U N I V E R S I T Y  O F  P I T T S B U R G H

October, 2001 

Puppet Theater and Music of West Java, Indonesia:
An Educational Multimedia Project on CD-Rom

Ethnomusicologist Andrew N. Weintraub received an ACIE grant for his proposal Puppet Theater and Music of West Java, Indonesia: An Educational Multimedia Project on CD-Rom. Weintraub has been a faculty member in the Department of Music since Fall 1997, but his research in Indonesian puppetry, narrative, music, dance, and culture began in 1984. His dissertation focused on Wayang Golek, an Indonesian performing art of West Java. A form of puppet theater accompanied by music, Wayang Golek performances are commissioned by families to celebrate important life-cycle events or even by government offices to commemorate local and national holidays. These performances are lively social gatherings that begin at nine in the evening and end around four the next morning.

Weintraub describes Wayang Golek performances as “a crucial site for activating multiple and often contradictory interests. Wayang Golek stories and characters convey ethical and moral philosophical principles that are communicated indirectly through symbolic allusion and are only accessible to a small percentage of spectators. Simultaneously, Wayang Golek is a form of popular entertainment that incorporates popular music, colloquial language, and carnivalesque humor. Wayang Golek can be used as a tool of propaganda for local and national government interests, as well as a vehicle for social and political critique. While the theater form appeals to a wide variety of people, it appeals to them in different ways.”

The multimedia aspects of puppet theater (visual and auditory) make it a challenging genre to teach. Weintraub’s goal is to develop a CD-Rom, which can be used in his courses Introduction to Music Cultures of the World, Music of Southeast Asia, and Gamelan (where a student ensemble plays Indonesian instruments). During research trips to Indonesia, he has collected over 75 hours of video, 200 hours of audio, 150 photographs, and 50 interviews for this project. In the upcoming year, Weintraub, with the assistance of two interactive design researchers, will organize, edit, and digitize these media.
 

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