Whether in New York, London or Jakarta, theater has its own magic. 
Diverse: The Indian, Javanese, and Chinese characters from Singh Sang Song on stage. Courtesy of Singh Sang Song
If you haven’t had the opportunity to go to the theater in the West, then it is good to know that people in Indonesia have been busy pioneering Western-style plays with Indonesian touches.
Three recent plays, Ali Topan, Laskar Pelangi and Singh Sang Song, all had their own unique ways of combining East and West.
Ali Topan is a love story set in the 1970s, Laskar Pelangi is a story about children from Sumatra and Singh Sang Song is about three bachelors, one Indian, one Javanese and one Chinese, who have the
same mother.
East meets East: The Chinese son in Singh Sang Song. Courtesy of Singh Sang Song
The risks of producing and creating plays in Indonesia are very high these days. First, Indonesians are still not into so-called “stage culture”. Although Teater Koma has been around for awhile — and wayang for even longer — the budgets to produce those forms of entertainment are low, as are ticket costs. But, with the highly budgeted musicals staged these last two years using the best multimedia, props and artists, the same amount will get one a seat in the balcony section. VIP seats can easily cost Rp 750,000 (US$83) to Rp 1 million.
Riri Reza, the creator of Laskar Pelangi said, “When we started the project, we already knew that with the high cost of our production that the play would have to be shown for a minimum of three weeks. Our props and set design were complex, we actually had the set made to look like a village; we had an ensemble that played folk music that we called the theater company.
“We were very ambitious; Mira and I thought that if we want to enter this line [of work], we had to be grand enough to make a good impression. We hired professional musicians and actors to save time, as they do not require training.” 
The boards: A scene from Singh Sang Song. Courtesy of Singh Sang Song
He added, “There were many who called to congratulate [us] and have heard about Laskar Pelangi but had not seen it. They asked for another showing after the 28 performances.” Although the play was shown again from July 1 to 10, the investment has still not been recovered, even though the target of 25,000 viewers has already been achieved.
Maera Arifin Panigoro of Ali Topan said, “I wanted to introduce a musical similar to the ones on Broadway with a simple storyline, very easy to digest. I wanted to let the Indonesian people have an alternative because this is something that Westerners having been doing for so many years. The roots of our theater culture are all musical, there is singing, dancing and acting.”
She said she believes in educating people about musicals that have been and that will be. Ali Topan’s nine shows brought in over 3,000 viewers and broke even on the financial side.
“For Singh Sang Song, the production costs were minimal but had the same effect on the audience as Ali Topan and Laskar Pelangi. I wanted to create a play with a minimal budget using the best multimedia, lights and props and with a maximal effect on the audience. I wanted to make people laugh and cry and at the same time impart a moral message… Like Maera and Riri, I wanted to educate the viewers on the existence of a variety of musicals,” the Singh Sang Song creator said.
On stage: An image from Singh Sang Song shows passengers aboard a Metro Mini bus. Courtesy of Singh Sang Song
Sukamdani Sryantoro, who watched Ali Topan and Laskar Pelangi, noted that, “Ali Topan was entertaining because the producer was able to present the 70s in an attractive modern setting … Laskar Pelangi on the other hand showed the difference between watching the story on film or at the theater. The clever use of multimedia and sets made watching Laskar Pelangi better live.”
The most challenging issue in this kind of an industry is the venue. There are limited theatrical theaters in Jakarta, and the ones now have limited equipment.
Maera notes, “We don’t have a proper theater building in Jakarta with international standards. It makes it more difficult for us in terms of production. We have to add more sound systems and lightings and the cost to rent them are per day, so this increases the production costs … Our difficulty at the moment is finding the right place to stage our plays.”
Riri’s main concern is the lack of venues, as it is not possible to book any theater for a long time. “If we stage the show for three months, then we will have a very good performance. The first five performances are like a test for the performers, it is only from the sixth performance onwards that the actors get the feel that they live in that shack and then for all you know, it’s the final performance already. So I really hope we can have a good theater that we can book for six months so people all over the country can have the
opportunity to watch the play.”
Acting in a film is less strenuous, Riri said, and stage actors require more of a time commitment. “For musicals you demand a lot more from the actors, you demand full commitment, you demand the ability to sing, dance and act but you can’t afford to pay them as much as film actors.” The stage actors are barely paid half of their film counterparts on top of that they have to go through vocal exercises for the first two hours of each rehearsal, then the scene practices for the next one hour, every day for four months”.
Behind the scenes: Backstage there are many stagehands to assist the actors. Courtesy of Singh Sang Song
For Singh Sang Song, the actors were trained in four and a half months, mostly after office hours, as the artists were mostly businessmen and housewives who had a talent for acting. Since the play was for charitable purposes, the actors performed for free. The budget instead concentrated on multimedia and props.
Riri said, “Last year there were several plays staged but suddenly it stopped because people realized that it wasn’t as easy as it looks because there is not enough audience and sponsorship; there’s just not enough of everything … We also need to educate people to get them interested in performing arts. And if the show is good, then you have credibility, then people advertise for you by word of mouth.”
Maera notes, “I am very positive about this industry. It will be there as long as the production houses can sustain this for another two or three years. And if the government can support with price reductions of the rentals, then all the more.”
At the end of the day, the theater is all about one’s own talent, one’s intelligence, one’s passion to bring to life a story in a magical way possessing the capacity to mesmerize the audience from head to toe.
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