Tutorial : D.I.Y Print making

Salam…

Ini adalah tutorial pertama yang aku buat. Tujuannya hanyalah untuk berkongsi cara-cara untuk membuat printing di atas fabrik secara d.i.y menggunakan barang-barang yang mudah dan tak perlukan sebarang kemahiran khusus seperti untuk expose design atas printing block.

Dengan kaedah yang aku sering lakukan ini, sesiapa sahaja boleh untuk mencuba melakukannya, dengan menggunakan skil di tahap minima. Oleh itu, kita mulakan acara.

Peralatan

Peralatan yang korang perlu ada ialah :

1. Pisau pemotong kertas.
2. Pembaris (jika korang perlu untuk membuat garisan yang tepat. biasanya aku tidak akan menggunakan pembaris kerana aku lebih suka jika hasilnya menampakkan sedikit human-touch)
3. Pensel mekanikal (aku syorkan pensel mekanikal kerana diameter led nya sama. Pensel kayu akan menghasilkan ketebalan berbeza selepas digunakan untuk tempah yang panjang dan ini akan mengganggu design yang ditrace.
4. Cat Acrylic (cat ini boleh didapati di kebanyakan art-shop. yang paling murah yang aku jumpa adalah jenama College Rm11.90)
5. Sticker paper (ini boleh korang jumpa di Popular Book Store. Harga Rm4.00 untuk 10 keping kertas sticker bersaiz A4)
6. Putik Kapas (atau alat lain yang korang rasakan mudah untuk distribute cat dengan rata dan berkesan. Cotton buds works fine for me.)
7. Design (korang boleh menggunakan komputer untuk cetak design di atas kertas sticker untuk kemudahan, tapi di sini aku nak tunjuk teknik tracing yang aku sering gunakan).
8. Pengering Rambut (untuk mempercepatkan proses pengeringan)
9. Seterika (untuk melekat stensil ke atas material)
10. Permanent Marker Pen (untuk tujuan touch up)

Peralatan & Bahan

Design yang akan aku gunakan kali ini adalah dari DS-13 Thrash and Burn. Korang boleh memilih apa sahaja design yang korang mahu, tapi untuk yang baru pertama kali mencuba, dinasihatkan untuk bermula dengan design yang mudah dan tidak kompleks butirannya. Design yang aku guna ini agak berisiko kerana butirannya agak kompleks sedikit. Risikonya adalah jika korang tak biasa dengan detail, print-outnya akan jadi agak mengecewakan, dan bakal merosakkan material yang korang print tadi, kerana Acrylic tak boleh dipadam seperti cat air, ianya akan kekal di atas material tersebut, lebih-lebih lagi fabrik.

Meletakkan design.

Aku menggunakan teknik tracing, bermaksud menindihkan kertas sticker di atas design, dan trace garisan menggunakan pensel/pen/arang/kapur atau apa sahaja. Pensel lebih baik kerana sebarang kesilapan boleh dipadam.

Screen-tracing

Namun begitu, aku akan trace terus di atas skrin komputer/laptop, kerana ini memberi pencahayaan yang cukup untuk tujuan tracing, dan aku tak perlu untuk mengeluarkan modal ekstra bagi tujuan printing. Teknik ini tidak mempunyai sebarang nama, jadi untuk tujuan tutorial, aku namakan tekni ini screen-tracing.

Untuk teknik ini, korang perlu tumpukan perhatian pada warna hitam/warna gelap yang terdapat pada design kerana ini memudahkan kerja. Jika menumpukan pada warna yang cerah, kebiasaannya, garis yang dihasilkan akan menjadi sedikit tidak stabil. ini akan mencacatkan design.

Tracing yang telah siap

Memotong Design (Stensil)

Terpulang kepada kemahuan korang untuk design yang terhasil, design harus dipotong dengan perlahan dan teliti. Untuk design ini, aku ingin meletakkannya di atas material berwarna hitam dan design berwarna putih, sama seperti design sebenar. Jadi waktu memotong nanti aku akan membuang bahagian design yang berwarna putih. oleh itu untuk membuang mana-mana bahagian, korang harus meneliti semula design asal supaya tidak tersilap. Ingat, sebarang kesilapan tak mudah untuk dibetulkan.

Tidak ada sebarang teknik khusus untuk memotong design (yang pasti jangan mencuba teknik memotong daging, kertas ini delicate), namun ada beberapa aspek yang harus diperhatikan:

• Pisau harus dalam keadaan sempurna/tajam/tak berkarat.
• Mata pisau harus dikeluarkan sedikit sahaja..
• Potong perlahan, cuba untuk memotong dengan sebanyak masa yang ada. Jangan gopoh.
• Gunakan hujung mata pisau sahaja kerana kita tak mahu design itu terlebih potong dan dengan menggunakan hujung mata pisau, korang akan dapat lebih kawalan terhadap pemotongan itu nanti.
  

  gunakan hujung mata pisau (mata pisau dikeluarkan agak panjang kerana ingin menunjukkan dengan lebih jelas. Aku nasihatkan korang supaya hanya menggunakan maksimum ke aras 2 mata pisau sahaja)

• dengan kekuatan dan tenaga manusia biasa, mata pisau akan menjadi lebih dalam di hujung tarikan, jadi apa yang korang boleh buat jika mata pisau terasa berat dan tidak lagi boleh ditarik, hanya angkat mata pisau ke atas sedikit, dan teruskan pemotongan. Jangan cuba untuk memotong dengan terlalu panjang, cukup jika tarikannya pendek kerana lebih kawalan.
• Korang juga boleh cuba teknik menolak pisau dengan jari tangan kiri, supaya tangan kanan hanya difokuskan untuk mengemudi mata pisau. Ini membantu kepada ketepatan potongan.
  

