Sori di Negeri Lembuna: Pesta Boneka #6

Photo from @fatimahartayu

Hi!

Kembali lagi dengan cerita tentang keikutsertaan dan proses Flying Balloons Puppet di Pesta Boneka #6. Hari ini, saya mau cerita tentang pengalaman kami berkolaborasi dengan seorang seniman Australia bernama Gwen Knox.

Untuk Pesta Boneka #6, kami membawakan karya terbaru kami yang berjudul Sori di Negeri Lembuna. Karya ini adalah karya kolaboratif dengan seniman Australia bernama Gwen Knox. Sebenarnya cerita tentang Sori dan Lembuna yang akan kami godok bersama ini sudah pernah kami pentaskan sebelumnya di Solo pada acara Solo International Performing Arts (SIPA) 2018. Namun, untuk kali ini kami ingin mengakomodir cara bekerja dan juga ide - ide yang akan hadir selama proses kreatif kami dengan Gwen.

Sori di Negeri Lembuna adalah cerita tentang seorang gadis yang bertemu dengan penunggu sungai yang berada di dekat rumahnya. Mahluk itu bernama Lembuna, seekor ular dengan kepala kerbau. Cerita ini berasal dari cerita di Sungai Pemali, Brebes, sebuah cerita yang cukup terkenal di sekitarnya. Kami ingin membuat pertunjukan yang menunjukkan sisi lain dari cerita tersebut di mana sebagian besar bercerita tentang penunggu yang jahat dan selalu meminta tumbal atau korban manusia. Mungkin saja, itu semua karena ulah kita manusia yang suka lupa merawat lingkungan sekitar.

With Gwen Knox after the performance. Photo from @fatimahartayu

Jadi, bagaimana rasanya menggabungkan dua cara bekerja yang berbeda menjadi sebuah karya kolaboratif. Jika saya melihat kembali, cukup mengejutkan hasil dari kolaborasi tersebut. Saya yakin bahwa latar belakang kita juga mempengaruhi bagaimana kami bekerja dan menciptakan sebuah pertunjukan. Awalnya teman - teman cukup kesulitan mengikuti alur dan laju kerja dari Gwen, tapi perlahan dan pasti kami bisa memaksimalkan cara kerja ini dalam proses kami.

Kesempatan ini bukan cuma menjadi cara kami memperluas jaringan, tapi juga menjadi tantangan untuk bisa berkompromi dengan cara kerja masing - masing. Secara pribadi saya pikir, ada latar belakang cara kerja yang berbeda antara Gwen dan juga kami. Tapi, komunikasi yang terbuka dan juga keinginan untuk belajar membuat perbedaan itu tidak menjadi batasan bagi kami untuk berproses dengan Gwen. Gwen sendiri sangat teratur dan terorganisir menyangkut latihan dan juga bagaimana membangun cerita yang akan dipertunjukan. Dia sangat mengerti bagaimana melogiskan aktivitas ke pertunjukan. Selain itu Gwen juga membantu kami untuk menyederhanakan cerita yang kami buat. At the end of the day, kami merasa Gwen sudah seperti nenek kami sendiri. Dia sangat sabar menghadapi tingkah laku anak - anak yang umurnya terpaut jauh. 

Semoga ada kesempatan - kesempatan lucu dan asyik yang akan hadir ke depannya. Untuk kegiatan pertunjukannya, nanti akan saya share lagi.

Sampai jumpa lagi!

M

Stepping into a new journey

Hi!

I have been busy with all the planning for an event on the end of October, it was a success!

Now, here I am writing a momentos about what happened yesterday and what will happen in the future. I am sitting on my office chair writing this entry in my laptop while imagining laying around in a beach towel. You know how it feels when you miss your hometown, try to pretend that I was there.

Yes, when you see the title, you will be wondering what is it about. Stepping into a new journey might refer to new career path, new study, new hobbies, and even new life. I am stepping into new door with my long time partner, Rangga. Back then, we never thought that we will decided to be together, and we actually committing to make it happen this year. A lot of trouble, ups, and down of course. Nobody is perfect but we try to support each other. Having a commitment with someone is a big job, I guess. It involves a big effort and commitment to able to put this step into your timeline.

For me, marriage is not the goal. It is just a part of reaching my life’s goal. People might have different understanding and approach to this word. When I was younger, I am afraid of it, all that responsibility and tiny bits of it. Then, why finally I get married? First, I do not find any other man who are compatible enough to face my regular up and downs as he does. I feel comfortable and irritated around him at the same time, because basically we are totally different. Second, he is such an awesome person. He knows what he is doing and he loves it tremendously. That is a quality that I adore about him. People said that you should know by your heart when it comes to marriage, but I guess heart is not the only things we have to lean on, right? I believe that my decision to get married is not only because I am in love with my partner, but there are also logical reasons that I thought about.

When we decided to take a step further, we know exactly what we are going to face, not alone though, but together. I believe that both of us creating a support system to reach our dreams (It’s not only a common dream, but each dream that we have individually).

So, how was the celebration of our union? To be honest, super tiring but exciting at the same time, can you imagine! I am so thrilled that many of my good people were there to celebrate it. We planned to have a very simple wedding with only a wedding ceremony, but believe me, in Indonesia, wedding is not always about you and your partner (for me at least, the whole family have each of their part on the wedding). That day, we greeted hundreds of people during the reception, trying to keep smiling in spite of that tight undergarment which makes me bathed in sweat. I was exhausted. The reception ended and I slept the whole noon.

After that hectic day, I finally have a perfect holiday with my partner and some of our friends. We rented a villa near Kuta, Lombok. Enjoy a sunset, swim at night and play game in the pool, snacking and talking about random things. I know that life is good and I am so blessed.

Road ahead is a mystery but I have a hands to hold to walk along and enjoy the view. Thank you for reading this cheesy entry. Anyway, I will be back with another story on our performance in Pesta Boneka #6. Yass!

Xoxo

M