Membersof the traditional Sundanese theater troupe Miss Tjitjih still take pride inbeing associated with the group, even if its glory days are in the past.
The troupe has been plagued with financial struggles the past couple of years,which has meant that the members can now only give the rare performance.
Formed in 1928 in Jakarta under the name Opera Valencia, the troupe’s heydaystretched over decades. It used to sell out theaters, with hundreds of peoplesitting rapt for hours as the troupe performed its trademark mix of comedy andhorror. Later the troupe changed its name to Miss Tjitjih, a moniker inspiredby the “prima donna” character of the group.
During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in the 1940s, Miss Tjitjih was oneof the many theater troupes used to disseminate propaganda. The Japanesebelieved that theater had the power to influence people.
Through it all, Miss Tjitjih has managed to stand the test of time, even afterit temporarily lost its home theater to a fire in 1997. But the troupepersevered and took its show on the road.
“From 1998 to 2000 we would still get around 150 people, mostly lower-classpeople like becak [rickshaw] drivers, coming out and enjoying our shows,” saidDadan “Ude” Supriyatna, who plays gamelan for Miss Tjitjih.
But as television stations started to offer more contemporary programming inthe early 2000s, the troupe’s audiences decreased significantly.
“There were just so many choices of entertainment on TV, including soap operas,”said Kokom Kusnadi, who has been a member of Miss Tjitjih for 20 years.“Whenever there is a football match on TV, we only have about 20 people comingto our show.”
And where once they would perform nightly, they cut back to twice a week andthen once a week. Now they perform whenever they can.
“We have a show on Saturday night but it depends on when the subsidy from thelocal administration is available,” Ude said. “We only had 10 shows in 2011.”
The troupe has been plagued with financial struggles the past couple of years,which has meant that the members can now only give the rare performance.
Formed in 1928 in Jakarta under the name Opera Valencia, the troupe’s heydaystretched over decades. It used to sell out theaters, with hundreds of peoplesitting rapt for hours as the troupe performed its trademark mix of comedy andhorror. Later the troupe changed its name to Miss Tjitjih, a moniker inspiredby the “prima donna” character of the group.
During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in the 1940s, Miss Tjitjih was oneof the many theater troupes used to disseminate propaganda. The Japanesebelieved that theater had the power to influence people.
Through it all, Miss Tjitjih has managed to stand the test of time, even afterit temporarily lost its home theater to a fire in 1997. But the troupepersevered and took its show on the road.
“From 1998 to 2000 we would still get around 150 people, mostly lower-classpeople like becak [rickshaw] drivers, coming out and enjoying our shows,” saidDadan “Ude” Supriyatna, who plays gamelan for Miss Tjitjih.
But as television stations started to offer more contemporary programming inthe early 2000s, the troupe’s audiences decreased significantly.
“There were just so many choices of entertainment on TV, including soap operas,”said Kokom Kusnadi, who has been a member of Miss Tjitjih for 20 years.“Whenever there is a football match on TV, we only have about 20 people comingto our show.”
And where once they would perform nightly, they cut back to twice a week andthen once a week. Now they perform whenever they can.
“We have a show on Saturday night but it depends on when the subsidy from thelocal administration is available,” Ude said. “We only had 10 shows in 2011.”
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