April 13, 2006
Have Puppets, Will Travel
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.
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| I Nyoman Sumandhi performs Balinese shadow puppetry. |
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.
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