http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal Project MUSE®: Latest articles in Asian Theatre Journal. daily 1 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Vol. 16, no. 2 (1999) through current issue Latest Articles: Asian Theatre Journal Asian Studies Film, Theater, and Performing Arts TWO Project MUSE® Asian Theatre Journal 1527-2109 0742-5457 Latest articles in Asian Theatre Journal. Feed provided by Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.article.html Rearrangement of white platform in Butterfly Lovers: parting scene. (Photo: Courtesy of Dama Orchestra) Plate 2. Butterfly Lovers’ costumes for wedding scene. (Photo: Courtesy of Dama Orchestra) Plate 3. Tari galomban (Silat Dance) in a Randai performance of Tunang Pak Dukun (The Healer’s Fiancée), directed by Mohd. Effindi Samsuddin, performed at University Malaya’s Grand Hall. (Photo: Latimin Keman) Plate 4. A silat duel in makyong performance at University Malaya’s Experimental Theatre. (Photo: Latimin Keman) Plate 5. Mak yong from Pattani and Narathiwat in southern Thailand by Jehyeanah Saengdao Group as the pak yong leads the dance. (Photo: Zukifli Mohamad) Plate 6. Che Amat, noted ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.article.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Color Insert 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Color Insert 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.ying.html <p>By Loo Fung Ying, Loo Fung Chiat</p> Malaysia is a multiracial country of about 60 percent Malay and indigenous people, 30 percent Chinese, and 10 percent Indians. The Chinese performing arts in Malaysia include traditional to contemporary dance, music, and theatrical works and are part of a diasporic cultural heritage that has attracted an almost exclusively Chinese audience. Chinese performing arts in Malaysia need extra effort to compete across ethnic lines on the demanding concert platform where symphonic, Indian, and Malay music are also available. Yet Chinese groups must attract a strong audience and sponsors to ensure financial survival. In particular, the New Economic Policy of 1971 that prevents the Chinese from sharing similar ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.ying.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Innovation for Survival? Dama Orchestra’s Butterfly Lovers—The Musical on a Contemporary Multiracial Malaysian Stage 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Innovation for Survival? Dama Orchestra’s Butterfly Lovers—The Musical on a Contemporary Multiracial Malaysian Stage Operas, Chinese 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.philip.html <p>By Susan Philip</p> In Malaysia, most forms of public expression are subject to control in the form of licensing laws and censorship. All scripts for theatre must be vetted by a licensing committee, and changes will be demanded if the script is found to question or threaten social and political stability. If the changes are not made, a license might not be granted. What this has come to mean in practice is that performances that critique government leaders and policies are very much in danger of being censored or denied performance licenses altogether. Despite this, the theatre in English has managed to develop a quite openly critical political voice.1 The Instant Café Theatre Company performs satirical revues that name and critique ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.philip.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Kee Thuan Chye’s Political Plays: An Analysis 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Kee Thuan Chye’s Political Plays: An Analysis Kee, Thuan Chye 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.latiff.html <p>By Zainal Abdul Latiff</p> A Malay theatre genre that uses the pan-Malay martial art pencak silat (hereafter, silat) extensively is bangsawan, an operatic theatre form, popular in Malaysia and Indonesia, which started in 1885 and reached its peak between 1920 and 1935 (see Tan 1993). According to Ghulam-Sarwar (1994: 14), bangsawan was a transitional genre. Older theatres were those like menohra and mak yong that were performed on improvised stages in the open air by performers who might be farmers during the day with the audience attending for free since a patron sponsored the event. In contrast, bangsawan pioneered modern elements: the proscenium arch’s indoor theatre with its strict actor-audience division, salaried performers, and ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.latiff.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Revisiting Pencak Silat: The Malay Martial Arts in Theatre Practice and Actor Training 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Revisiting Pencak Silat: The Malay Martial Arts in Theatre Practice and Actor Training Pencak silat 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.nanney.html <p>By Nancy Nanney</p> Malaysia, being a multiethnic society, fosters theatre in Malay (the national language), English, Mandarin, Tamil, and other languages spoken in the country. The material presented here introduces resources (accessible in English) that represent, describe, and analyze the country’s traditional and modern performing arts. Additional resources are available, especially in Malay and other local languages. Malaysian newspapers also carry articles related to culture and the arts, including reviews of current productions. For English-language papers, see, for example, online editions of the Malay Mail, the New Straits Times, The Star, and The Sun Daily. The Southeast Asian collection in Alden ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.nanney.