Puppet Shows for Students with Hearing Impairment: a Model of Creation

Individuals with disabilities are still marginalized in terms of access to facilities and opportunities for advancing in science, technology, and the arts. The arts can potentially play a key role in empowering people with disabilities through collaborative activities. The functions of art for individuals with disabilities are diverse, offering numerous benefits and opportunities across various aspects of their lives. Art can serve as a medium for expression, therapy, social inclusion, and developing their potential and talents. This research produces a collaborative, multi-dimensional wayang performance model involving puppetry, comics, and dance. It aims to empower artistic media (puppetry, comics, and dance) to increase the participation and appreciation of individuals with hearing impairment. The utilization of this art media makes the performance adaptive to hearing impairment conditions. Puppetry in the form of comics, performance scripts, and dance movements created according to hearing impairment conditions creates a work with an inclusive performative design. The research employs participatory art research and development methods through identifying problems, formulating ideas, experimentation, selection, implementation, and presentation. Participatory workshops can be a means of expression and creativity, entertaining and nourishing the soul, an inclusive forum that involves the potential and talents of people with disabilities. Research outputs include international journal publications, copyright registration for puppet crafting and accessories, performance scripts, dance choreography, and socialization/promotion videos. Keywords: wayang puppetry, comics, dance, deafness, art collaboration. DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/14-7-02 Publication date : September 30th 2024