2026 / 2027 ° Bhinneka tunggal ika – Unity in Diversity – Indonesia ° 2026 / 2027
or: Meeting the impossible – Pertemuan dengan hal yang mustahil
UNITY IN DIVERSITY
Indonesia 2026–2027
A 6-Month Cross-Cultural Theatre Project
At 71, I Am Leaving Everything Familiar to Face the Impossible 🧭
Six months in Indonesia🌏 to test whether change and unity across cultures are still possible through theatre 🎭
👉 Help Prove It’s Never Too Late 🌱
How often do we quietly step back from change?
We retreat into what we know.
Into our habits.
Into our comfort.
We live in memory instead of movement.
I am seventy-one years old.
And I refuse to retreat.
This journey to Indonesia is not only about theatre.
It is about testing whether change is still possible — at any age, in any culture, in any life.
I am stepping into the unknown on purpose.
Not because it is safe.
But because it is necessary.
And I am inviting you to witness it, and perhaps recognize your own “Impossible” along the way.
If this journey succeeds, it will not only change me.
It may give you permission to change something in your own life.
In October 2026, I will spend six months in Indonesia developing a new model of cross-cultural theatre collaboration.
This is not a retreat.
It is a structured artistic research project with defined outcomes.
At 71 years old, I am committing to testing a central question:
Can theatre become a real working bridge between cultures, not as theory, but as shared practice?
The Core Goal
To develop and document a replicable model of intercultural theatre collaboration that:
- Connects artists across cultural and generational differences
- Integrates ritual, everyday life, and performance
- Generates publicly shareable results
- Leads to a published book and future productions in Europe
This project is built around Indonesia’s national principle:
Bhinneka Tunggal Ika — Unity in Diversity
I want to test how this idea functions in lived, everyday reality, and how theatre can embody it.
What Will Actually Happen
Timeline
- October 26, 2026 – April 26, 2027
Locations
- Denpasar, Bali (initial research phase)
- Yogyakarta (main base for workshops and production)
Concrete Deliverables
During these six months, I will:
- Conduct Theatre Workshops in Yogyakarta
- 3–5 structured workshops with local participants
- Focus: body, ritual, intercultural exchange, biography in performance
- Public sharing or presentation at the end of each cycle
- Create a Public Work-in-Progress Presentation
- A collaboratively developed showing
- Documented in video and text
- Write and Publish a Book
- Working title themes:
- Facing the Impossible
- Man = Change
- Theatre – In Search of the Lost
- The book will document:
- The artistic process
- Cultural encounters
- Failures and breakthroughs
- A practical framework for intercultural theatre work
- Build Long-Term Artistic Output
- The material developed in Indonesia will:
- Inform future productions in Europe
- Serve as a foundation for lectures and workshops
- Expand into a performance project after my return
The Problem This Project Addresses
- Theatre Has Lost Urgency
Much contemporary theatre feels replaceable. It no longer feels necessary.
- Cultural Dialogue Is Often Superficial
“Exchange” is frequently symbolic rather than embodied.
- We Avoid Transformation
We speak about change, but we rarely commit to it personally, especially across age and cultural borders.
This project confronts all three issues directly.
Why Indonesia?
Indonesia is not culturally uniform. It is a living experiment in pluralism.
More than 17,000 islands.
Hundreds of languages.
Multiple religions.
Strong ritual traditions.
If Unity in Diversity can function anywhere in a lived way, it should function there.
I want to observe, participate, and test this principle through artistic practice.
Why This Is High-Risk — and Necessary
I will be 71 years old.
I will work outside my native language.
I will not control the cultural environment.
The outcome is not guaranteed.
But meaningful artistic work never is.
Facing the Impossible is not romanticism — it is methodology.
Budget Transparency
Your support covers:
- International flights
- 6-month visa
- Accommodation
- Local travel
- Workshop space rental
- Documentation (video + writing)
- Editing and publishing preparation of the book
- Basic living expenses during full-time artistic research
This funding ensures I can focus entirely on the work, not survival.
What Supporters Receive
Depending on contribution level:
- Early access to field notes and blog reflections
- Behind-the-scenes documentation
- Invitation to online discussions during the journey
- Signed copy of the finished book
- Invitation to future European presentations
- Acknowledgment in the publication
You are not donating to an idea.
You are investing in a documented, structured artistic investigation.
Measurable Outcomes by April 2027
By the end of the project:
- Minimum 3 completed workshop cycles
- At least 1 documented public presentation
- Structured manuscript draft of the book
- Video and written archive of the process
- Foundation for a new theatre production
Why Support This Now?
Because projects like this rarely happen at this stage of life.
Because intercultural dialogue needs depth, not slogans.
Because theatre needs risk again.
Because change does not happen automatically, it must be enacted.
Support this project and become part of the experiment.
Let’s face the Impossible — together 🤝