The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Universitas Gadjah Mada (FKH UGM) recently held a ketoprak performance with a humorous twist titled Vetoprak. The performance featured the story Babad Alas Mertani as part of its 78th-anniversary celebration on Saturday night (Sep. 21).
The event, held at the Joglo Hall of UGM’s Innovation and Creativity Center (GIK UGM), attracted a large audience, including alumni, students, and faculty members.
The play Babad Alas Mertani is a well-known Javanese wayang story. It tells the tale of the Pandawa Five and their struggle for power in Amarta, ruled by evil spirits.
This ketoprak performance was filled with fresh and relevant humor, tailored to UGM’s theme and the nuances of FKH UGM.
The Secretary General of the Indonesian Veterinary Medical Association (PB PDHI) and GAMAVET, Andi Wijanarko, chaired the committee and played a significant role in the humorous play.
The performance’s director, Mas Jandun, together with the scriptwriter, Agus Marsudi, brought the play to life by incorporating elements of culture, education, and humor. The chosen theme was also closely aligned with the faculty’s field of study, as the story involved animals, reflecting veterinary science.
Many alumni, including professors and key figures, participated in the performance, making it collaborative.
“Here, we felt the strong unity among FKH UGM alumni. We didn’t consider ranks or positions; we were all just alumni of UGM,” Wijanarko said.
The humorous play Babad Alas Mertani included several acts, beginning with a royal meeting about the Mertani Forest and rumors about the death of the Pandawa Five.
The story follows the Pandawa as they try to reclaim the Mertani Forest and confront the spirits residing there. The invisible kingdom of Mertani was eventually conquered and transformed into a visible kingdom, renamed the Kingdom of Amarta.
In an interview, Wijanarko explained that some adaptations were made to the original Babad Alas Mertani story to fit the theme of FKH UGM’s anniversary celebration.
For example, the kingdom of Amarta was likened to UGM, and deans and alumni from various faculties portrayed several characters to celebrate the unity of the UGM community.
Several academic figures from other faculties also participated, making the performance lively and bringing together people from different backgrounds on one cultural stage.
“We didn’t stick strictly to the original story. We also changed the name to Vetoprak because ‘vet’ means veterinarian,” he said on Monday (Sep. 23).
This wasn’t the first time a ketoprak performance had been held.
Last year, FKH UGM also performed a ketoprak with the theme Lutung Kasarung. However, Wijanarko mentioned that this year’s performance featured more actors and took place at the larger and grander GIK UGM, compared to last year’s performance, which was held at the faculty.
The audience responded enthusiastically, with many hoping that such ketoprak performances would become a yearly tradition at the faculty.
With only about a month of preparation, Wijanarko revealed that the biggest challenge was using Javanese, as most of the actors were not native speakers.
Nonetheless, the actors successfully delivered their lines enthusiastically, even injecting humor that entertained the audience.
“We finished the script in September, then practiced over Zoom daily, splitting the scenes into segments. We memorized the intonations and delivery styles for when we finally met,” he explained.
Seeing the success of the performance, Wijanarko said that many hoped similar events could continue in the future. He also mentioned that some alumni from other faculties were inspired to hold similar performances at their own campuses.
The goal is to preserve the tradition of ketoprak while strengthening the bond between FKH UGM alumni, faculty, and students.
Wijanarko added that ketoprak was chosen as one of the performances for FKH UGM’s anniversary celebration because they felt that ketoprak was starting to be forgotten by younger generations.
Therefore, young people need to help preserve Indonesia’s cultural heritage.
“By presenting ketoprak in a humorous and entertaining way, we hope that future generations will be encouraged to preserve and play an active role in maintaining our culture,” he concluded.
Author: Lintang
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afif
Photo by: Kagama.id/Tom Blero