Akademi Pentas Mahakarya, a dance ensemble with the Adria Pratama Mulya senior high school in Tangerang, Banten, will perform a musical drama, Mencari Rimba (Searching for Rimba), at The World Festival of Children’s Performing Arts from July 29 to Aug. 4 in Toyama, Japan.

Focusing on both environmental issues and animal welfare, the musical drama tells the story of Rimba, a visually impaired teenager who helps animals with disabilities such as an elephant who has lost its ivory, a deer whose horn is broken and a little orangutan who has lost its father.

“I want to emphasize Rimba’s love toward the injured animals,” said Isdaryanto, the director, who has been involved in children’s theater since the 1980s. The 40-minute performance will be delivered in Indonesian, although there is one song that will be sung in three languages: Indonesian, English and Japanese.

According to Triwatty Marciano, the executive producer of the drama and the head of the Women's Movement to Plant and Conserve (Gerakan Perempuan Tanam dan Pelihara, or GPTP), the Akademi Pentas Mahakarya troop had to go through an audition process held by the International Amateur Theatre Association (IATA) prior to being selected. Mencari Rimba also aims to raise awareness in children about preserving the environment.

The 40-minute performance will be delivered in Indonesian, although there is one song that will be sung in three languages: Indonesian, English and Japanese.(Akademi Pentas Mahakarya/-)

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Eleven actors and actresses from Akademi Pentas Mahakarya will perform and the ensemble includes Adit Marciano, who performed in Aida the Musical in Camp Broadway at the B.B. King Studio Broadway in New York, the US. The script for Mencari Rimba was written by Seno Joko Suyono and the music will be arranged by renowned musician Andy Ayunir. (asw)