  Jari tangan kiri menolak pisau, tangan kanan hanya mengemudi. Teknik ini baik untuk design yang kompleks

• Untuk memotong garis yang terlalu pendek, korang hanya perlu menekan mata pisau tegak kebawah, sehingga ia memotong keseluruhan garis tersebut.

Meletakkan design

Setelah kertas sticker tadi selesai dipotong, buang dahulu bahagian yang mahu dicetak. Ini akan menghasilkan stensil dari sticker tadi. Kemudian kopek dengan cermat. Ini adalah salah satu daripada bahagian penting yang perlu diambil perhatian. Perlu berhati-hati untuk tidak merosakkan stensil tersebut sebelum meletakkannya di atas material yang mahu di print.

Design yang telah dikopek dan kemudian diseterika untuk memastikan ia melekat dengan

Stensil tersebut harus diseterika supaya ia melekat dengan rapi dan mengelak dari berlaku sebarang lelehan atau spilling. (spilling terjadi apabila garis design tidak melekat dengan kuat dan menyebabkan cat masuk ke bawah bahagian yang ditutup sticker. Ia juga boleh terjadi apabila cat itu masuk ke bahagian serat benang yang terlalu halus untuk ditutup dengan sticker, tetapi kesan spilling ini minor dan boleh di touch-up.)

Memasukkan Warna

Setelah siap meletakkan stensil sekarang ia telah sedia untuk diwarnakan (atau di print).Keluarkan sedikit cat Acrylic, letak di atas pallet. Aku hanya gunakan alas kertas yang ada untuk letakkan cat itu, kerana tidak mahu membazir masa membasuh pallet. Ambil putik kapas dan putarkan dicat tersebut untuk menyalut dan menyerap cat ke putik kapas.

Putarkan Putik kapas supaya cat rata.

Kemudian terus sapukan ke atas stensil tadi. Prosesnya harus dilakukan sebanyak 3 lapisan atau lebih, sehingga korang puas hati. Jangan cuba meletakkan cat terlalu banyak kerana ingin mempercepat/memendekkan  proses. Pastikan cat tersebut telah kering sepenuhnya di antara setiap lapisan. Gunakan pengering rambut untuk itu.

sapukan secara putaran supaya rata.

Lapisan pertama

Lapisan Kedua

Lapisan ketiga akan membuatkan design tersebut lebih terang dan rata, maaf tidak ada gambar diambil untuk itu.

Hasil

Setelah kering design tersebut, sticker dah boleh ditanggalkan. Tanggalkan dengan berhati-hati kerana tidak mahu iya tertinggal dan melekat pada design tanpa korang sedar. Sentiasa refer pada design asal sewaktu menanggalkan stensil. Kebiasaannya stensil yang telah digunakan tersebut harus dibuang, lebih-lebih lagi jika ada design yang banyak garis-garis halus. Design yang lebih besar misalnya, mungkin boleh digunakan semula jika ditanggalkan dalam keadaan yang sempurna (contohnya logo DOOM)

Selepas stensil ditanggalkan

Jangan risau jika korang ada nampak sebarang spilling berlaku. Langkah terakhir ini adalah untuk touch-up design supaya jadi lebih sempurna. Touch up dengan sebarang alat yang korang rasa sesuai, aku lebih gemar touch up dengan menggunakan permanent marker pen.

Touch up design supaya lebih rapi.

Setelah siap touch up, maka siaplah kerja korang. Design yang terhasil mungkin ada kekurangan sedikit dari grafik asal, tapi sekurang-kurangnya korang dah berjaya menghasilkan sesuatu dengan sendiri.

Selepas selesai touch up

Korang boleh gunakan teknik ini untuk menghasilkan patches, atau lebih menarik lagi jika korang print terus ke atas jaket, atau seluar korang. Boleh juga di gunakan diatas beg. Untuk tutorial ini aku gunakan beg, kerana beg aku terlalu kosong dan bosan.

Selesai, D.I.Y or D.I.E

Islam and Performativity in Wayang Kulit Kelantan

Islam and Performativity in Wayang Kulit Kelantan

The concept of the performative utterance, born within J. L. Austin‘s ordinary language philosophy, has influenced the trajectory of lin­guistic anthropology in ways that, capturing the attention of scholars working within areas as diverse as ethnography of speaking, language socialization, pragmatics, discourse analysis, and more recently, gender and language. The origin of the term performative can be traced back to Austin’s posthumous How To Do Things with Words. Austin, objecting to the logical  focus on the verifiability of statements, introduced the performative as a new category of utterance that has no truth value since it does not describe the world, but acts upon it—a way of “doing things with words.” Looking at Wayang Kulit, the transitions of knowledge and believe, in the nature of performance, was given solemnly by the capturing visual but the liguistic factor later became a performativity when the stories told became an idea of the ideal lifestyle of the local folk in Kelantan.

