Robby Hidajat1, Utami Widiati2, E.W. Suprihatin D.P3, Guntur4 & Surasak Jamnongsarn5
1-3Department of Art and Design, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang. Email: robby.hidajat.fs@um.ac.id
4Department of Craft, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Surakarta
5Department of Traditional Thai and Asian Music, Faculty of Fine Arts, Srinakharinwirot University
[Submitted 05 May 20023, modified 20 June 2023, accepted 22 June 2023, first published 24 June 2023]
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, June 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.13
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Theoretical
The Ramayana kecak is a popular tourist art in Bali that is rich in symbolism. The audience watches only from the front of the stage, which is formalistic in nature, witnessing different scenes, characteristics of figures, structures, and dramatic factors. The performers are not aware that the backstage is the realm of rituals and a part of the deep experience of spiritual beliefs. The front stage and backstage should be viewed as complementary duality. Activities behind the stage are more natural while those on the front stage are a manipulation. The backstage can be understood as a dramaturgical richness of a paradoxical and symbolic Eastern performing art. Therefore, the appeal of the backstage is not an attractive consideration. This research uses a qualitative descriptive approach. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with Ramayana kecak artists at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, and a document analysis was done. The theories used are symbolic interpretation, text and context, and symbolic structure. The results of the research present a description of the dramaturgy of Balinese performing art with a specific focus on: 1. Dramaturgy of the front stage, 2. Dramaturgy of the backstage, and 3. Local spiritual aesthetics including the spirit of duality known as taksu which is rooted in Rwa Bhineda.
Keywords: Kecak Ramayana, dramaturgy, performing art, Uluwatu Temple.
