Puppet masters, singers and gamelan orchestra players perform a shadow puppet show in three languages in Semarang, Central Java. The show was organized by students, lecturers and employees of the School of English at the Catholic University of Soegijapranata. (JP/Suherdjoko)

In a conventional shadow puppet show, the dialogue between puppet characters is performed by a single puppet master, usually a man.

So the effect of a show performed in multiple languages by multiple puppet masters was, quite simply, extraordinary.

Amba and Dewabrata, which tells the tragic love story of Dewi Amba and Dewabrata from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, was staged and organized by the students, lecturers and employees of the School of English at the Catholic University of Soegijapranata in the Central Java capital, Semarang.

The play was performed in three languages -- Javanese, English and Indonesian -- with each character represented by one puppeteer, some of whom were women.

During the two-hour performance, dozens of puppeteers, singers and gamelan orchestra players appeared in what turned out to be a compact, harmonious and enjoyable show.

Puppet master Kedo Arya Aghasa Tejandaru said the show had been difficult to prepare at first. Amba was the troupe's second performance, after they staged The Death of Rahwana last May. Rahwana, however, was an all-English performance.

To put on the show, he had to learn about puppet shows from scratch on his own, rather than from a real puppet master.

"It was hard work but it's satisfying," he said.

Two lecturers, Tjahjono Rahardjo and Adhyanggono, worked hard to teach the students to help them understand and love shadow puppet shows.

Angelika Riyandari from the English Literature department was responsible for the music for the show.

"We asked everyone -- from university students to security guards -- to get involved in the performance, acting as the puppeteers, the singers or the gamelan players," said Tjahjono, a lecturer for the university's master's program in environmental studies.

They bought leather puppets from Bantul in Yogyakarta: Their budget of Rp 1 million (US$95) was enough to buy only six puppets, with the rest on loan.

Despite the limitations, the show was a success, not only in terms of the performance, but also in boosting shadow puppetry's popularity.

Yessie Siahana, who voiced Dewi Amba, knew little about shadow puppets before getting involved in the show.

Another student, Ruschka, performed two characters, Limbuk and Cangik, two female servants who make jokes and social criticisms when on stage.

"I liked the show. It was interesting. I never imagined that I would fall in love with leather puppet shows," Ruschka said.

"But, well, for this show, you didn't have to put on a sarong and kebaya *traditional blouse*. You could perform even if you're in a T-shirt and jeans."

She had a point. All 34 people involved in the performance wore black T-shirts and most were in jeans.

The group, which calls itself Nikimuzieku, is already planning another shadow puppet show, this time to be performed in five languages: Chinese, Dutch, English, Indonesian and Javanese.

"This way, our audience will be more varied," Tjahjono said.

Getting serious

The idea of becoming a puppet master does not appeal to many youths. At SMKN 8 vocational school in Surakarta, Central Java, only three students attended the puppetry department this year.

At the school, where students must apply themselves seriously to mastering leather puppetry skills according to convention, only three students graduated from the class in 2007. Last year, there were eight students, including two women,

"Generally, students learning puppetry here come from families of puppet masters," said an instructor, Sukasdi.

"In general, it is their families that have encouraged them to be puppeteers."

Students at the school learn to deliver dialogue in Javanese to address both the common people and the upper class. They also learn to move the leather puppets properly and play the gamelan orchestra.

Some students do come from puppeteer families.

The grandfathers of two students, Bagus Sutopo Kusuma Atmojo and Joko Prasetyo, were puppet masters, and Hening Panegak Buwono is the son of a puppeteer.

Muhammad Heru Susilo does not have such a connection: His father was a carpenter.

"But I like watching shadow puppet shows," said Susilo, who first "performed" as a puppet master during his circumcision ritual as a boy. "From then on, I wanted to be a real puppet master."

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