Folk Islam as practiced by the majority of village Malays is a syncretic religion, bearing traces of the Hindu and Animistic influences present in the Malay Peninsula before the arrival of Islam in the fifteenth century. While Modernist Islam, particularly as practiced in Malaysia’s urban areas in the current revivalist climate, disapproves of most of the traditional Malay arts, Malay Folk Islam is more tolerant. Islam and the Wayang Kulit shadow play are linked in popular belief in Kelantan; the nature of this link, as well as Kelantanese ambivalence towards the arts and religion, is the focus of this article. As Islam is an integral component of Kelantanese Malay identity, no less so is Kelantan’s artistic tradition. Among the performing arts in Kelantan, the Wayang Kulit shadow puppet play is the most popular. It is performed in Kelantanese dialect. The technique of shadow puppetry is found in many parts of Southeast Asia; notably Java and Thailand, both of whose traditions have influenced the Kelantan shadow play. The Kelantanese dalang (puppeteer) is the sole puppeteer, though he is accompanied by eight or so musicians. Both he and they perform in a raised hut, called a panggung, with a white screen (kelir), and stretched across the front.The dalang sits behind the screen, manipulating the flat, carved, hide puppets in front of the lamp, which allows the audience to see the Shadows cast on the screen by puppets.

Wayang Kulit is the folk form of the shadow play in Kelantan. The court form, Wayang Jawa (Javanese Wayang) is essentially the Kelan-tanese version of the Javanese Wayang Purwa. It takes its aesthetics and repetoire from the Javanese, though it, too, is performed in Kelantanese dialect. Wayang Jawa was patronized by the Kelantanese court, and when this patronage ceased, Wayang Jawa fell into a decline. It is now rarely performed. In contrast, Wayang Kulit was and is a village art, and not dependent upon the courts. Within the past fifteen years, performances of Wayang Kulit have begun to be sponsored by village entrepreneurs as business ventures (see Sweeney 1972: 26); tickets are sold to shadow play audiences. Wayang Kulit’s potential for profit has encouraged the sponsorship of even more performances, and during its season (roughly from February through August) there is considerable Wayang Kulit activity in Kelantan on any given night. The dalang is also responsible for the supernatural aspects of the Wayang Kulit performance.

An invaluable part of a dalang’s training is the training he receives in ilmu dalam (inner knowledge, magic), and it is also the most difficult to find. Magical knowledge is a closely guarded secret; most teachers pass it down to pupils of whose loyalty they feel sure, and only after all the technical aspects of Wayang Kulit have already been taught. All performances are prefaced by the reading of spells to protect the dalang and musicians from malign influences, to attract an audience, to keep it calm, to ‘praise ‘the puppets, and to keep evil spirits away from the panggung. Wayang Kulit can also be performed for magical reasons, and as a kind of exorcism. Many dalang in fact earn outside income through their magic as bomoh (curers, magicians) selling charms, particularly love and hate charms, or by their involvement in Main Puteri, a theatrical spirit exorcism ceremony, or both. The most skillful and most popular dalang are believed to be the most magically knowledgeable, and as a dalang’s reputation as a performer grows, so usually grows his reputation as a magician.

Religious Disapproval of the Wayang Kulit

The magical aspects of the Wayang Kulit, as well as the magical activities of dalang themselves, are often cited by pious Muslims as reasons for their disapproval of the art. The spells of the Wayang Kulit —as is most if not all Malay magic—are syncretic in nature, combining Hindu and Animist sources with Islamic formulae (see Skeat 1967, Winstedt 1951). Rituals calling upon Dewa (Hindu demigods) and earth spirits, appealing to Siva or Visnu and their various avatars while using Hindu words of power, are an anathema to strict Muslims. The performativity of  Hindu influence in the repertoire and cast of the shadow play also brings it under suspicion. A particular focus for this is the character of Pak Dogol, the god/clown who is servant to Seri Rama, the shadow play’s hero.

Pak Dogol is really Sang Yang Tunggal (The One Great One); the highest Dewa of heaven. Sang Yang Tunggal descended to earth and, to remain unrecognized, adopted the ugly shape and humble occupation of Pak Dogol. From his own body dirt, he created a companion for himself, called Wak Long. Pak Dogol has kept his godlike powers, and, in spite of his lowly position, is the most powerful figure in the Wayang Kulit.

Although most dalang nowadays would not confuse the identities of Allah (the One God) and Pak Dogol (The One Great One), this would not have been the case in the last generation. The sin of Shirik, or giving a partner to the God, still falls upon the Wayang Kulit; figures, though stylized, are certainly human. Further cause for religious displeasure with Wayang Kulit is the presumed immorality of its performers. This objection is not specific to Wayang Kulit, and includes all actors, actresses, singers, dancers, musicians, and puppeteers in Kelantan. Dalang are rumored to be irresistible to some women, and to take advantage of it. The Religious Council (Mullis Ugama) of Kelantan has also worried about the morality of the audience, and in 1922 issued an ordinance to separate the sex’s at all public entertainments (Sweeney 1972: 14). This was never obeyed. The Imam of Kota Bharu expressed his displeasure with Wayang Kulit in the same terms. He objected to men and women mingling both in the audience and on the screen. If male and female puppets on screen and male and female people in the audience were separated, then he thought there would be no objection to Wayang Kulit from the religious quarter.

Nevertheless, both religious officials and the pious laity considers Wayang Kulit, along with other traditional entertainments, berdosa (sinful), and usually avoids performances. Curiously enough, although there are some doubts the suitability of television for a Muslim society, there is no consensus of concerned opinion regarding television, as one finds regarding Wayang Kulit. Religious Muslims who do not attend Wayang Kulit performances often have televisions in their homes.

