ethnological Society 16 Seattle: University of Washington Press, Bali: Mask of Rangda. Cos Cob, Conn: Hartley Film Foundation, 198?. (Film) 2. View several of the Balinese theater genres on the JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance. This series has examples of the Baris (Warrior s Dance Drill,) and the Legong Keraton (Court Dance.) Source: JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance, Southeast Asia IV, Volume 9, Indonesia 1. (6) AA Pages Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet Theater) 1. Review the stories of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the two epic poems that provide the basic tales or trunk, for the wayang kulit (shadow puppet theater.) Source: Holt, Claire. Art in Indonesia: Continuities and Change. NY: Cornell University Press, (Recommended for AA. Vivid synopsis of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.) (7) AA Pages The dalang 1. Read the information in the text (pages 86 87) that describes the complex role of the dalang, shadow puppet master. Select five characteristics of the dalang that are of special interest to you and write a brief summary paragraph describing these traits. (8) AA CD Track 29: Gineman and beginning of Sekar Sungsang, a sitting piece named after a kind of flower, played on gender wayang. (Tunjuk gender wayang musicians). 1. Play selection. Review the sound of the gamelan gender wayang, a quartet of tenkeyed metallophones that accompanies the shadow play.

4 (9) AA CD Track 5: Gamelan gender wayang in wayang lemah (daytime ceremonial shadow play) performance during a ceremony 1. Review the following terms: wayang kulit dalang mantra kayon gamelan gender wayang sekala / niskala shadow puppet theater or puppets made of rawhide. shadow puppet master. invocations, often silent, in the Sanskrit language, originating in India tree-of-life puppet in shadow play a quartet of ten-keyed metallophones that accompanies the shadow play the seen (visible) and the unseen (invisible) realms, respectively 2. Play selection. Follow the two-paragraph description on page 89 that describes what you are hearing and the actions of the dalang, shadow puppet master. (10) AA Pages Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet Theater) 1. View a video of the wayang kulit, shadow puppet theater. Source: Reed, C. L. and John Knoop. Shadow Master. San Francisco, CA: Shadowlight Productions, See also Angela Hobart, Dancing Shadows of Bali for good illustrations of the whole set-up and process and puppets. 2. Read the Ramayana script that provides a synopsis of this epic poem. Assign parts and recite it or act it out. (See Ramayana script) 3. Make shadow puppets. If you want to use these for the Ramayana script described in #2 above, make puppets for the characters Rama, Sita, Ravana,and Hanuman. See Worksheet 4.1, Pattern for Making a Shadow Puppet. Pattern for Making a Shadow Puppet a. Find a resource that provides pictures of Balinese shadow puppets. Observe how they are constructed and designed.

5 b. Take a paper plate, tag board, or manlla folder and draw an outline of a puppet. Cut-out the outline of the puppet. c. Use a sharp object, such as an exacto-knife, awl, or nail punch to make perforated holes in the puppet where the light can come through to make a shadow. d. Paint the puppets. e. For the moveable parts, detach the limbs and put them back together with a brad. To add additional support for the body, head, and limbs, glue a thin, narrow stick to the back of the puppet evenly along the spine, extending down approximately six inches so that you can hold the puppet. 4. Make a shadow puppet screen. See Worksheet 4.1, Pattern for Making a Shadow Puppet Screen. Pattern for Making a Shadow Puppet Screen a. Decide how large you want to make your shadow puppet screen. b. Select pieces of wood the appropriate length for the screen. In addition, buy enough wood to make the base of the screen. Nail the screen together. Make the base of the screen by placing two pieces of wood in an x shape. Attach the base to the screen. c. Buy shadow screen material, a light-colored cloth, such as muslin, that a light can penetrate. Using a staple gun, attach the cloth to the screen. A white sheet also works. d. Add a light source behind the screen. A theater light works well or a lamp without the shade. 5. Make a puppet holder. The Balinese use a banana log for this. Try the following pattern. a. Make a puppet holder out of Styrofoam in the shape of a log. Gold suggests wrapping the Styrofoam log in duct tape to prevent splintering. b. When manipulating the puppets, experiment with holding them close to the screen as well as far away, gradually bringing them closet to the screen to create special effects. 6. Perform a shadow puppet play. Use the Ramayana script and the shadow puppets, screen, and puppet holder that you made. Choice A: One puppeteer manipulates all of the puppets and performs all of the voice parts, just like the dalang. Choice B: Assign parts for the voice lines. Assign puppeteers, one person per puppet. 7. Have students write their own stories for a shadow puppet play. Create shadow puppets for each character in your story. Perform your play using the shadow puppet screen and shadow puppet holder. See Worksheet 4.3, Ramayana.

6 8. Create a musical accompaniment for the shadow puppet play. For example, create piece categories for different types of dramatic action in the story. Fight scenes: Romance or sorrow: Travelling: fast, short ostinati, frequent gongs (gilak patterns) slow, long, soft melodies, play on the recorder or flute on or off screen, medium tempo, kotekan with ostinati.

