Wayang Kulit for the kids

Drama Lesson Plan

A dalang is a puppeter in wayang show

Wayang Kulit Plays

In this unit, students will learn about:

·       History of wayang kulit

·       Wayang kulit stories ‘Pandawa and Kurawa’

·       How the wayang are made

·       The performance elements of wayang kulit

·       How the wayang kulit are used and operated

·       Wayang and technology: Light, music and slide projector

·       Wayang and society in the modern era

The Lesson Objectives:

-          Students are able to recognize the various elements of wayang puppet theatre.

-          Students are able to operate wayang puppet through performance

 Activity 1: tuning in -Brainstorming

-          Students make notes about what information they already knew about wayang kulit (KWL concept/mind map/ice break, etc)

-          Viewing video of wayang kulit profile or show the You Tube clip about wayang kulit theatre.

-          Show students the images of wayang kulit puppet

-          Find out or Research about wayang kulit puppet

-          Excursion to Wayang Museum

Activity 2: Operate wayang

-          Wayang demonstration (teacher in role)

-          Students will practice how to operate wayang with the movements and gestures (individual, using one wayang character)

-          Make wayang interactions with other characters (in pair activity)

-          Incorporating light and music

-          Elements of Drama: Timing ‘ wayang entrances and exits’

Activity 3: Reading exercise

-          Read a wayang play or an excerpt of Ramayana, Rama Sita, Pandawa Kurawa (Indonesian stories version)

Activity 4: Characterization

Students will be introduced to some character in wayang and how to identify them.

  Wayang Characters

-          Good Characters (protagonist)

-          Bad Characters (antagonist)

  Voice Projection

-          Tone, accents, articulation, chorus, etc.

  Developing voice characters

Developing an appropriate voice for the character that is recognizable by the audience.

Activity 5: Design your own performance

-          In groups, students decide what their play is going to be about

-          Rehearse the production using elements of wayang performace

-          Construct the props, stage, lighting, audience areas and music

Activity 6: Rehearsal

Activity 7: Reflection

-          Students reflect on and evaluate their parts and how they played it.

-          Students write their own reflection about the performance within the group

Activity 8: Wayang Show (assessment)