Islam and the Wayang Kulit in Kelantan

Wayang Kulit is commonly believed to have been used as a propaganda device to spread Islam throughout Malaysia.However, it is just as commonly believed to have been used by the Hindus to spread their religion and philosophy in Malaysia.” Though organized Islam remains hostile towards the Wayang Kulit, it has become an important part of Wayang Kulit legend. Islam has been assimilated into the historical mythology of the shadow play, as Pak Dogol becomes an Islamic angel in an earlier incarnation, and the Prophet Mohammad gives shadow play to the world. The assimilation of Islam into the Wayang Kulit world view does not preclude the recognition of basic antagonism between the two. The Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is one of the five pillars of Islam, and the duty of every Muslim who can afford it. A dalang, or any performer of the traditional arts, is believed to forget everything about his art on the Hajj. His mind, it is said, will be wiped clean of everything relating to Wayang Kulit (or any traditional art). Haji are reputed to be magically knowledgeable and powerful, and some dalang seek them out to learn ilmu dalam (magic power) from them. An intense Islamic religious experience will also lead the dalang away from his art. The dalang Abdullah Baju Merah’s first teacher had a dream in which he met the Prophet Mohammad in Mecca Upon waking from the dream, he vowed never to perform Wayang Kulit again, although he did continue to teach it. Most dalang consider themselves good Muslims, and do not accept the essential sinfulness of the Wayang Kulit as expounded by their more fervent co-religionists. It is only among the very strictly religious, or those whose Islamic education was of the fundamentalist/urban cast, that this concept arises. To my knowledge, no other dalang or musicians planned to make, nor had any made the pilgrimage. Indeed, another dalang, who rarely performs because his other occupation as a cloth merchant keeps him too busy, says that he plans to perform more actively when he becomes older, since as an older (and presumably retired) man, he will have more time for it. He is little concerned with the possibility of meeting his maker as an unrepentant dalang.

Conclusion

This ambivalence concerning Kelantanese arts is found primarily among the educated, and townsfolk. While the arts of Kelantan, particularly the Wayang Kulit, by dint of its popularity, in some sense symbolize Kelantan and the uniqueness of the Kelantanese, Islam is no less crucial to Kelantanese self-identity. Adoption of a more Middle-Eastern-type Modernist Islam, or the conviction and the performative utterance that Islam and the Wayang Kulit of traditional Kelantan are mutually exclusive activities has caused confusion among Kelantanese who would like to cling to both as part of their heritage. Religious Kelantanese Muslims who were also ardent admirers of their state’s reputation as the heartland of Malay culture. The vitality of Kelantanese culture, and its nature as the ” true ” Malay culture, by the frequency and popularity of Wayang Kulit performances. Most Kelantanese villagers do not find themselves in the same philosophical bind as their more self-consciously Muslim bretheren. Wayang Kulit has traditionally been an accepted part of village Kelantan life, and Islam as practiced in the village has accepted or ignored, the existence of Wayang Kulit. For its part, Wayang Kulit has incorporated Islam into its complex of belief.

REFERENCES

Alatas, Syed Hussein, 1972: Modernization and Social Change,Sydney:

Angus and Robertson Ecklund, Judith, 1979: A Preliminary Analysis of Sasak Wayang n.d. Geertz,

Clifford, 1960: The Religion of Java, New York:Basic Books.

Holt, Claire, 1967: Art in Indonesia, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Hall, Kira, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 9(1-2):184-187. Copyright C 2000, American Anthropological Association.

Maxwell, George, 1907: In Malay Forests, London: Blackwood and Sons.

Muhammad Salleh bin Wan Musa (With S. Othman Kelantan), 1974: “Theological Debates: Wan Musa b. Haji Abdul Samad and His Family “, William Roff, ed., Kelantan: Religion, Society. and Politics in a Malay State, pp. 163-69, Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.

Overbeck, H., 1933: ” Hikayat Mahraja Ravana, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Malayan Branch XI, 2: 111-132.

Peacock, James, 1978: Muslim Puritans, Berkeley: University of California Press.

Rentse, Anker, 1947: “The Origin of the Wayang Theatre (Shadow Play),” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Malayan Branch XX, 1: 12-15.

Roff, William, 1962: ” Kaum Muda-Kaum Tua: Innovation and Reaction Amongst the Malays, 1900-41,” K. G. Trengonning, ed., Papers on Malayan History, pp. 162-192, Singapore: Journal of Southeast Asian History.

Shellabear, W. G., ed., 1965: Hikayat Seri Rama, Singapore: Malaysia Publishing House.

Sheppard, Dato Haji Mubin, 1965: “Pa’ Dogol and Wa’Long: The Evolution of the Comedians in the Malay Shadow Play in Kelantan,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Malaysian Branch XXXVIII, 1: 1-5.

