Bachelor student of Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Ida Ayu Purnama Novanka Larasati, who is familiarly called Dayu, recently recorded a brilliant achievement in the world of acting. Dayu won 2nd place in the Playwriting Competition at the 2024 National Student Arts Week (PEKSIMINAS) held at Jakarta State University on September 4, 2024. The event lasted for one week, from September 2-7, and was attended by participants from 24 provinces, including West Java, West Sumatra, Maluku, and Kalimantan.

As a student who is active in arts activities, Dayu has been involved in theater since high school grade 1. Currently, she is also active in Teater Gadjah Mada as Coordinator of Human Resource Development, where her duties include developing members’ skills and managing external and internal projects. In her role, she and her team have successfully organized external projects with Pionir UGM 2024 and Gelanggang Expo 2024, as well as participated in events such as “Agustusan with TGM” and PEKSIMIDA DIY 2024.

Her extensive experience in theater, from directing, to writing, to backstage, has strengthened her skills in leadership and teamwork, which is evident in the various projects she has managed. Her win at PEKSIMINAS adds to her list of prestigious achievements in the field of literary and acting arts. With this achievement, she became one of the outstanding students of the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Gadjah Mada Theater is one of the Student Activity Units under Gadjah Mada University. Its various sub-fields include acting, backstage (including lighting, costumes, makeup, and props), writing, and production. As part of the student activities at UGM, Teater Gadjah Mada acts as a place to channel talents and interests in performing arts. TGM actively contributes to the development of theater arts through performing arts activities and self-development. This process involves various competencies such as production, stage management, and stage art creation.

In line with its goals, Teater Gadjah Mada organizes their annual event, Studi Pentas, in order to be a means of education, improving social skills, and creativity for new members of Teater Gadjah Mada. The Gadjah Mada University students involved in the project come from various levels and study programs from various faculties at Gadjah Mada University, one of which is the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. Not a few students from the faculty joined and played important roles such as the main actor, director, treasurer, and so on. In this activity they performed their best. The activity also makes them closer to each other even though they are from different majors.