(Simon Sudarman)

The popularity of ketoprak, or traditional Javanese historical theater, has waxed and waned over the last several decades. For performer Ignatius Wahono, however, it remains a way of life.

'I was playing ketoprak while working as a primary school teacher with a monthly salary of Rp 300 in the 1960s,' said Wahono, 76, who graduated from the teacher's training secondary school in Bantul, Yogyakarta, in 1952.

Married in 1966 to his ketoprak peer Agustina Ponijah, Wahono first appeared on stage in the same year, earning only Rp 2 per show. Of the various ketoprak troupes he has worked with, Sapta Mandala is the most memorable as the recipient of a Yogyakarta Cultural Award for traditional arts preservation in 2000.

'I've been impressed by this troupe's serious stage handling and high creativity. So even at the time, collaboration was already undertaken with dance groups, choir ensembles and Javanese classical orchestras. Under director and choreographer Bagong Kussudiharjo, colossal shows were presented with over 400 players,' he noted.

According to the Yogyakarta-born man who now works with Bantul's Tembi Cultural House, such big events, such as stagings of patriotic pieces such as Gajah Mada's Palapa Oath, were held at different venues, such as Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, in 1975 and at the National Monument in Jakarta in 1980 to mark Armed Forces Day.

'These were admirable works of art that stunned spectators and offered masterpieces with dignity,' said Wahono, who played the national hero General of the Army Sudirman while a member of Sapta Mandala.

Wahono, an empu (master) of ketoprak whose journey in traditional theater was documented in a film made by the Yogyakarta Culture Office in 2013, sees the collaborative shows as the heyday of ketoprak.

Lamenting the current absence of such events, he said that Sapta Mandala also produced light entertainment in Jakarta; Bandung, West Java; Semarang; and Yogyakarta in 1985 - far earlier than the humorous series aired by private television stations.

'Despite their light themes, in reality we managed to present such plays at various star-rated hotels in Jakata and Bandung - even at Lemhanas [the National Defense Institute] in Jakarta,' added Wahono.

Ketoprak cassette recordings were produced in 1972. Although no royalties were received, ketoprak players were paid amounts equivalent to Rp5 million or Rp 6 million today. After another troupe, Budi Rahayu, appeared on TV in 1969, Sapta Mandala followed in 1971.

'With cassettes and TV shows, ketoprak artists rose to fame and had busy schedules so that they led a prosperous existence,' said Wahono, who has been a Pakulaman palace servant with the title Mas Wedana Widya Pawicara since 1997.

As a ketoprak 'celebrity,' Wahono starred in films and television dramas between 1983 and 1995, once even sharing scenes with the famous actor Adi Kurdi in Sebening Air Mata (As Clear as Tears).

The past, however, is now only something to reminisce about. Wahono remains loyal and devoted to ketoprak, although in the last ten years he has mostly served as a contest judge and sometime teacher in several nearby regencies, including Bantul, Sleman, Kulonprogo, Boyolali and Magelang.

'Ketoprak as a performing art is capable of representing the situation in society in an appealing and flexible way, which makes me determined to carry on my commitment to preserve this art,' Wahono said.

However, he realizes that the glory days are over. 'Ketoprak has been overwhelmed by the glitz of other entertainments and it tends to be monotonous, thus failing to attract young people. Although it is taught at schools and colleges and has frequent competitions, these attempts haven't yet solved the survival quest of ketoprak.'

The situation worsened after a decree designating ketoprak artists as civil servants of Yogyakarta's Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) was overturned in the early days of the Reform era and when TVRI-Yogyakarta halted ketoprak broadcasts due to a lack of sponsors.

For Wahono, the only way to revive ketoprak is through better and creative handling to make it more competitive and regain fans.

'A lot of funds are needed to realize this. It has becomes the main problem,' Wahono, who received a cultural award from Pawarta Jakarta in 2013, said.

The government has only voiced support and not given financial backing, according to Wahono. 'A figure or institution prepared to support and sacrifice, as already shown by Pak Bagong Kussudiharjo in the past, is yet to be found.'

He continues. 'Now the search for a figure or agency showing concern and readiness to sacrifice for ketoprak has become imperative. If Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas, the consort of the sultan of the Yogyakarta Palace [Hamengkubuwono X], takes pleasure in assuming this position, she can be the right luminary to serve as a foster parent of ketoprak today,' Wahono said.

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