Singaravelu, S., 1974: ” Invocations to Nataraja in the Southeast Asian Shadow Plays with Special Reference to the Kelantan Shadow Play,” Mohd. Taib Osman, ed., Traditional Drama and Music of Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Skeat, W. W., 1967: Malay Magic (originally published 1900), New York: Dover. Sweeney, P. L. Amin, 1972: The Ramayana

Issues Of Performance in Malaysia

Malaysian performing arts practice, like its context, is an exercise in contradiction. It is largely autonomous from government but never free of intervention either from the authorities themselves, or from conservative censorious segments of the public. It has a very specialized influence, with small audience penetration even though it is strongly community-based and engaged in the issues affecting Malaysian society. It is frequently multidisciplinary and cross-pollinating, but nearly always divided along linguistic and formal (theatre / dance / music) lines. The performing arts are often discussed as a whole, yet this is too much of a generalization to do justice to what is, in the end, diverse and exciting artistic inquiry: collectives of practitioners moving in all directions. An overview of contemporary performing arts in Malaysia, is hardly comprehensive. History provides a chronological account of flow of Malaysian performing arts from pre-Independence to the present day. Infrastructure and Support Systems, goes over exactly that audiences, spaces, funding and grants, existing programmed and festivals for a general sketch of the circumstances in which work is performed. Issues discussed, is referring miscellaneous issues facing the arts community today.
Based to West Malaysia’s history as a meeting point for exchange, the art-forms considered to be part of the peninsula’s indigenous cultural heritage have regional foundations: from Kelantan and Terengganu’s Wayang Kulit (Hindu-epic shadow puppet theatre with Javanese roots), to Negeri Sembilan’s Randai (martial arts-inflected arena theatre of Minangkabau origin). Even so, most have since evolved their own distinct, syncretic qualities for example, the dance theatre Mak Yong, practiced principally in Kelantan, maybe also be performed as ritual theatre part of the shamanistic Main Puteri healing rites.
While these forms, like Mak Yong, had ritualistic or ceremonial duties, they were nevertheless deeply seated in their communities, bringing together whole villages to participate in the spectacle, and often for days on end: these performances, in their traditional iterations, functioned more as fetes than discrete shows. The influx of immigrants from China and the Indian subcontinent brought new forms and methods of performance; classical Indian dance and Chinese percussion, for example, continue to have their boundaries pushed today.

The 1980s also saw the rise of Islamic revivalism; in the performance, this translated into the intelligentsia of Malay-language practice re-evaluating the relationship between their beliefs and art-making specifically, whether the trends in the performance (like Absurdist malay-language theatre) was nihilistic, godless, and therefore contrary to Islam. Many practitioners stopped working altogether. Academic Carmen Nge, in her survey of Malaysian theatre, writes that:
“A notable exception is Noordin Hassan, who continued to create plays such as 1400 and Jangan Bunuh Rama-Rama but with a more explicit Islamic and religious thrust. Government-sponsored theatre took on the mantle of encouraging drama with Islamic themes, hence the 1981 Prime Minister’s Department-sponsored playwriting competition on Islamic drama.”
This religiosity also gave rise to a sense of moral outrage; conservative authorities throughout the 1990s censored performances on the grounds of religious and moral indecency: productions of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” and Tennessee William’s “A Street Car Named Desire”, and Malaysian plays such as Dina Zaman’s “Pengganggur Terhormat” were among those who fought highly-publicized battles with censors for containing un-Islamic themes; the state governments of Kelantan and Terengganu, under the rule of PAS, the Malaysian Islamic Party, banned Mak Yong, Main Puteri, and Wayang Kulit in 1991 for the fact that these forms had pre-Islamic origins.
Malaysian performance practice is most exciting when engaged with its context. It is in theatre that this is most apparent: socio-political commentary is no stranger to the floorboards. Five Art Centre (founded by Krishen Jit, Marion D’Cruz and Chin San Sooi)’s interrogations of Malaysian-ness and Instant Cafe Theatre (founded by Jo Kukathas, Andrew Leci and Jit Murad and Zahim Albakri), political satire have entertained and challenged audiences; from Kee Thuan Chye’s “We Could Kill You Mr Birch” (1984), Shahimah Idris’s “From Teluk Intan To Table Mountain” (presented by KualiWorks), to Jit Murad’s “Gold, Rain and Hailstones” (most recently presented by Dramalab) and Ridzwan Othman’s “Flies and Foreigners” (2004, Instant Cafe Theatre), Malaysian plays have dealt with issues as diverse as the clash of East and West, Feminism, and the perception of migrant workers.
Multilingual work is rife: Mark Teh’s “Dua, Tiga Dalang Berlari” (2007), about the clash between two rival Wayang Kulit masters, featured a text delivered in Malay, Hokkien and English. The production of original texts has been helped along by initiatives such as Instant Caf Theatre’s First Works programme, a workshop for new playwrights. The Actors Studio and the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) both in encouraging the work of young up-and-comings, both individual and collective. The staging of existing performance texts happens quite frequently, but these tend to be foreign works from the English-language canon. Adaptations to the local context and straight reproductions happen frequently, to varying degrees of critical acclaim. One theatre company, Gardner & Wife, almost exclusively functions by bringing in foreign English-language pop-entertainment theatre productions.
Malaysia is internationally known for ground-breaking work in Indian classical dance, particularly in the traditions of Odissi and Bharata Natyam. Dominating this genre is Temple of Fine Arts(founded in 1981) and Sutra Dance Theatre(1983) the latter of which, started by renowned practitioner Ramli Ibrahim, hosted “Stirring Odissi”, a massive Odissi festival, just this year. These organizations have produced a fine number of dancers and choreographers, such as Umesh Shetty. Shetty’s work, in particular, belies the instinct for traditional dance practitioners to push boundaries: his dance-and-music work “Inside Out”(presented by Inner Space in 2004) infused classical Indian movement with modern sensibilities. Contemporary dance is no less exciting: pioneered by Marion D’Cruz and Dancers (“Urn Piece”) in the 1980s and 1990s, D’Cruz’s work currently continues to explore the potential poetry in the movement in untrained, non-dancer performers. Among other notable contemporary choreographers (these are frequently active performers themselves) include Judimar Hernandez, Gan Chih Pei, Azizi Sulaiman, Zulkifli Muhamad, Junainah Lojong, and Steve Goh. Contemporary dance’s most exciting coherent genre today is the Japanese form Butoh: represented by choreographers / performers Lena Ang (“PINK!” in 2008, presented by Taro Ensemble), and Lee Swee Keong (“Curse of the Forbidden Palace”, 2007). While discrete dance companies exist apart from Sutra and Temple of Fine Arts are groups such as Kwang Tung Dance Troupe, Dua Space Dance Theatre and Tandak Dance Theatre the Malaysian dance scene is fairly fluid, and practitioners tend to function as loose confederation of collaborating individuals. The MyDance Alliance, registered in 2001 as the local arm of the World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific, functions as a society aimed at fostering community.

