Nano Riantiarno

Norbertus Riantiarno (better known as Nano Riantiarno or N. Riantiarno; 6 June 194920 January 2023) was an Indonesian actor, director, and playwright. While in high school, he studied under Teguh Karya and acted in several movies and plays, until he eventually established his own theatre troupe, Teater Koma, in 1977. His works, with their highly political messages, were often censored by Suharto's New Order government. In 1998 he won the SEA Write Award for his play Semar Gugat. Biography Riantiarno was born in Cirebon, State of Pasundan on 6 June 1949, to M. Albertus Sumardi, a railway employee, and Agnes Artini; his twin brother was named Pujo Purnomo. He attended State Elementary School IV from 1955 to 1961, followed by State Junior High School II from 1961 to 1964. He then studied at State Senior High School I and II; during this time, he joined the Tunas Tanah Air troupe and read poetry at the local RRI station. After graduating from high school, Riantiarno left for Jakarta to attend the . At the academy, he studied Constantin Stanislavski's theories on realism and took an unregistered course under Teguh Karya. After the course was banned, he assisted Karya in the founding of the troupe Teater Populer, where he continued to practice acting under Karya's leadership. He also took up playwrighting and directing during this time. While working with Karya, Riantiarno performed in several plays and films. His credits with Teater Populer include Shakespeare's Macbeth, Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, Karel Čapek's The White Disease, and his own Doa Natal (Christmas Prayer). Riantiarno also acted in several of Karya's films, including Cinta Pertama (First Love) and Kawin Lari (Elope). In 1971, he began studying at the Driyarkara School of Philosophy, and in 1975 he left Teater Populer to travel throughout the archipelago and see various forms of traditional Indonesian theatre and other forms of folk art, including wayang and ketoprak.