Unimas students staging the play ‘Tiang Cenggal, Dinding Sayong’. — Photo by Jeferrey Mostapa
KUCHING: Second year drama and theatre students from Unimas’ (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak) Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts staged a play on Thursday for school students to appreciate the power of story and script.
The Literature Theatre programme was organised in collaboration with Sarawak branch of Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP) and the State Education Department at DBP’s Balai Budaya in Petra Jaya here.
The storyline of the play ‘Tiang Cenggal, Dinding Sayong’ emphasised the values of family and relationships as well as filial responsibility.
DBP Sarawak Branch director Dr Hazami Jahari revealed that the play performed by Unimas’ students was based on the literature component of the Form 5 Syllabus.
“We hope that through the stage play, students get an interactive experience to better understand, interpret and appreciate various aspects of a script,” he said after opening the programme. Development of a script includes the characters, dialogue, theme, concept and inquiry, he explained.
Hazami said students only apply memorisation and recognisation skills by reading the script but through stage play, they can better absorb and appreciate the script and literature.
“More importantly is the final impact, especially how they feel which cannot be achieved by reading alone,” he said.
He pointed out that film provided more sensory experience than reading. Hence turning novels to film or drama was a new genre that provided more opportunities to writers.
“It is a similar concept we are trying to accomplish through stage play to encourage school students to explore beyond the limits of script and literature. Not just by reading to understand but being able to respond, reflect and think,” he said.
Hazami pointed out that the art of theatre or stage play impact community values. He assured that more activities and programmes would be organised throughout the year.
One of the main activities
this year is the Borneo-Kalimantan Dialogue to be held at Institute Aminuddin Baki (IAB) at Jalan Sultan Tengah on June 4 to 6. Students from four to five secondary schools in Petra Jaya participated in the programme.