A fairly strong tendency in contemporary performance practice is the striving towards more community outreach and engagement. The Taman Medan Community Arts Project (Five Arts, in 2002) and Rhythm in Bronze’s outreach programme in Prima Selayang (2007) both targeted low-income communities with socio-economic woes, in an attempt to encourage these populations to express themselves and therefore come to terms with their unique issues. In Penang, a collective of practitioners known as Arts Ed run Anak-anak Kota, a programme for school-age youth that introduces them to the heritage and history of Georgetown. Mark Teh brought his play about communists, “Baling (membaling)” to sports centres and colleges in an effort to connect a younger generation to alternate and forgotten histories. Young people are also a priority in programmes geared towards performance training and education. These began in earnest during the 1990s, with initiatives such as Five Arts Centre’s Teater Muda (begun by performing-arts-education advocate Janet Pillai), and the Actors Studio’s Academy, and aimed to foster interest in the performances and discover new talent. Success may be gauged by continuity. For example: former members of youth ensemble Akshen — which Five Arts took under their wing — now comprises the company’s second generation.
Most organisations now run such initiatives. The performances of children’s theatre companies such as The Jumping Jellybeans (run by Cinzia Ciaramicoli and Shantini Venugopal) always have a participatory component. Dance practitioners such as Mew Chang Tsing have spent years developing education regimens for young bodies; other organisations, such as Temple of Fine Arts, began as entities in service to their communities. The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra has a youth ensemble, the Malaysian Youth Philharmonic Orchestra KLPac’s Sinfonietta , includes many under-20s talents.
A major issue in the Malaysian context is public support for the performing arts or, rather, its lack. Most institutions associated with what is now known as the Ministry of Culture, Arts, Heritage and National Unity, like the Istana Budaya, inherit the culture of apathetic bureaucracy that is endemic within the Malaysian government system. Appointed ministers serve their own party-political schema, rather than the serious evaluation about culture; from the top down, little thinking appears to have gone into the management of policy. (The Ministry’s newest proposal is an “Arts Village” in Kuala Lumpur, a mega-project with a multi-million-ringgit price tag and dubious practical use, since there appears to have been no consultation with the arts community at all.) The exercise of culture has never recovered from its pairing with tourism; the mindset remains, and initiatives by the state and federal bodies continue to push an economic agenda. It is pretty clear, however, that the Ministry’s direction continues to be a parochial interpretation of the National Cultural Policy’s prerogatives. When government funding benefits get to artists, it tends to flow to Malay practitioners and performances that purport ostensibly “Malay” culture and values though only a very narrow concept of Malay-Muslim that is championed; there is little space for self-examination, beyond an affirmation of nationalism and pious-ness.
A key to a wider performing arts practice and a wider audience is education: encouragements in the younger generation an interest in artistic pursuits. While performing arts organizations do their best to reach out, instruct, and disseminate information, the crucial space in which such work should occurs the school classroom is largely neglected. In fact, the Malaysian education system, with its emphasis on technical and scientific disciplines, has become reasons for its discouraging of the creative arts. Obviously, better strategies must be devised. Still, the consensus is that audience attendance is on the rise; there exists an urban youth demographic, sensitive to creative cultural activity. Fusing with modern strategies of dissemination, such as Internet networking mean that attention to the performing arts is on the increase.

Brandon, James R.(1976),Brandon’s guide to theater in Asia Guide to theater in Asia, University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu

Lahr, John(1970), Up against the fourth wall : essays on modern theater, Grove Press

Schechner, Richard(1985) Between theater & anthropology, Focal Press, Boston

Schechner, Richard(1993)The future of ritual : writings on culture and performance, Routledge, London

Schechner, Richard(2002),Performance studies : an introduction / Richard Schechner, Routledge, London

Wilson, Edwin(1983), Living theater : an introduction to theater history, McGraw-Hill

Ismail, Azman(2009) Teater Malaysia miskin penggiat dan khalayak, http://www.dbp.gov.my/lamandbp/main

www.kakiseni.com

http://www.kpkk.gov.my/pdf/buku/dasar_industri_muzik.pdf

Pusat Harapan Harian Bakti

                   9th  MAC  2011 ,  VLP  117 – Drama  &  Teater  Kanak-Kanak went to the  Pusat  Harapan  Harian  Bakti,  Balik  Pulau,  Pulau  Pinang as one of the courses project in collaborating performing art with therapy of childrens with special needs. The project, leads by Dr.  Aris  bin  Ahmad and participated by the students of Universiti Sains Malaysia was there to observe and evaluate the needed process to collaborate performing art in a form of therapy for the children.

