STRIVINGTOKEEP A TRADITION ALIVE
Young apprentices at Ban Don temple in Rayong win accolades for reviving Nang Yai Grand Shadow Theatre
Every second year, UNIMA (Union International de la Marionette) a wards the “Prix Michael Meschke” to outstanding performers in puppetry. This year, this Swedish award was presented to a group of young performers from Rayong in recognition of their extraordinary efforts to preserve and renew the Nang Yai Grand Shadow Theatre tradition.
Last month, this group of young theater apprentices from the Ban Don temple in Rayong took Thailand’s oldest performing art form to partidpate in Lund’s international Puppet Festival, Sweden. The group then traveled to Greece on a special invitation from Athens University to introduce its students to the very unique theatre from Thailand where the marriage of the two theatrical art forms of dance and shadow play are simultaneously staged.
In Thailand, the Nang Yai theatre can be found in three provinces – the Wat Khanon troupe in Ratchaburi, the Wat Sawang Arom troupe in Singburi and the Wat Ban don troupe in Rayong. Despite the long establishment and widespread reputation of the former two, the Ban Don group was especially picked by Interdock, the festival’s organizers, because they were impressed by the spirit of the temple boys performing the Nang Yai in Rayong.
“Over 30 years, I have promoted the dying Nang Yai tradition. I found more hope in these boys than elsewhere among qualified players because they represent such tender ages and they do these studies out of free will, without payment and using their spare time after school” Michael Meschke said. Meschke is a professor emeritus in theatre and founder of the International Puppet Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.
These eight young amateurs represent many provincial youngsters across Thailand who are prepared to dedicate themselves and their time for this art form. Often unrecognised by authorities and suffering from a lack of resources, they are the living proof that anyone can safeguard cultural heritage, even within a small community. Indeed, with zero financial support from governmental agencies, the temple abbot, Phra Khru Burakethwuthikorn and teacher Amnat Maneesaeng founders of the troupe are hoping that the boys’ efforts would one day be appreciated more widely in Thailand and beyond.
There has been much discussion on how to revitalise traditional art forms as well as how to promote love and appreciation for traditional living treasures in the new generations. In Thailand and elsewhere, performing artists are facing similar challenges: what are the best possible solutions for preserving traditional arts, while, at the same time making them appeal to the contemporary audience? How much can traditionalists accept changes in their conventional practices and how far should modern artists go with their changes?
Bhanbhassa Dhubthien, a graduate in directing from Actors Studio and currently a lecturer in dramatic art at Chulalongkorn’s Arts Faculty, has made an attempt to prove that modern directing can be used to revitalise traditional plays. She has assisted the troupe to develop artistically and helped them present a revised Ramayana repertoire at the festival.
“For dramatists, we put an emphasis on the art of narrating a story. When I had a chance to attend the Nang Yai performance, I reckoned that the way in which it was presented had barely changed from what had been practiced 200 years ago. Audiences, nowadays, are less enthusiastic about the show. As a director, I find this very challenging in the sense that how much modern narrating techniques can be applied to create excitement as well as rejuvenate the attractiveness of the art of Nang Yai for contemporary audiences,” Bhanbhassa said.
Based on this assumption, several theatre techniques are adopted such as reworking on the “Ramayana” by elaborating more details in selected scenes, concentrating on plot development, instead of repetitive narration and action as in the past, dramatising a puppet’s manipulation techniques.
By working on the characterisation of each puppet character, puppeteers, like normal actors, should portray emotions and feelings of the character while manipulating the puppet. Additional movements from the Khon masked dance-drama are used to heighten emotions and actions.
Traditionally, music is played before actors can act out scenes. To follow this process, actors wait a long time for musician to complete their musical pieces.
The slow plot development resulting from this musical convention is replaced by applying the universal use of music in drama where appropriate selected parts of musical tunes are performed to support actions or emotions of the characters.
However, one must be aware of the negative impact on traditional practices. Professor Meschke said one has to avoid modernising traditional art forms that they look superficial. This often happens when traditional arts are presented to time-pressed Western tourists who require high speed entertainment. A more appropriate way may he to bring the traditional arts closer to their religious origin during the modernisation process.
Bhanbhassa agreed, “One thing I never dare to change is the use of the Na Phat music and dance [the revered musical tune and dance steps exclusively used by students who only passed the high-level teacher-initiation ceremony or the Wai Khru]. We must respect such beliefs and learn from it.”
The dying breath of Thailand’s old traditions and arts may be a race against time. Amidst pessimism and lack of resources, little star-lights are creating same hope. In a small community of the industrial city Rayong, the art of Nang Yai is still alive and meaningful to many youngsters. Perhaps, for an endangered art to survive, the cultural defenders are no longer from the top but are the ordinary people who hold it dear to their hearts.
KUSUMA VENZKYSTALLING
SPECAIL TO THE NATION