7 Worksheet #1 Pattern for Making a Shadow Puppet a. Find a resource that provides pictures of Balinese shadow puppets. Observe how they are constructed and designed. b. Take a paper plate, tag board, or manlla folder and draw an outline of a puppet. Cut-out the outline of the puppet. c. Use a sharp object, such as an exacto-knife, awl, or nail punch to make perforated holes in the puppet where the light can come through to make a shadow. d. Paint the puppets. e. For the moveable parts, detach the limbs and put them back together with a brad. To add additional support for the body, head, and limbs, glue a thin, narrow stick to the back of the puppet evenly along the spine, approximately six inches so that you can hold the puppet.

8 Worksheet 4.2 Pattern for Making a Shadow Puppet Screen a. Decide how large you want to make your shadow puppet screen. b. Select pieces of wood the appropriate length for the screen. In addition, buy enough wood to make the base of the screen. Nail the screen together. Make the base of the screen by placing two pieces of wood in an x shape. Attach the base to the screen. c. Buy shadow screen material, a light-colored cloth, such as muslin, that a light can penetrate. Using a staple gun, attach the cloth to the screen. A white sheet also works. d. Add a light source behind the screen. A theater light works well or a lamp without the shade.

9 Worksheet 4.3 Ramayana The Epic Tale of the Lord Rama Synopsis and script by Patricia Shehan Campbell ****************************************************************** NARRATOR: Long ago, when the world was filled with troubles, and violence and evil prevailed everywhere, the Creator god, Lord Vishnu, took birth as a human being and came to deliver the earth from Evil. He lived in the comforts of royalty, as he was a prince, and grew to be a strong, handsome, and brave young man. RAMA: I have heard of a beautiful maiden miles from here in Janacapuri. Heroes and Princes from all over the world have sought her hand in marriage, but only he who can lift the great bow will wed the lovely Sita. I must try my luck. RAVANA: Ha! Ha! Step aside. Who dares to think he can lift this bow but me, Ravana the King of Lanka. (Moaning and groaning, he fails.) RAMA: Sita: Perhaps I can try. (Lifts bow with great ease.) You are certainly the strongest man. I will marry you. NARRATOR: Rama takes his bride back to his kingdom, only to be turned away, banished for 14 years by his evil and wicked stepmother. Heartbroken and full of grief, Rama and Sita decide to travel the land in search for good and beauty, accompanied by Rama s brother, Laksmana. They come upon a gleaming golden deer. to me? Rama, that deer is beautiful. I do want it as a pet. Will you bring it RAMA: No problem. It runs as fast as the wind, but I will return to you in time with the golden deer. NARRATOR: Rama runs off. He is gone for such a long time that Laksmana goes in search of him. Before he leaves he draws a magic circle around Sita to protect her. Soon after the evil King of Lanka, Ravana, come forth to Sita, disguised

10 as a beggar man. Since Ravana cannot step into the magic circle, he tricks Sita with his disguise, luring her out. RAVANA: O lady, please, I beg you, give me some food. I have not eaten for days, and will die without your kindness. Come here, I will give you what I can. RAVANA: I can barely move from weakness. Please come to me. (Sita moves forward. Ravana appears.) You are Ravana! Help, Rama, help! NARRATOR: But of course, Rama does not hear Sita s cries, for he is far off after the deer. A great bird, Jatayu, the Eagle King witnesses the kidnapping from the air, and informs Rama. Stunned of the news, Rama wanders in a daze. How can this be happening, he wonders. First, he is exiled from his own kingdom, and then his wife Stia is kidnapped. He is met by Hanuman, the General of the army of the Monkey Kingdom. HANUMAN: Who goes there? Who are you? RAMA: Someone has tricked me and kidnapped my beautiful wife. I am Rama, a prince exiled from my rightful throne and kingdom. HANUMAN: Ah, you are Lord Rama. I bow down to you. Can I help? I am strong, and most certainly at your service. NARRATOR: to an island. RAVANA: Meanwhile, across the sea, the evil Ravana has taken Sita captive Sita... ha, ha, finally you are mine! Step back, you ugly monster! You sinful creature! RAVANA: Quit your pining for Rama. He will never find you. You would do best to give up hope for him, and come to me. Stop it, you fool. Rama will one day find me, and you will be sorry this ever happened. RAVANA: leaves.) Either you honor me, and be my wife, or I will kill you. (Ravana (Crying) Oh Rama! Where are you? Don t you know this torture I am going through? (Hanauman enters). Who are you?

11 HANAUMAN: I am Hanuman, here to bring you a message from Lord Rama. He longs for you, and I am here to carry you back to him. Oh, Rama... But Hanuman, you must leave this place or Ravana will kill you. And I cannot go with you. Only my husband, Rama, can come and save me. This is the way it must be. Go now. Please. But take my ring to Rama to prove that I am fine. NARRATOR: The custom and tradition of a husband saving his wife must be honored, and so a bridge was built across the ocean from the mainland to the evil Ravana s island by Hanuman and his monkey army. There on the island, Rama approaches Ravana in battle. RAMA: I have come for Sita. But first I must destroy you and your evil. Victory shall be mine. NARRATOR: A battle is waged. Rama emerges victorious, and leads Sita away.