Feature: Getting to Know Jakarta's Theatre Communities at MALAM MINGGU & NADA by DANADA Workshop

As befitting of its metropolitan status, Jakarta is full of people of all callings -- including theatre enthusiasts. There are hundreds of theatre companies, communities, majors, and school or university clubs combined residing in the Greater Jakarta area. Yet it's still rare to see a gathering event for these thespian groups to meet each other and geek out about theatre life. On the evening of Saturday, March 16th 2019, at the creative hub Paviliun 28 one such joyous occasion was hosted by the upstart workshop venture DANADA.

Called MALAM MINGGU & NADA (Sunday Night & Melody), the event was not only a chance for Jakarta thespians to mingle (and as expected many of the attendants were already familiar with each other from previous productions and events), but also to get introduced to theatre and music communities from Jakarta and beyond. An open mic session was also held later in the evening for those itching to sing showtunes among people who would actually recognize them and sing along.

Starting at 7 PM, the cozy restaurant-slash-performance-space was already filling with people. A registration desk listed the name of attendees and their represented community of choice. A pair of MC greeted people from the performance area where the keyboard and monitor would later accompany the evening's performances.

Though many of the communities on the guest list were familiar - Jaksical, JPAC, Spotlight, Teater Katak, Teater Narada, Teater Sanskerta, and TEMAN, and others - the host themselves were still, frankly, unknown. Who's this DANADA?

DANADA wasted no time to introduce themselves: DANADA is a performing arts workshop venture, offering various classes in performing arts by experienced mentors.

DANADA was founded by Elisabeth Viona, a member of multiple Jakarta musical communities and herself a performer, most recently playing the lead in Teater Katak's KAERU. The rest of the team is also comprised of youths active in the performing arts scene.

Viona explained that the name DANADA was chosen because 'nada', or melody/tone, is a common thread in the performing arts - actors deliver their line with tonal intonation, dancers moves their body melodiously to the beat of music, and both singers and musicians produce the right notes to create beautiful music.

Thus DANADA hopes to provide Jakartan performers with different types of workshop, honing and elevating their skills to the next level. Most of the mentors were also in attendance that night -- and all of them were well-known names in the local performing arts scene and beyond.

The opening performance of the night was by a pair of siblings and child jazz duo, Moby and Sade. Moby, the brother, played the guitar while his sister, Sade, played the violin. They both sang and performed jazz songs from their upcoming mini-album to be released this April.

Following Moby and Sade, representatives from the theatre and musical communities came up to the mic, introducing their community and advertising (or at least teasing) their next show. Songs, monologues, and even a tap number filled the evening with cheers.

At 10 PM, the open mic session started. Showtunes - including DEAR EVAN HANSEN's "For Forever", WICKED's "Defying Gravity", and SMASH's "They Just Keep Moving the Line", to name a few - were a popular choice. The event continued until the stroke of midnight.

Hosting a get-together for theatre lovers show that DANADA knows their target market well; with the rising interest in the performing arts in Jakarta and Indonesia, they will surely provide a vital service to the performing arts society. For more information, you can follow them at their Instagram, halo.danada.

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