Witnessing the On-Stage Fun of UMN’s Teater Katak

Hello UMN friends! When talking about dramas or theater performances at UMN, the name Teater Katak is widely expressed and occurs among UMN students.

Due to the pandemic, many large-scale campus activities have been postponed or canceled as campuses, including UMN, ban any offline activities on campus. Finally, after campuses implement hybrid learning, student organizations are back on their feet. Katak Theater, through their “Teater Rakyat,” hits the stage again with the performance “Durjana: Manik Angkeran” on Tuesday (05/07/22) yesterday.

Even though Teater Rakyat is an annual program of Teater Katak, this performance is different from the previous performances of Teater Katak. The Durjana: Manik Angkeran performance has succeeded in combining folklore and theater experience.

Throughout the performance, there are two shows on 11.00 – 13.00 and 15.00 – 17.00. The audience was presented with the story of Manik Angkeran, folklore about the origin of the Bali Strait. In summary, Manik Angkeran is a young man who likes to gamble, to the point that he is also addicted and in debt. Eventually, the case reached his father, Empu Sidhi.

Empu Sidhi, amid his son’s problems, heard a whisper that told him to go to Mount Agun to meet Naga Besukih to ask for treasure to pay off his son’s debt. The Dragon wants to give gold to help Empu Sidhi. The gold was eventually granted, and Manik paid his debt.

Through the melodies of birds chirping, folk costumes, simple props that describe the background of the mountain and rural atmosphere, lights that change colors according to the mood of the performance, to musicals between actors that add depth to the theater experience for viewers. Even yesterday, when I wanted to take photos for the documentation of this article, I was advised by the committee to turn off the camera’s sound focus setting. The performance atmosphere was well maintained that day, to the point where cameras were not allowed to make any sounds to ensure everyone who witnessed the performance could enjoy it.

In addition to the incredible performance, the tickets for the Manik Angkeran performance were very affordable! The tickets are sold in the range of 15 to 20 thousand Rupiahs. 15 thousand for those who would like to watch alone and 20 thousand for those who want to watch as a couple. A perfect time for UMN friends who wish to bring their special someone to the show. 

During an interview with Jocelyne, the Production Leader of the Manik Angkeran show shared that one of the reasons why the tickets are cheap is the team’s goal to preserve folklore. In hopes that with the cheap tickets, more people will come. She shared that this folklore has really good morals, but most people are unaware of the folklore. 

“ This time, Teater Rakyat is simpler, and we hope that it can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of groups. That’s why the ticket prices are cheap,” Jocelyn joked.

Preparation Process

The preparation or planning process is essential so that whatever is planned can be executed well and produces satisfactory results. There is a phrase that may relate to the preparation process for Teater Rakyat, namely, “practice makes perfect.” Teater Katak, too feels the same. The preparation took three months.

From the end of May, 85 UMN students prepared for the Manik Angkeran performance. Starting from the open recruitment process for the actors of Manik Angkeran, which was opened for the 7th generation of Teater Katak, then continued with Felicia Salvina as a scriptwriter who prepared a theater script from the modification of the folklore of Manik Angkeran.

The finished script written by Felicia was further discussed by Jocelyne (Production Leader), The leaders or managers of Teater Katak, Fabiola Alamanda (director), and Rangers (Director Team of Teater Rakyat for Manik Angkeran).

After the theater script was fixed, the determination of the concept was held together internally. Determination of concepts such as whether the performance will be held offline/online, when it will be held, where, the components of the committee needed for any event, costumes, music, what properties are used, and so on. For those curious about Teater Rakyat’s committee, you can check directly on Teater Katak‘s IG. Don’t forget to follow them, UMN friends!

After determining the concept, the rest is just practice, practice, and practice. The team also rehearsed on-stage, preparing the sound and lighting effects, and conducted promotions through social media by providing performance snippets. The preparations made were creative, fun, and affordable. How awesome!

What’s Next for Teater Katak

So far, what do UMN friends think about the team and show? If you are curious about what’s next for Teater Katak, How about UMN friends? We have some good news!

Just a short teaser, Jocelyne shared that Teater Katak’s next project will be prepared to be presented to UMN’s new students in the New Student Orientation, which will be held in August 2022. You wouldn’t want to miss out on their future performances! Follow them on their social media: IG, TikTok, and YouTube to be updated with their performances.

Also read: Non-Academic Activities Useful For College Students

By Iglo Montana | UMN News Service

Kuliah di Jakarta untuk jurusan program studi Informatika| Sistem Informasi | Teknik Komputer | Teknik Elektro | Teknik Fisika | Akuntansi | Manajemen| Komunikasi Strategis | Jurnalistik | Desain Komunikasi Visual | Film dan Animasi | Arsitektur | D3 Perhotelan , di Universitas Multimedia Nusantara. www.umn.ac.id