Understanding Theater Arts in General and Types
Theater art is one type of art in the form of drama performances that are performed on stage. Specifically, theater art is a play of art that displays human behavior with movement, dance, and singing that is presented complete with dialogue and acting of the players. The word theater is taken from the Greek word, theatron, which means the place or theater.
Resuscitating live theatre attendance, the term 'theater' can be interpreted broadly and narrowly. Broadly speaking, the meaning of theater art is the whole acting scene and the role that is performed on the stage in front of many spectators. For example petals, puppets, sintren, slapstick, acrobatics.
While narrowly speaking, the meaning of theater art is a scene about a person's life journey that is made in such a way that it is appropriate to be shown to the general public on the stage of the show and drained according to the script that has been made.
According to the Great Language Dictionary, theater is:
the building or room where the film is shown, theatrics, and so on
large room with rows of chairs to the side and back to attend lectures or for scientific demonstrations
staging drama as an art or profession; drama arts; theatrical; drama
Whereas theater is often called drama and according to the Big Indonesian Dictionary, drama is:
poetic compositions or prose which are expected to describe life and character through behavior (role) or staged dialogue
stories or stories, especially those involving conflict or emotion, that are specially composed for theater performances
sad event.
The following is an understanding of theater or drama according to experts;
Moulton: life story depicted in the form of movement.
Balthazar Vallhagen: art that depicts human nature and character with movement.
Ferdinand Brunetierre: a will carried out by action or motion.
Anne Civardi: story told through words and movements.
Budianta: a literary genre in which physical appearance shows verbally a conversation or dialogue between the characters.
Art of Handayani and Wildan: a form of writing which is based on two branches of art, namely literary arts and performing arts so that the drama is divided up by him, namely drama in the form of written scripts and staged plays.
So many meanings of theater art. However, the key word that can be drawn from the many definitions above: theater art is an art derived from manuscripts that are performed on stage and seen by the general public.
The history of theatrical arts is estimated to have developed since 2500 years ago. Every country in the world has its own history.
However, some well-known theater arts include Roman theater art, Greek theater art, Western European theater art, Renaissance theater art, English-Elizabethan theater art, Spanish golden period theater art, Baroque-style French theater art, African theater art, art Asian theater, and Middle Eastern Islamic theater arts.
In Indonesia, theater has been around for a long time and is believed to have existed since humans began interacting. Formerly, theatrical art is often associated with traditional ceremonies believed to be a form of gratitude and respect for God because they have been given the blessing of food from hunting. Each region throughout Indonesia has its own traditional theater arts.
In addition to traditional ceremonies, theatrical arts are also used to summon magical powers (bearing in mind that people in ancient times still held animism and dynamism), commemorating ancestors or ancestors, and many others.
Traditional theater is interpreted as the oldest type of theater art and was born in the community, usually also still has to do with traditional or religious ceremonies. There are many types of traditional theater in Indonesia. Here are some traditional theaters that are still developing today:
1. Ketoprak Ketoprak is one of the original Javanese theater arts, precisely Surakarta, and is growing rapidly in Jogjakarta. This theater art originally used the accompaniment of a mortar (a kind of tool to pound rice) but now it is accompanied by gamelan.
Usually the stories used for staging are in the form of local legend / community stories that contain moral values and can be watched for all ages. Unfortunately, nowadays, ketoprak is increasingly less in demand because of the advancement of technology. However, there is one program on television that takes the core of ketoprak theater art and turns it into contemporary theater art and is quite ranked nationally.
2. Lenong This theater art originated from Jakarta, precisely the Betawi tribe.
The lenong performance is usually accompanied by the xylophone xylophone and tells about human relationships (containing moral messages). The language used is also Betawi language. Usually this performance is comedy accompanied by subtle innuendos.
At the beginning of its appearance, theatrical art was only present at each particular event and was 'ngamen ng' and the players asked the audience for voluntary payment by circling the audience. However, as the development, Lenong began to appear on the stage and began to spread to the world of television.
3. Ludruk This East Javanese original drama contains about everyday life accompanied by gamelan music and is displayed in the typical language of East Java, precisely in Surabaya. The conversation used is entertainment and jokes so that it makes the audience laugh.
Usually, ludruk begins with Remo Dance. In Central Java, there is also theater arts similar to ludruk, namely ketoprak. The thing that distinguishes the two is the story that was told. Ketoprak contains folklore or legend, while ludruk contains stories of daily life, especially among ordinary people (villages).
4. Mamanda Mamanda is a theatrical art originating from South Kalimantan and similar to Lenong, where there is a direct communication relationship between the player and the audience so that it gives the impression of 'life' but mamanda tends to be rigid by following the royal storyline. Mamanda has cultural values as entertainment and education. Theater performance is usually accompanied by typical Malay songs. Unfortunately, mamanda is increasingly being eliminated now, given the rapid technological development. In fact, not many Banjar children now know this type of theater.
5. Makyong Makyong is a blend of traditional Malay dance and theater, precisely in the Riau Islands and is very rapidly developing during the days of the Kingdom of Johor. This art combines instruments, vocals, dialogue, dance and ritual elements in it. Apart from being an offering ceremony, makyong is also used as a custom in Riau.
6. Randai Like makyong, randai is a blend of various kinds of arts namely drama, dance, song, and silat. This art comes from Minangkabau. Randai function as entertainment that contains moral lessons containing advice. The stories displayed are stories about daily life or folklore in the Minangkabau area. At the beginning of its appearance, randai was used to accompany the reading of gurindam (a kind of poem which is bound by certain rules).
7. Puppet people Theater arts this one is thick with the culture of Central Java. In Javanese also called wayang wong. This art is the same as puppets played by puppeteers in general. It's just acted by players who wear costumes like puppets so it is not a props. Puppet people were created by Sultan Hamangkurat I in 1731. This artistry combines several other elements of art such as vocal arts, music and dance. In addition, costumes are also important to note, especially when there are performances.