The Creation of A Script Developing from A Southern Folk Tale : Case Study of Hua Nai Rang

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study presentation processes and content creation of an acting script developed from an analysis and interpretation of “Hua Nai Rang,” a southern folk literature, which was presented through different telling techniques. The script consisted of 3 parts based on western drama structures. These were: 1) the beginning referring to the start of a journey, 2) the middle presenting the problems and obstacles during the journey, and 3) the end of the journey providing an analysis of the main characters from the folk literature, namely Mr. Rang, who had faith in Buddhism and then set out to find the goal. This was useful for the design and creation of the characters in the script, which became a medium that helped convey the purpose of the creator to the audience, while storytelling strategies from the narrator's point of view was applied. Meanwhile, the story was told by comparing the journey as a snake ladder game in which different situations occurred.

The researcher focused on creating and developing the script for this show as it was considered a key part of the performance allowing the creation of imagery. Thus, the creation of the performance was based greatly on the elements of dance in order to communicate with the audience for them to understand the purpose of the script creator. Hence, the script was reinterpreted so that the main characters could effectively represent the stories of the heroes in the community. The reinterpretation involved an integration of people’s thoughts and past events in Hua Nai Rang and the history of the community, traditions (ritual ceremonies), and folk performances. In addition, it was aimed to reflect imaginary dimensions of the real world which are congruent with the modern world. In the meantime, the script also conveyed moral and ethical value of life philosophy in order for the audience to relate it to their life experiences.