Caring for Child-Friendly Performing Arts, PT TWC Launches Musical Drama “Pepino the Wooden Doll”

PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko (PT TWC), as the manager of heritage tourism destinations, is developing arts and cultural attractions as a tourist attraction in the region, particularly in Yogyakarta and Central Java. Regular arts and cultural performances at the destinations contribute to the vibrant tourism atmosphere in the region, providing experiential value for visitors.

The growth of performing arts in Indonesia is growing. Various creative spaces with a variety of stories presented present an increasingly diverse artistic treasure. This also directly boosts the world of tourism. Art attractions wrapped in culture are certainly an attractive offering for visiting tourists.

One of the people who benefit from watching performing arts is children. The activity of paying attention to the storyline and observing the play that is played has a positive impact that is educational. Children are easily influenced by things they witness directly.

Child-friendly performing arts, whether from the story, cast, costumes, are needed as a form of direct learning for them. The lack of child-friendly performances needs to be a concern for various parties, in order to encourage the development of educational, quality performances that can be reached by all parties.

PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko (PT TWC), which has transformed into Indonesia Heritage Management , is participating in developing child-friendly arts performances. This is being done by launching a musical drama performance titled "Pepino the Wooden Doll." Through this Pepino Wooden Doll, PT TWC is presenting an educational and high-quality performance as a means of fostering the growth and development of Indonesian children.

Pepino Wooden Dolls was initiated by the Social and Environmental Responsibility (TJSL) division and the Ramayana Performing Arts Unit as a concrete manifestation of PT TWC's Creating Shared Value (CSV) implementation. This work is a joint effort to contribute to providing quality, child-friendly performances and developing the talents of young dancers in Yogyakarta and Central Java.

"The synergy of these two divisions presents a program that is a forum for the development and growth of young artists in Prambanan. Through this, we present new works that can define and visualize attractions and performances that suit the needs of children," explained PT TWC President Director Edy Setijono in Prambanan, Yogyakarta, Friday (25/11/2022).

Pepino Wooden Doll Creative Team, Momentya Irsha Emeralda said that this musical drama was developed as a form of developing child-friendly tourism in Yogyakarta. This is considering the lack of cultural arts performances that can provide direct character learning to children.

"From what we know, there is no regular cultural art performance for children in Yogyakarta. This is what triggered us to present a musical drama performance as a form of support for the development of child-friendly tourism in Yogyakarta. In addition, Pepino Boneka Kayu will be a new, fresh catalog and complement the regular performing arts in the Ramayana Prambanan area," he explained.

Momentya Irsha Emeralda explained that there were several stages before the launch of this product. Previously, the Pepino Boneka Kayu production team had conducted research on public interest in child-friendly art performances.

"Our market survey explained that the public wants regular performances that are child-friendly. After that, we entered the production stage with Nyantrik participants in Prambanan and a number of dancers involved in the Roro Jonggrang performance. After that, we conducted internal tests and also limited public tests before we launched it to the market," he continued.

Pepino the Wooden Puppet presents an attractive, comical and witty show. This musical drama will invite children to sing, cheer and dive into the character of Pepino who once broke his promise to become a kind child.

Pepino the Wooden Doll tells the story of Pepino's journey as he transforms from a wooden statue into a child through a fairy who brings magic. Pepino grows into a cheerful child who loves adventure and has many friends. Until one day, Pepino's father is kidnapped by the evil and angry Nagaraja gang. Pepino, who inherits his father's heirloom, bets to save his father from the cruelty of Nagaraja.

Pepino Boneka Kayu director Bramantyo Fendi said the 45-minute show was inspired by the character Pinocchio. This legendary story from Italy is melted and packaged with a touch of Indonesian style into a special spectacle.

"The concept of Pepino Wooden Dolls itself is a musical drama that combines various elements of dance, such as classical, contemporary, ballet, acrobatics, wushu and others. The characters are diverse and attractive. This is a unique show than others," he said.

General Manager of the Theater and Performance Unit of PT TWC, Chrisnamurti Adiningrum, said that the Pepino Wooden Dolls performance will be a special show during the end-of-year holiday season in 2022. Pepino Wooden Dolls will be paired with two other colossal performances, the Ramayan Ballet and the Roro Jonggrang Dance Drama, to enliven the end-of-year holiday season in Yogyakarta.

Taking place at the Trimurti Building, Ramayana Theater and Stage complex, Prambanan, Yogyakarta, the musical drama performance of Pepino Boneka Kayu will take place from 17.00 WIB on 26-31 December 2022. This performance is also prepared to welcome the school holidays and Eid holidays in 2023.

"We also accommodate show requests at specific times according to client requests, with a minimum audience of 250 students or 150 non-students," he explained.

Meanwhile, President Director of PT TWC Edy Setijono hopes that through the new show that is present in the Prambanan Temple area, it can provide widespread benefits. This show is a place for young dancers to be more professional in their fields.

“In the Roro Jonggrang Dramatari we involve new dancers. Now they are professionals with high flying hours. Through their involvement in Roro Jonggrang, the dancers have wider interactions. Wooden puppets are the second program with the same goal. Hopefully these young dancers can follow their older brothers in Roro Jonggrang,” he concluded.