A Pragmatic study of the classical verse in the Gara-gara scene in classical Surakarta style shadow puppet theatre performed by puppeteer Ki Anom Suroto

The endeavours used by Ki Anom Suroto to create a lively and humorous atmosphere in order to entertain the audience include: (1) maximizing the role of the classical verse (tembang) sung by the female vocalists (pesindhen) and male vocalists (penggerong), accompanied by music of the gamelan, played by the musicians (pengrawit); (2) every utterance contained in the various tembang and the dialogue of the panakawan (clown servants) deviates from the maxim of cooperation and the maxim of politeness; and (3) maximizing the role of the panakawan characters based on their individual shape or character (wanda), both in their speech (verbal language) and the way in which they dance (nonverbal language). The combination of verbal language (speech) and nonverbal language (visual elements), supported by the rhythms of the gamelan and the voices of the pesindhen and penggerong are able to create a pragmatic force which attracts the attention of and entertains the audience, in particular members of the audience with a similar cultural background. The verbal language which is written in the various lyrics of the tembang and the speech in the dialogue of the panakawan with the pesindhen, pengrawit, and guest artists, is manifested in various different kinds of speech acts, such as: assertives, verdictives, directives, and phatics. Of the four kinds of speech acts, the most dominant kind is assertives. In addition, an observation of the response or evaluation of observers and members of the audience to the presentation of the tembang in the gara-gara scene as performed by Ki Anom Suroto shows that: observers/audiences regard his humour as well-mannered and full of advice and social criticism which is presented in a polite way. His humour has a high quality and manages to retain the classical values that are found in the art of classical Surakarta style shadow puppet theatre (wayang kulit purwa).