Antigone

Antigone is an outstanding play written by Sophocles. Creon, which is the King of Thebes is my favourite character. He went through a very twisting journey in his life and it is very interesting to learn how he actually deals a certain situation. His arrogance and greed of power will pay him lives of his love ones.

This play has a very interesting moral value which is not to challenge God’s law. This moral value is very unique as modern theatre does not consist of this kind of moral value.

In my opinion, this play is not suitable to be used in secondary classroom as an introduction to learning theatre as it needs a deep understanding in another play written by Sophocles which is called’ King Oedipus’ in order to comprehend this play. Antigone is a play written after King Oedipus was introduced.

My personal opinion on the play is that I, as a girl understand Antigone’s internal conflict. I can actually endure her conflict in her life after the death of her two brothers. I will definitely do the same action as Antigone, which is to bury the body of my own brother even though it is against the rule to do so. Her strength teaches me how strong a lady should be in order to fight for the right.

The plot is being organized wisely and it is very easy to comprehend the play. I wish that I could watch this play live on stage later as it is a very appealing play. This is among one of the earliest play that I have ever read and wish to read more of Sophocles written work.

introduction to theatre

Greek Theatre increases my love towards learning theatre. In my opinion, Greek theatre has its own uniqueness and it very interesting to learn. The play ‘King Oedipus’ by Sophocles is a very catchy play as I like the way it is being plotted and the climax of the story has a very fascinating twist, instantly becoming the first play ever that finally gain my full attention during reading of the play. This play subsequently increases my understanding of the term ‘Oedipus Complex’, which means; the conflict in a male child who desires his mother and has a will to replace his father. The plot in the play ‘King Oedipus’ makes it easier for me to comprehend its actual situation.

During taking the course of ‘Teaching the Language of Drama’ in Universiti Putra Malaysia that I understand the values in a certain play. A good play will requires the audience to think and the characters plays with the audience’s emotion. A play such as ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles really touches me as its resolution is very tragic as a number of people died.

I have never watched a live stage theatre performance before and this course requires me to watch a theatre show. I am looking forward to it as my interest in theatre and also performing on stage increases deeply after attending this course.

zapin

Zapin has been an art that shines in Malaysia since it has been introduced in 14^th century. It is one of the traditional dances which are still seen being performed not only in the state of Johor but all around Malaysia. Zapin dance is usually performed in special events such as in wedding ceremony.

I started to get involved in dancing since I was seven but I was actively involved in Zapin dance when I was 20. Its typical soft lady-like Malaysian traditional dance moves instantly attracted me on my first view of the dance. It was not hard for me to get involved in Zapin as I have acknowledge dancing basics in another Malaysian traditional dance called Inang dance. The main differences between these two dances are that Zapin dance utilize a great amount of foot movements while Inang dance emphasis on the hand movements. Zapin dance is very unique as it requires a special music which consists of several ‘pantun’ and pauses accompanied by music instruments such as gambus, violin, according to light up the dance. Dancers will perform ‘kopak’ during these pauses. I faced some difficulties during my early stage of learning these ‘kopak’ movements as it consist of the whole body movement, going up and down in few seconds. Luckily I have mastered these ‘kopak’ movements now. The costumes wear by the dancers are baju kurung for the female and baju melayu for the male with a cloth around their waist called ‘kain dagang’. During the performance, the dancers are supposed to hold on to the ‘kain dagang’ with their left hand.

It is interesting to know that the uniqueness of zapin are definitely shown by the various types of Zapin dance such as Zapin Pulau, Zapin Tenglu, Zapin Lenga, Zapin Pekajang and Zapin Parit Mustar which are influenced by tradition and living norms according to different region in Johor. Zapin Pekajang has more forcible movement and it is more suitable to be performed by male dancers but today, female Zapin dancers are customary to be seen performing.

I hope that Zapin dance will not be neglected and will live on as one of Malaysian Traditional Dance forever…

Mak Yong

It is extremely sad to know that Mak Yong dance is hardly performed today. It was one of Malaysian’s dance-theatre arts but unfortunately, it is forbidden to perform Mak Yong today, especially in the state of Kelantan where it was originated because it is believed to be spreading negative values contrary to Islam. Mak Yong dance is much influenced by spirit to evoke the ‘semangat’ in order to ensure that the performance runs smoothly. This dance is also associated with rituals such as attempting to heal through songs and trance-dance which is contradicted to Islam’s believes and it has been a controversial dance during the PAS ruled Kelantan in the early 90s.

I feel sorry that Malaysia looses one of its art form. In my opinion, Mak Yong should not be automatically banned from being performed to prevent the vanishing of this unique art form. The government should omitted the values such as the use of ‘semangat’ and also other manner that are contrary in Islamic rules and replace it with substances that are tally in the Islamic context. It is crucial to bare in mind that the essence in Mak Yong should be sustained to preserve its uniqueness during excluding the negative values in Mak Yong. This is to treasure the important element in Mak Yong and for Mak Yong to still maintain its speciality.

Mak Yong delivers a source of entertainment during the old days and it is really a shame that Mak Yong is under going a steady decline. I hope the government will take an action soon to prevent the extinction of this tremendously extraordinary art as the number of Mak Yong performers is also slowly decreasing as it is now hardly performed.