DRAMA IN THE ZONE

FLASH-BACK: THE ZONE

I have always been fascinated with drama and theatre. I love it. It doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy movies, but drama and theatre offer a completely different experience to the readers and audiences. Everything that serves the readers and audiences is shown live on stage. 

My interest started back in 2004. I was still a university student at that time, and I took a Shakespeare subject. My friends and I were to perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I remember how happy we were at the time when we prepared and performed it in front of our college building. Well, I studied at a local University back in my hometown, so being involved in such a performance was a whole new world for me. I got a role as one of the fairies, and I felt great about it. The drama performance made the lesson much more interesting, and I gained experience. Of course, that wasn’t my only experience in drama performance. I’m not saying I have lots of experience, just a couple of times, you know. But it was engraved in my mind, I just couldn’t let go. 

Picture of my two students Riefky and Rizal, during a drama performance preparation entitled "Sekeghumong".

So as I was saying, I was also involved in another performance entitled “Musang Berjanggut”. The story is a legend from North Sumatra, Indonesia. Here, I got the main character; it was a real deal for me, even though it was merely a class performance. Well……It was also a class performance, actually, at that time, I took the Indonesian Cultural Society subject. It was full of fun since it is a comedy-drama. The last performance I did was in 2015 when I took my master’s degree.

My friends and I performed Roro Jonggrang, a legendary story from Yogyakarta…. ^^ such a thrilling day. 

Anyway, all three performances that I have done are the ones that inspired me in teaching drama performance for the past 9 years. I could say that I’m truly grateful since I got the chance to perform and teach. I guess I just fell for it the first time I was involved in it. For me, drama isn’t just a subject to teach or a medium to express myself, but it is the home where my soul learns to grow and to get to know its deepest potential. My 9 years of experience in teaching have taught me that Drama is the right tool to instil character building and to implement teamwork. I’ve met many wonderful and talented students who also fell for it…HARD! I’m truly blessed because I could give them the experience and the most important thing the memory that they too… will never forget.