PERFORMANCE IN BALI

Written for students and practitioners working in the present century, this study turns to a performance tradition in Bali that has drawn outside observers for generations. The authors, Leon Rubin and I Nyoman Sedana, bring a double perspective to the subject: both have worked as international theatre professionals and both are academics, so the account draws on insider and outsider views alike. Four distinct kinds of contemporary performance native to Bali form the core of the book.

The work functions as a practical guide to how performance is made today. It offers close analysis of recent productions and considers every stage of the process, from creation and staging to how audiences respond. A substantial part examines the actual training methods Balinese performers use, and asks how some of these can inform Western drama and dance education. The authors also weigh the tension between improvisation and fixed dramatic structure, and show how modern approaches relate to inherited traditions.

Throughout, the performances are placed within their religious, intellectual and social settings. This context is meant to show the thinking and worldview behind the Balinese performer.