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Malaysian Theatre Resources 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Malaysian Theatre Resources Theater 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.foley02.html <p>By Kathy Foley, Sabzali Musa Kahn</p> This report will consider scenic issues of staging contemporary mak yong by looking at the 2003 production of Raja Tangkai Hati (King of the Heart; literally, “liver stem”) presented at Istana Budaya, Malaysia’s National Theatre in Kuala Lumpur during the artistic director-ship (2001–2005) of Hatta Azad Khan. The genre is the dance-drama of the Kelantan-Patani area that was supported in palace and/or village environments prior to the 1940s. The guru leading this offering was National Artist and mak yong prima donna Khadijah Awang (1941–2009), who used a combination of professional artists from her group (Kumpulan Seri Temengggung KST) and students she trained in mak yong at the national arts school, ASK.1 The ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.foley02.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Staging Raja Tangkai Hati at Istana Budaya: Modernizing Malaysian Mak Yong 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Staging Raja Tangkai Hati at Istana Budaya: Modernizing Malaysian Mak Yong Theater 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.zainuddin.html <p>By Elezaa Zainuddin</p> Mak yong (also makyung as in the title of this performance) is a traditional theatre genre created by Malays that combines acting, vocal and instrumental music, gestures, and elaborate costumes. Specific to the villages of Kelantan in northeastern Malaysia, mak yong is performed mainly as entertainment or for ritual purposes related to healing practices. Experts believe that mak yong appeared well before the Islamization of the country. It was performed as a royal theatre under the direct patronage of the Kelantan sultanate until the 1920s. Hence, the tradition was perpetuated in a rural context without forsaking the numerous refinements acquired at court, such as sophisticated costume design. Mak yong as a ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.zainuddin.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Reviewing Makyung Dewa Indera, Indera Dewa 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Reviewing Makyung Dewa Indera, Indera Dewa Fatimah Abdullah 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.mohamad.html <p>By Zulkifli Mohamad</p> Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), Southeast Asian Project for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SPAFA). Centre for Archeology and Fine Arts (in collaboration with Thai Studies Research Institute), Thammasat University. 20–21 September 2011. In the context of this report I will discuss the politics of mak yong’s situation in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia since listening to the various papers presented at a conference brought these issues to the fore. Mak yong is the traditional Malay dance theatre from Kelantan in the north of peninsular Malaysia and Pattani (Malay: Patani) in the south of Thailand. I write from my own position as a descendant of an artistic family in Kelantan ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.mohamad.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Report: The Mak Yong Spiritual Dance Heritage Conference, Performances, and Workshops 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Report: The Mak Yong Spiritual Dance Heritage Conference, Performances, and Workshops Makyung (Dance drama) 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.mohamad01.html <p>By Zulkifli Mohamad</p> The Secret Life of Nora is recent addition to the growing roster of Malay musicals. To understand this particular production one needs to first understand the history and genesis of the new Malay musical, which has been a major trend since the establishment of Istana Budaya (Malaysia’s national theatre, literally, “Palace of Culture”). Istana Budaya launched this new venue in 1999 with a new musical, Keris Sang Puteri (Dagger of the Princess), directed by Rahim Razali (formerly a film director) using the Malay aesthetics borrowed from bangsawan (nineteenth-century Malay opera) with new staging facilities at the theatre. The intention of making Istana Budaya an important performance venue similar to Sydney Opera ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.mohamad01.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 The Secret Life of Nora 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press The Secret Life of Nora Miranda, Raymond 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.dibia.html <p>By I Wayan Dibia</p> Arja is an extraordinary theatrical form integrating music, dance, and drama. In the performance, each element may alternately become the focus of the play: now exquisite singing and movements in conjunction with gamelan music; next a romantic story with both serious and comical scenes. Everything stimulates the minds of the audience members. This form has fascinated me since childhood. Being born into a village with a strong arja tradition and raised in a family of devoted arja performers, I have more devotion to this operatic form than any other Balinese performing art. The decreasing popularity of arja in globalized Bali, therefore, strongly motivated me to prevent this dramatic form from ... <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_theatre_journal/v029/29.2.dibia.html">Read More</a> Project MUSE® http://muse.jhu.edu/ 2013-02-15T00:05:01-05:00 Revitalizing Arja in Globalized Bali 2013-02-14 text/html en-US The Johns Hopkins University Press Revitalizing Arja in Globalized Bali Dance 2013-02-14 2013 TWO Project MUSE® 0 2013-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 2013-02-14