 

From our observation, assisted by Puan R.Rajeswari, we were briefed about how the centre work with the community and with the children as well. The children that is attending this facility would have several symptoms like down syndrome, hyper-active child, and slow learning ability. Their main purpose of building up this centre is to train and rehabilitate childrens with special needs of basic living skill and to create equal opportunities for the children for their future occupation. The children was divided into two categories, fudamentals stage and the advance stage. In the fundamental stage the children was tought the basic living skills like toilet training, reading, writing, and receiving orders. This was tought with different approaches according to the level of the symptom of each children. the differences between the children affect their ability to learn and with different symptom, a different ways of approach needed. the advance level is where the children that has been able to work socially and able to execute given task. Most of them aged 18 years  old and above. They were station in the workshop as the worker for the centre, where they work with simple industrial material. Their work contributes the monetary needs of the centre and generating their own monthly income as well.

   From this observation, I have discovered that some of the exercise given to the children do came with the performing arts approach. the children was involed with performing arts, mainly dance choreography as a part of their training. According to Blanche Evan, the  approach emphasizes restoring the client to her natural potential for expressive movement and ”re-educating the body to a state wherein movement responses’ function” (Evan, 1951, p. 88). It also mobilizes the dynamic interaction between the psyche and the body. Toward this end the work includes’ dance education and movement rehabilitation in addition to emphasis on a deeper exploration of feelings and insight-oriented improvisation. The Evan method serves as primary, and appropriate for clients who possess the ego strength to tolerate in-depth self-examination.Psycho-physical refers to an experience that occurs concurrently on psychological and physical levels and describes the complex impact that the body as on the psyche, and that the psyche has on the body. A fundamental concept to the Evan’s method, psycho-physical implies that all human experience including emotional response, memory, and thoughts contain kinesthetic components. Body movement is a direct outlet for the psyche, thus, through dance, the psycho-physical realm can be fully expressed and explored to stimulate ihsight and mobilize therapeutic change. “To experience psycho-physical unity is a basic need” (Evan,1951, p. 88).

Mobilization refers to sequences of directives that are formulated to increase body awareness and broaden movement vocabulary through ‘the exploration of the elements of dance, that is, rhythm, space, intensity, body•movement, and content-. “A goal is to open up the client’s body without taking away defenses. Moving, expanding, and discovering the body without pointing it to content” (Evan, 1978,).

Three examples of mobilizations are:

 (1)  A directive emphasizing body structure, such as exploring the range of movement of the spine.

(2) A directive expanding the use of dance elements, such as gradually varying tempo from very fast to very slow.

 (3) A directive that encourages experimenting with new movement dynamics, such as to explore leaping, sliding, lunging, and exploding.

 This described on how the performing arts can be affiliate as a method of therapy towards the children with special need. The aproach would be more subtle as it was intertaining the childrens and  the childrens would be train subconciously.

 

ref.

 

Bonnie Bernstein,41-54,  1995,  Dance and Other Expressive Art Theraphies, Dancing Beyond Trauma: Women Survivor of Sexual Abuse, Routledge, NY

 

 

Searching Shakespeare (an Analysis on Michael Cassio:Othello)

Character Analysis

 Cassio is one of Othello’s soldiers, and is recently appointed the general’s second-in-command. This infuriates Iago, as he wanted to be lieutenant, and Cassio is a math (not muscle) guy, so Iago cannot understand this appointment.

Like all people, real and imagined, he’s got some flaws. First, he’s a lightweight when it comes to drinking. This is the weakness that Iago exploits (when Iago gets Cassio drunk and sends him off to fight Roderigo). Second, Cassio’s a little too much of a lady’s man. This angers Iago, as Cassio’s kissing Emilia in front of Iago is a bad idea. It also comes back to bite Cassio in the end, since his flirtatious charisma helps convince Othello that Cassio is having sex with Desdemona.

Cassio is the kind of guy who likes to put women in one of two categories – virgin or whore. When he talks about Desdemona, we can tell that he sees her as a kind of secular Virgin Mary. Here’s what he says when Desdemona arrives in Cyprus:

O behold […] You men of Cyprus, let her have your knees,
Hail to thee lady! And the grace of heaven,
Before, behind thee, and on every hand,
Enwheel thee round. (2.1.8)

Clearly, Cassio worships Desdemona but, he has a tendency to mock his courtesan girlfriend, Bianca, who, sadly, is pretty smitten with Cassio. As Iago points out, “when [Cassio] hears of [Bianca], he cannot refrain / From the excess of laughter” (4.1.19). While Cassio may not be guilty of sleeping with another man’s wife, it seems pretty clear that he’s kind of a jerk when it comes to women.

http://www.shmoop.com/othello/michael-cassio.html

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Searching Shakespeare (Michael Cassio Of Othello)

Michael Cassio Timeline and Summary

 •1.1 Iago announces that Othello has recently chosen Cassio for his second-in-command.

 •1.2 Cassio shows up with a message to Othello from the Duke: get over here.

•2.1 Cassio is there to greet Desdemona, Othello, and Iago when they arrive at Cyprus. He is very friendly to them both and kisses Emilia hello, which does not please Iago.

