April 13, 2006
One of the best parts of working at the Spurlock Museum is meeting people from all over the world, especially the performers who share their talents through school programs and public events. Our most ambitious collaboration to date was bringing in I Nyoman Sumandhi, a renowned Balinese "dalang," for a five-day whirlwind visit last fall.
A dalang is a master of "wayang kulit" or shadow puppetry, a theater form that uses flat puppets that jump to life as shadows thrown on a large, flat screen. Audience members can sit either behind the puppeteer to watch him work or in front of the screen to concentrate on the movement of the characters. The performances dramatize episodes from ancient Hindu epic stories-familiar to all Balinese audience members-and show the influence of India and the Hindu religion on Balinese culture. The dalang is a highly trained professional who must simultaneously perform multiple skills: manipulate the puppets, narrate the stories in several languages, represent the characters through different voices, cue the musicians, and sing. As performances can last several hours, the dalang must possess a great deal of energy and a high level of concentration.
Sumandhi came to Urbana with his two sons, I Wayan Sutartha and I Made Roberto, who accompanied him during the performances on instruments called "gender wayang." The music played during a shadow puppet performance reflects and anticipates the action of the story, heightening drama or slowing the pace.
Sumandhi and his sons performed for over 1000 people during their short time at the Museum. We greatly appreciate the support of the Illinois Arts Council in allowing us the opportunity to bring these wonderful people to central Illinois.
