For your information, applying KOMTEP is a no brainer but getting into the program is not as easy as reciting ABCs. Apart from having an impressive 'resume', one must also prepare an absolute mind-blowing project plan; which could either be cultural or educational.
*As KOMTEP is aligned with the idea of Global Citizenship Education (GCED), it is vital to actually incorporate cultural awareness in order for us to understand each other better hence avoiding any future conflicts.*
As for me, my project plan is about performing Wayang Kulit performance of local folktale in English. In order for me to carry this project out, I did a little bit of research on this traditional shadow puppetry art which includes building networking with those in Wayang Kulit industry such as Fusion Wayang Kulit, and a local puppeteer; Abang Nasir from Kampung Kebakat, Kelantan. Eventhough, I'm a Kelantanese born, I never once went to a Wayang Kulit show before. So, it is best to say that I am not an expert in the subject matter. Once the ideas are laid out and approved, I've asked my school colleague's help (Miss Intan Khaizura) to sketch some illustrations for the characters, which were later given to the puppeteers to be transformed into proper Wayang Kulit puppets (using materials such as cow skin and also plastic).
So, supplied with a few puppets and over the top excitement, I brought the idea of "Mythical Wayang Kulit' to Sahwa Elementary school. However, as soon as I started with the project, I realized that there's a need to modify the plan.
This modification was made due to the fact that the initial 12 weeks project plan was cut short to 4-5 weeks instead with 30-40 minutes of interaction weekly. Not only that, due to the participants' level of English, I had to revise the script for a number of times to fully adapt to them. I also spent 10-20 minutes daily during the lunch hour to monitor the participated pupils' pronunciation and tones for their lines.
On top of all, I also increased the number of puppeteers from one person to eight people in total! This decision is made with the intention of decreasing the number of lines which they had to memorize as well as giving all of them more or less an equal opportunity to actually be apart of the show. Still, as fusion, as it sounds, the puppets' shadows will still be cast to a screen just like the conventional Wayang Kulit.
The pupils also made their own puppets using thicker plastic films. First, they were asked to trace the photocopied picture of the characters on the plastic films using black marker pens. Then, they had to color in the pictures using colorful marker pens. I had to take the liberty of cutting out the puppets because the films were very thick and hard for them to cut on their own. I also helped them to add the bamboo sticks as the backbones for the puppets.
As of now, they're still in the midst of memorizing their lines as well as maneuvering the puppets. If everything goes well, they'll be performing their very first shadow puppet show during the school's exhibition on the 8th of November 2019. Wish them luck! 🤞🤞
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