TRADISI KREATIF DALAM WAYANG KULIT BALI

This article is meant to give a brief account of the traditional creative process (widely known as Kawi Dalang) in the contemporary performance of Balinese shadow puppet theatre (Wayang Kulit). The discussion is divided into two major sections. The first section provides a summary of the creative tradition as introduced and analyzed in my dissertation entitled Kawi Dalang : Creativity in Wayang Theatre. The second section describes the implementation of this tradition in the north Bali, Singaraja, by the highly reputed puppeteer (dalang) Wayan Sudarma, giving the examples and providing an account of the reception of his creative works. The major part of this article discusses the artist task in creating a dynamic harmony of genre-story-characters. The creative process of constructing a play includes activities in employing the literary source, dealing with ceremonial background, constructing the plot and integrating complementary elements, and incorporating quotations from kakawin poetry. Finally, an example of the creativity in presentation is given, including the artist’s job in combining of the traditional love scene, Rebong, with the contemporary drunken dance, Genjekan, the naming and selecting wayang puppets to present the dramatic characters, the constructing and manipulating of puppets, the rendering of jokes and social criticism, and the arranging of the scenic elements and “stage business”. Keywords: Wayang kulist, Dalang, Kreativitas, Lakon, Plot, Estetika, Mahabharata, Bharatayuddha, Parwa, Gamelan, Genjekan, Ramayana, Kawi Dalang, Upacara, Ritual, Hiburan, Bali, dan Inovas