Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 37

Lansing State Journal Thursday, June 13, 2002 3D www.lsj.com atings: WILX to US. itieii art form arrive posts big numbers Indonesian puppets amuse while offering political commentary By Philip Kennicott A "We re a young station; people will find it gradually" Jim Wareham WLAJ general manager Continued From ID od until November. Until the Potterville story, it was a quiet month for local news. WLNS which has had ratings as high as 22 couldn't reach double figures. In other station news: I Gray Communications has wrapped up the deal to buy Benedek Broadcasting, which includes WILX.

If that gets FCC approval, possibly in late September, Gray will be a 27-station group. WLNS is responding to complaints from viewers of the Tony Award show. A streamer, advertising Wharton Center shows, appeared often during the CBS telecast. "We won't be doing that any more," Woodstock said. And Parker's departure will affect a station he's been the central figure in.

Parker arrived (from WWMT in Kalamazoo) five years ago to launch the newscast. The original version stumbled, then was adapted into the "Express" approach 10. minutes of news, followed by a roundtable interview. That approach has been slow to attract viewers, but Wareham said he expects few changes. ing in response to new pressures and social changes, including urbanization.

Tizar has created what he calls wayang betawi, a style based on stories familiar to the people of Jakarta a major development for the traditionally rural form. Tizar is a populist. When other dalangs were performing in Sun-danese, the traditional language of wayang golek, he started performing in Indonesian to reach a wider public. He is designing his new puppets to be more sophisticated, to do more tricks. One can stick out its tongue.

He still performs the traditional stories, most drawn from the Mahabharata or the Ramayana, but he invents new ones as well. He also seeks out audiences of children. The wayang golek shows the classic signs of an art form under pressure: A handful of super-1 star dalangs have emerged, while many others toil in the shadows and have difficulty making money; commercialization and mass production of the puppets threaten the livelihood of traditional craftsmen. And then there are all those "entertainment options" that come with television, pop music and film. It is a splendidly heterogenous theatrical form: sacred but ribald, highly structured but wildly digressive and improvisational, with Hindu stories but Islamic spirituality.

It is musical and theatrical. It is sometimes very realistic, at other times highly stylized. And so on. In his brief demonstration at the Indonesian Embassy, Tizar incorporated a riff on Mike Tyson's taste for ear nib-' bling into the story of Gatotkaca, a warrior prince transformed by volcanic fire into a kind of superhero. "Just like Spider-Man," says Tizar, whose mood fluctuates between the droll and the riotous.

"We're a young station; people will find it gradually." Meanwhile, Parker was applying for the job at WRGB, a successful CBS affiliate. It's owned by the same company (Freedom Communications) that owns WLAJ and WWMT. That moves him from one capital city to another, with a big jump in size: Lansing is No. Ill in market size; Albany, Parker said, is about No. 56.

one other advantage to the new job, he said. "I'll be" able to use my real name. Parker wouldn't be specific, but said that name is "very long and very Italian." In New York, there will be plenty of people who can pronounce it. Contact Mike Hughes at 377-1156 or mhugheslsj.com. The Washington Post Humorous art: Indonesian puppet master Tizar Purbaya combines ancient and modern traditions in superhero Gatotkaca, a warrior prince.

The Washington Post Tizar Purbaya, one of the most celebrated puppet masters of Indonesia, has a fair command of English, but it doesn't hurt to have a translator to help with the occasional hard-to-place word. When he starts telling a story, however, he doesn't need any assistance. There's a visible change in him, a kind of expansion and animation, so much so that even the room a formal hall in Washington, D.C's palatial Indonesian Embassy seems transformed. He begins to take up more space, and a big room suddenly feels quite small Tizar is a dalang, or puppet master, not of the more famous (at least in this country) Indonesian shadow puppet theater, but of an earthier, more populist form known as wayang golek. Unlike flat leather shadow puppets, the puppets of the wayang golek are fully three-dimensional, controlled by a central rod and two sticks for the arms.

