Galeri Indonesia Kaya (GIK) with its “Creative Space for Indonesian Performance” program invited young artists to propose their art projects. After a selection process, 10 people were given a chance to undergo art training covering both theory and practical skills that would guide them in the process of creating their dream shows throughout the year.

The young talents received guidance from three influential mentors — theater Garasi co-founder Yudi Ahmad Tajudin, dancer Eko Supriyanto and film auteur Garin Nugroho.

In March, GIK hosted a theater performance presented by one of the selected 10 communities, Jolly M. Sijabat of Regeneration Theater. Jolly directed a play titled Tri Mbak Kentir (Three Crazy Women), Story of Three Friends Living Under One Roof, which tells the story of three close friends with diverse backgrounds living in the same rental home, but sharing the same profession as prostitutes.

The three main characters of the play are Sumarah, Marlina and Momon. Sumarah, played by Delila, comes from a poor family and wants to change her fate in the city, while Marlina (Sheila Octarina) is from a rich family but lacked attention from her father. The third character, Momon (Yusuf Bakrie), is a transgender.

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Eventually the three friends fall in love with clients. What they don’t realize is that the client is the same person. Once they discover the truth, their friendship almost falls apart, bringing them to an emotional ride that brings tears before they eventually learn a moral lesson to appreciate the importance of friendship.

Lasting less than two hours, the play manages to nail a very humorous show, easily grabbing the attention of audience members, who were of all ages, with the actors’ brilliant performances. While the actors dived into the world of body language and facial expressions, the audience in the small auditorium felt a connection with the characters.

Tri Mbak Kentir is a witty and unordinary play delivered through creatively composed dialogue, naturally flowing from the actors’ instinct along with unexpected phrases that made the room fill with laughter.

“The hardest part to making it happen was in building a connection between the actors and their characters. We went over and over it again until we finally decided it was a perfect fit,” Jolly said.

He said the play took around two and a half months to prepare. He secured a script written by a friend that was inspired by real life experience and needed only slight changes.

Jolly wanted to present a show that reflected a fresh image, so he tried to grab the audience’s attention to demonstrate his perspective in encountering problems.

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Regeneration Theater, originally called S’mas Regeneration, consists of 30 young artists with a passion for drama. It was initially created because they were concerned about the few platforms there were for performing arts in Indonesia.

“Young people who are involved in Regeneration Theatre realize that theater is an ideal platform for them to express their creativity. We initiated the Creative Space program so that young creators like Regeneration Theatre cold obtain sufficient education about the performing arts from experts so they can present an enjoyable performance,” said Renitasari Adrian, the program director of Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation.

Jolly said the Regeneration Theater would stage a lot of other plays in the near future.

“We wanted to produce a play that people would love. We became very excited when we heard about Creative Space at Galeri Indonesia Kaya. There are also offers to restage the play, Tri Mbak Kentir, but I’m also considering making a fresh act in the future” he said.

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The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.

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