 •2.3 After Iago gets him drunk, Cassio fights with Roderigo, and then with Montano, who’s just trying to calm him down. Othello comes out, furious at the disorder, and fires Cassio. Iago suggests that Cassio turn to Desdemona to convince Othello to re-hire him.

•3.1 Iago goes to Emilia and asks to be taken to Desdemona. She agrees.

•3.3 Desdemona agrees to help Cassio get his job back. He’s grateful, but slinks away when he sees Othello coming back.

•3.4 Cassio comes in to see if Desdemona has succeeded in getting him his job back, but Desdemona and Othello have just had a fight, so it’s not a good time. Later, Cassio gives Bianca (a prostitute he’s involved with) a handkerchief he found in his room. Apparently he liked the pattern on it so much that he wanted Bianca to copy it. It happens to belong to Desdemona, stolen by Emilia on behalf of the scheming Iago. Trouble is a-brewing.

•4.1 Cassio comes in and sees Othello in the middle of a fit. Iago assures him it’s a normal thing and asks to talk to him later. Cassio comes back and jokes with Iago about Bianca and how needy and ridiculous she is. (Othello, overhearing, thinks they’re discussing Desdemona.) Then Bianca comes in and throws the handkerchief back in Cassio’s face; she’s sure it’s from some other woman, and who does he think he is!? Unfortunately, Othello is watching.

•5.1 Cassio’s minding his own business when Roderigo tries to attack him. Cassio beats him off, but Iago secretly wounds him from behind. Cassio falls and shouts for help.

•5.2 Cassio, not dead, comes in after Othello has killed Desdemona to confirm that she never had an affair with him and that this was all Iago’s terrible plot against them. While Othello has to go back to Venice to get punished for killing his wife, Cassio gets to take his (military) position in Cyprus.





Boys and girls, let’s play together. (The study of gender and games amongst the children)

Growing up was the most critical phase of human life. Being a children, one will define their entire behaviour by the interactions among friends and games they played. Their characteristic will develop from how they socially behave. One of the development that occurs among children is the segregation among gender. The oldest views on gender segregation was the theory formulated by Sigmund Freud. In his Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality(Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie, 1905), he offered the explanation that gender segregation occurs as children repress their sexual feelings during the stage of development. That is, children avoid interactions with the opposite sex to avoid the guilty feelings they associate with sexuality. During this stage, children channel their energies into less threatening pursuits such as collecting trading cards or dolls. When they play with opposite-sex friends, children often get teased about being “in love” or “going with” their friend. “No boys allowed!” is the warning when girls are playing their masak-masak, and boys would behave the opposite, at least until the puberty changes things.

 This occurs in every cultural setting in which researchers have observed children selecting playmates. But how does it begin, and why? There are no clear answers to these questions, but we can learn more by looking at how gender segregation evolves across childhood and adolescence. By 2 to 3 years of age, children are beginning to show a clear preference for playing with other children of their own sex (Serbin, Moller, Gulko, Powlishta, & Colburne, 1994). At this age children are more interactive and sociable when playing with same-sex friends. When they are with the opposite sex, they tend to watch or play alongside the other child rather than interact directly. Gender segregation is very prominent after the age of 3. Preschool children spend very little time playing one-on-one with the opposite sex. They spend some time in mixed-sex groups but spend most of their time, by far, playing with same-sex peers. By 6 years, segregation is so firm that if you watch 6-year-olds on the playground, you should expect to see only 1 girl-boy group for every 11 boy-boy or girl-girl groups (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1987).

However, in my opinion, we can gradually develop trust and believe between gender by involving children of different gender in activities or games that are suitable for both boys and girls, that are not too rough nor too light, ensuring that both are able to participate and enjoy the activity. According to Lever (1976), in her observational study of 10- and 11-year-olds, she discovered that boys’ games were more competitive with two-thirds of boys’ games having distinct winners and losers, whereas girls’ games were more cooperative and only one-third having clear winners and losers. Both cooperative and competitive values could be found in most Malaysian traditional game (e.g Baling Selipar, Ayam dan Musang and Galah Panjang). Looking at the structure of these games, both gender are physically and mentally capable of participating and would actually have the equal role in the process of playing. The sense of cooperation in competing between two groups will develop towards completing the goals of the particular game being played. But the familiarity between children may have influenced the same sex preference shown  in the games because children had time to learn each others’ play styles and preferences. The results may have differed had the children been unfamiliar. Although different opinion caused by different gender and background, such game could also be applied as an ice-breaker, to get the children familiar with each other and could actually accept the opinion of others.

            In conclusion, the gender segregation among children can be prevented by participating children in games and activities, which is structured without any consideration of gender and age, allowing a possibility of children of any ages, sex, or social background. Malaysian traditional games, would be a method to minimize differences and getting the children to work together as a whole.

References

Fabes, R. A., Shepard, S. A., Guthrie, I. K. & Martin, C. L. (1997) . Roles of temperamental arousal and gender-segregated play in young children’s social adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 33, 693-702.

Lever, J. (1976) . Sex differences in the games children play. Social Problems, 23, 478-487.

Maccoby, E. E., & Jacklin, C. N. (1987). Gender segregation in childhood. In E. H. Reese (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 20) . New York: Academic Press.

Serbin, L. A., Powlishta, K. K., & Gulko, J. (1993). The development of sex typing in middle childhood. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 58 ( 2, Serial 232) . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/r4455k16433072p6/

http://www.education.com/reference/article/friendship-gender-preschool-childhood/