They are extraordinary works of art even when inanimate; in the hands of a dalang, their rudimentary motions take on exceptional subtlety. They strut and mope, bean each other on the head a lot, and enact complex stories. In between episodes of a story (so Byzantine as to defy any summary) taken from the epic poem the Mahabharata, Tizar brought forth one of his clown puppets smoking a cigarette. Red-faced, flatulent and with an enormous rump that moved independently, Academic Summer Camps golek. The dalang is a revered figure, but by no means a remote or sanctimonious one.

He is a moralist and a jester, an artist and pundit. He directs the gamelan orchestra that accompanies the action, manipulates the puppets, channels their voices and, ac-. cording to believers, infuses them with a deep, mystical spirituality. The political commentary can be quite sharp. In the late 1960s, when the Sukarno government fell to Suharto, Tizar and other dalangs found themselves blacklisted, while others were co-opted to support state programs.

In the late 1940s, when the country was repulsing Dutch colonial rule, puppet theater evolved to include overtly political, anti-colonial stories and messages. Even today, the form is evolv jfh the clown addressed His Excellency the Ambassador of Indonesia, and the assembled The clown's message: I know there's no smoking here, but this is a good cigarette and I'm going to enjoy it. He then proceeded to (how to put this delicately?) smoke it more than one way. This talent may contribute to his unique powers with windiness. One got the sense that this is the kind of clown who hits the sauce at 5 o'clock and starts telling the truth.

"Politicians love to have dalangs on their side," says Mimi Herbert, a resident of Loudoun County, and author of "Voices of the Puppet Masters," a recently published book of interviews with masters of wayang Advanced Reading Skills Sylvan ACT Prep Study Skills For Information about Camps or our Individual Programs, call 372-7410 SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER" ssistte LSl.com Search for more online! Gracious Senior Living The Powt Of Knowing Sow mm I I A 4 Senior Assisted Living Grafts: Ways to beat the boredom Continued From ID Flowerpot wind chimes What you'll need: I Terra-cotta pots in three sizes: 3-inch, 2-inch and 1.5-inch Acrylic paint in assorted colors Spray-on sealer I Piece of twine 1 yard long I Wooden bead to be used as a clapper Decorate the pots with paint and let dry for two hours. Add sealer to protect the pots from rain. Let dry another 24 hours. Take the twine and makej loop at one FEATURING: Podiatrist Blood Pressure Check Diabetes Check Bone Density Testing Registration for "Safe Return" Program for Wandering Seniors by Alzheimer Association PLEASE JOIN US! SENIOR HEALTH DAY June 19, 2002 Riverwind offers a beautiful riverside setting, luxurious surroundings including an expansive outdoor deck and professionally landscaped grounds. We offer services over and above traditional assisted living facilities, including (but not limited to): Physician and RN.

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tor complete information at: 517-655-5800 517-485-5966 or 517-485-5906 to hang the chimes. Take the non-looped end and string it up through the hole in the bottom of the largest pot so that the twine is sticking up through the inside of the pot. The 1 bottom of the pot will mmp ii if mm mim mm? mm fnRFAT RPTIRFMPMT I IWIMf ffrfLj.COm Why Wait? Your Beautiful Apartment Home is Available Now! The Powei of Knowing now The Finest in Both Independent Assisted Living Clinton ommons AG Retirement 4 i C3 lac I i. be the top of the wind chime. Tie a knot in the twine so that when you hold the chime by the loop, the upside-down pot doesn't fall below the knot.

It's time to add the second pot. String the twine up through the bottom of the second pot and secure it with a knot so that the bottom of the second pot hangs just inside the rim of the first pot. In a breeze, you'll want the pots to clang together. Then add the smallest pot. Secure the smallest pot so that its bottom hangs just inside the rim of the one above it.

Finish by trimming away enough of the leftover twine so that when you tie the wooden bead to the end, it clangs inside the bottom pot. Garden stepping-stones What you'll need: I Quick-dry cement Disposable pie tins i Mosaic tiles I Outdoor patio paint Pour the cement mixture into pie tins. Add the mosaic tiles, creating your own design. Let the mixture set for 24 hours. Once the cement mixture has cured, peel away the pie tin.

The stone can be painted. Have kids add their names and the date. Once the paint is dry, the stepping-stone is ready to be placed in the garden. Contact Christine Rook at 377-1261 or clrooklsj.com. 4l Ku i- means having more i to to the fu'-t.

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