Ratna Riantiarno, Teater Koma’s Tolerance
Ratna Riantiarno
Teater Koma continues to adapt to the needs of an era. Recently, Teater Koma performed in a millennial style to stage the Mahabarata play. This is a form of Teater Koma’s tolerance to an era while at the same time also spreading intergroup tolerance.
In the past, Teater Koma was very happy to use and use various props for its play. In Mahabarata, Teater Koma used three-dimensional multimedia, which does not only function artistically, but also becomes an important part of the story. They did it by considering the needs of the audience. Of course, it was decided after some research.
Every play, story and background performed by Teater Koma was made through research. For example, when telling the story of mentally ill people, they went to a mental hospital and interacted with the patients.
“There was a patient who became insane after being left by his lover,” said Ratna Riantiarno, 66, who founded Teater Koma with her husband Nano Riantiarno.
Initially, people thought it was ridiculous, but after hearing the story behind it they would understand. At that time, this person was unable to deal with the situation and there was no support from the people around him.
The mother of three children, namely Satria Rangga Buana, Rasapta Candrika and Gagah Tridarma Prastya, said to explore any role, an actor must come to see the real conditions. On the other hand, Ratna realized that life could not only rely on the theater.
“For me, the theater cannot be used for a livelihood, but life from acting is possible,” said the woman who likes klappertaart and considers the cake is a must for every celebration, including Christmas.
Regarding Teater Koma’s recent work, Mahabarata, Ratna was concerned about the current political situation in Indonesia. The Mahabarata play, which was adapted to the situation in Indonesia, emphasized that plurality in the world and particularly in Indonesia, with so much diversity, if not maintained, will disintegrate.
“Particularly, the days leading to the April elections, it is like a fire in the husk,” she said. She wanted to continue fostering tolerance just like her family taught her.
Variety
Born and raised in a family with different backgrounds, Ratna grew into a tolerant figure. She was educated by her father who was a Muslim and her mother was Christian. It’s no wonder that the actress is very tolerant. Ratna was allowed by her parents to choose and study any religion.
“I was born to a family that celebrates Christmas and Eid, even during elementary school to take part in
Christian and Islamic studies,” said the woman, who was born in Manado and received many awards in the field of acting.
The tradition to celebrate Christmas and New Year that continues to this day in her extended family is a mutual cooperation. For example, during Christmas, her Muslim brothers help decorate the Christmas tree or prepare Christmas cakes.
For this Christmas celebration, Ratna and her family went to the Central Java area. She first surveyed the location to be visited, just like anyone would make a performance by researching the areas to find a unique location. If it turns out later that there is severe traffic congestion, she and her family would stop and explore a small town nearby that might be interesting.
“Our homeland needs to be visited,” she said, underlining the richness of our homeland.
It was from such diversity that Teater Koma can last up to more than 40 years old. Bringing history, cultural diversity and even the current political upheaval into plays is the hallmarks of the theater.
Teater Koma\'s journey to date is certainly not easy. It was banned from performing several times, especially during the Soeharto era. One of them is when it planned to play the story of “Sampek Engtay”, which was taken from China and considered unnationalistic.
“In fact, it is only an adaptation and the character presented is based on the tribes in Indonesia,” said Ratna.
According to Ratna, besides learning about a body of work, the theater also studies other people. Restraining yourself and controlling emotions are the key to being able to play a role well. Conversely, if the emotion of the actor is in a state of chaos, he or she will not be able to focus and fail to play a role.
“So, people who are easily offended or easily ignited can join the theater to learn emotional control,” she said.
Easily offended
The current situation in Indonesia also makes Ratna upset. People are easily offended and claim to be right only by reading social media or watching television. In the past, people were not easily offended. It’s different now. It’s easy that everything is taken seriously. In fact, the standard to measure true or false is often different.
Discussion is an effective way to understand each other so as not to be easily offended and angry. This method was applied by Ratna’s parents, and she is now also applying it to the family.
In choosing a life partner, for example. Her mother and father lived in harmony in religious differences, and even raised their children well because both families had a great tolerance.
However, her father once advised that marriage would be easier if the couple came from the same religion.
“I was free to choose [a religion], but I must have faith in it well. My husband finally followed me. Two of my children chose to be Muslim following their partners and there were no problems in that choice,” said Ratna.
Starting her career as a traditional dancer, namely Balinese dance, Ratna traveled to a number of countries. One of them was the United States. She became a dancer at an Indonesian restaurant in New York for about one and a half years. She was only 23 years old at the time.
This is one of the factors that makes her an expert in improving the house and cleaning than cooking.
“Without cooking, the food at that time was available and guaranteed, making me even more unwilling to cook,” said the woman, who won her first award during the Jakarta Balinese Dance contest.
Going on a journey in the world of dance led Ratna to be interested in other fields of art, namely acting. When watching the theater performance by Arifin C Noer, it drove her curiosity and an interest to deepen it. Even though her parents disagreed, Ratna remained determined.
The seriousness to work in the world of art has brought Ratna to her life partner, Nano. They married on July 28, 1978, then they formed Teater Koma. As one of Teater Koma’s engines, Ratna wants to spread peace, dialogue and tolerance. (E16)
Ratna Riantiarno
Born: Manado, 23 April 1952
Education:
* Elementary school SD Sumbangsih, Jakarta (1958-1964)
* Junior high school SMPN 1 Cikini, Jakarta (1964-1967)
* Senior high school SMAN 3 Jakarta (1967-1970)
* Academy of Secretary ISWI Jakarta (1970-1971)
