Where is Awang Budiman? Ramshackle Performance

Script for the Ramshackle fan fiction night at performance at Kaleidoscope Brunei on January 21, 2017. In the performance I was a film maker searching for Awang Budiman, only to discover the real answer was closer than I had imagined.


8-10 minutes presentation with Powerpoint slides (run time with breaks)

Performance Actions

  • JACKET OFF FIRST
  • THEN TIE
  • FOLLOWED BY BELT
  • THEN TROUSERS
  • SLIPPERS CHANGE FROM SHOES
  • TALKING AS I TAKE OFF SHIRT
  • FINAL PART IS ME WEARING THE DASTAR

 

Thank you everyone for coming. I’m going structure this as a lecture. I think it’s an important area of study and something that needs to be shared. As you heard I am a filmmaker. I don’t have any film footage now but what I will reveal to you is very interesting. If you’ve brought a pen and paper or a notepad of some kind, even your phone that would be of great use.

As you know as well, as the night has gone on the room can get quite hot. So do bear that in mind. In 1999 Brunei searched for a mascot for their largest ever sporting event that they hosted, the South East Asian games, better known as the SEA Games. An event that is held every four years. The name of the mascot they settled on?

Awang Budiman

I have two central questions to this presentation:

  • What is an Awang Budiman?
  • What is Awang Budiman doing now?

Bear these two questions in mind as we go through this.

TAKE OFF JACKET

#AwangBudiman2017

Let’s look first at how Awang Budiman is seen now. If you grew up in the 90s, you’ve seen him around but why has there been a recent resurgence?

Let’s see what forms he has taken:

  • Here he is on a hat
  • Here he is several times on a car
  • Here he is posing for drawings in different positions
  • Here he is as a sticker

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Are they looking at a reference of him, is he just sitting around waiting to be on stickers? Is he in a closet or room somewhere biding him time to pose?Just waiting for that call, sitting in a closet hoping someone will call? I don’t know that is why I have been researching this subject

Now we’ve looked at him in the recent years, let’s try and answer another central question:

  • What is an Awang Budiman?

So to first answer this question what better way than by the colours. Red Yellow Black

  • Firstly, let’s go from top to bottom
  • The Dastar is red and of course the belt is as well
  • The Shirt is yellow
  • The three-quarter trousers are black

Red – What does it mean? What does it signify?

  • Fire. Firey, he has a flame in him that can’t be burnt out.
  • Movement. It was the SEA games so he did a lot of sports
  • Love. Perhaps a fine lover. This we can’t speculate too much on.
  • Sensitivity. A quality that drew out his caring side.
    • The soft Budiman.
    • The sensitive Budiman.
    • The cuddly Budiman.

TAKE OFF TIE

Yellow – Ok. Let’s think about this as well.

  • Light. He lights up any room that he enters.
  • Energy. Much like the Movement quality in Red, it’s related to his sporting ability in 21 sports. All of which he was a master of.

SHOW SLIDE OF BUDIMAN PLAYING SPORTS

    • As you can see in this slide, these are the examples of his energy and drive. And everything else I mentioned before.
    • You have traditional rowing, squash, swimming, boxing, pencak Silat and the like
    • Moving on. Yellow could also mean Freshness. Like fruit, fresh fruit. A banana perhaps.
  • Joy. Just imagine Awang Budiman’s face now in your mind’s eye. That is the true meaning of Joy.

Black not just in hair colour, but in clothing as well

  • Indulgence. Much like rich chocolates, being in the presence of Awang Budiman is an indulgence only few have enjoyed.
  • Elegance. Known for his simple yet refined look Awang Budiman, you might say is the 90s poster child for elegance.
  • Mystery. And of course, an Awang in the shadows. An Awang of mystery.

Now. We firmly established what a Budiman is and what colors his clothing conjures up. Where I went to continue this search took me to places I could never imagine This lead me to, RED, YELLOW AND BLACK. What countries have that colour in their flag? [pause] Yes that’s right ANGOLA, GERMANY and the SABAR-AGA-MU-WA PROVINCE IN SRI LANKA. I won’t bore you with all the details of each country that I went to go find my answer, but i’ll try:

MOVES TO TAKE OFF TROUSERS- PUTS ON SLIPPERS

  • Angola – Angola is located in Southern Africa or South of Africa whichever you prefer. And to my surprise there were 25 million people, so not exactly an easy place to find Awang Budiman.
  • The capital of Lu-anda was amazing. I stayed at Le Presidente Luanda, for what must’ve been close to a six months. A huge lobby and fantastic views of the city. I could really talk about Angola forever. But that’s enough for now…
  • Germany – I visited the Berlin Wall. There was nothing much else. And again Awang Budiman could not be found.
  • Sabar-aga-mu-wa Province in Sri Lanka – Ok I have to admit I didn’t go to this place but I thought the flag was interesting.

So now you know what the flag looks like when you go to Sri Lanka. None of these places gave me satisfactory answers, so the question remains

Where to find Awang Budiman?

But what if this was a dead end? Such was the web that Awang Budiman weaved the real answer lay somewhere else? So, after the goose chase I sat at home and gathered my thoughts. I started to try and put all the pieces together I have been gathering. Red, Angola, Yellow, Germany, Stickers. It dawned on me that in 1999, George Lucas released the first prequel trilogy of Star Wars. Yes that’s right: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Wikipedia page. So I said to myself. I need to email George Lucas about this. So in September 2012 I decided to send him an email and it went like this

STARTS TAKING SHIRT OFF. TAKES OUT COPY OF EMAIL FROM BELT. TAKES OFF SHIRT COMPLETELY. 

Dear George Lucas

I was on Wikipedia the other day and found it interesting that the first prequel movie Star Wars: Episode 1 came out the same year as Awang Budiman. I have been searching for Awang Budiman for many years now and thought you might know where he is.

Hope to hear from you soon So that was the letter, I was check my inbox daily for his reply. Days past, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into the months. Then out of the blue. I receive an email back from him. Bear in mind at this point I wasn’t sure if I could continue my search, even though it had been 17 years since I first began on my journey, I was ready to give it all up. So email he sent, that I waited so long to hear from him, said:

  • Check your mail

This made me even more confused because I had received nothing, nothing at all in my mail – email or mail at home. I was growing restless and anxious. What was the meaning behind it? Why not give me an explanation? Why not give me more? I had been waiting for an answer from him, and this is all I got? A “check your mail?“

BOX IS PASSED TO ME ON STAGE AND I LOOK AT THE BOX. TAKE OUT THE DASTAR TO THE SOUND OF GULINGTANGAN. TURN AROUND AND LIFT THE DASTAR UP. DO THE AWANG BUDIMAN POSE AND SAY: 

I found him