Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota. - I do not want to perform this stiffly at the city theater.

Saya is neutral–polite and safe in almost any situation (with strangers, in formal settings, etc.).
Aku is more informal/intimate (with friends, family, people your age or younger, in casual speech).

So:

Saya tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota. – neutral, polite.
Aku tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota. – more casual.

Grammatically both are fine; you choose based on how close you are to the listener and the level of formality.

Why is tidak mau used instead of something like tidak ingin or tidak akan?

All three are related but not identical:

mau = want / be willing (and often implies future action in speech).
ingin = want / desire (a bit more “internal wish,” can sound slightly more formal or written).
akan = will (future marker, not about wanting).

In this sentence:

tidak mau focuses on not wanting / not being willing to perform in such a stiff way.
tidak ingin would sound like I don’t have the desire to be that stiff; still possible, just a bit more “inner feeling.”
tidak akan would be more like I will not be that stiff, making it a firm statement or promise, less about desire, more about a decision.

So tidak mau matches the idea of reluctance or refusal: I don’t want to…

What exactly does tampil mean here? Is it “appear” or “perform”?

Tampil literally means “to appear” or “to come out (in front of people),” and in performance contexts it usually means to perform / to appear on stage / to go on stage.

In this sentence, with di teater kota, it naturally means:

to perform (in a play, show, etc.)
or to appear on stage in the city theater.

It doesn’t take a direct object here; you just tampil somewhere or in some way:

tampil di panggung – appear/perform on stage
tampil bagus – perform well / look good on stage
tampil sekaku ini – appear/perform this stiffly

What does sekaku ini literally mean, and how is it formed?

Sekaku ini breaks down like this:

se- = as … / so … (degree marker, like “this/that …”)
kaku = stiff, rigid, awkward (in movement or manner)
ini = this

So, very literally: “as stiff as this” or “this stiff / this rigid.”

This pattern se- + adjective + ini/itu is common:

sebesar ini – this big
secepat itu – that fast
sesulit ini – this difficult

Compared with other intensifiers:

sekaku ini – matches some present standard being shown/felt (“this stiff (like I am now)”).
sangat kaku – very stiff (more general, no “this / that” comparison).
begitu kaku – so stiff (often referring to something just mentioned or seen).

Is sekaku ini describing tampil (how I perform) or saya (what I am like)?

It describes the way you appear/perform when you tampil.

Conceptually:

tampil sekaku ini = to appear/perform in such a stiff way / this stiffly.

Grammatically, sekaku ini is functioning like an adverbial phrase modifying the verb tampil (answering “how?”). It’s about your manner of performing, not a permanent trait.

Could I change the word order to put sekaku ini before tampil, like Saya tidak mau sekaku ini tampil di teater kota?

That word order sounds unnatural in standard Indonesian.

The normal and most natural pattern is:

[subject] [negation + modal] [verb] [manner] [place]
Saya tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota.

Moving sekaku ini before tampil breaks the usual verb + manner order, and native speakers would almost always say it the original way.

You can move the place phrase more easily:

Saya tidak mau tampil di teater kota sekaku ini. – still okay, just a slightly different emphasis.
But keep tampil sekaku ini together.

What exactly does teater kota mean? Is it “the city’s theater” or just “a theater in the city”?

Teater kota is typically understood as “the city theater” – a specific theater that belongs to or is known as the city’s main theater (like a municipal theater).

Compare:

teater kota – “(the) city theater” (a recognized venue, often with that as its name or function).
teater di kota – “a theater in the city” (any theater located in a city, more general).

So in this sentence, di teater kota suggests a specific well-known venue, not just any random theater in town.

Why is the preposition di used before teater kota? Could I use ke or pada?

di = in, at (location).
ke = to (movement/direction).
pada = at/on (more formal/abstract; often used with time, people, or more formal objects).

Here, you are talking about where you perform (location), not movement toward it, so di is correct:

tampil di teater kota – perform at the city theater.

Using ke would change the meaning:

ke teater kota – (going) to the city theater (movement, not the place of performance itself).

Pada teater kota would sound overly formal or odd here; di is the natural choice for a physical place where something happens.

Does mau here work more like “want to” or like a future marker “will”?

It’s mainly “want to / be willing to”, but in everyday Indonesian mau can also hint at the near future.

In this sentence:

Saya tidak mau tampil sekaku ini…
= I don’t want to perform this stiffly… (focus on desire/refusal).

There is some implication about a future performance, but the main message is about not wanting to be that stiff. If you wanted a more neutral future (“I will not be this stiff”), you’d use tidak akan instead of tidak mau.

Could I say Saya nggak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota instead of tidak? Is that acceptable?

Yes, very common in speech.

tidak – standard, neutral, can be used in both spoken and written Indonesian.
nggak / gak – informal/colloquial, used widely in everyday spoken Indonesian, especially in cities and among younger people.

So:

Saya tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota. – neutral, acceptable everywhere.
Saya nggak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota. – natural in casual conversation.

In formal writing or exams, prefer tidak. In relaxed conversation, nggak (or gak) is extremely normal.

Can I drop saya and just say Tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota?

Yes, in context you often can.

Indonesian frequently drops the subject when it’s clear from context. So in a conversation where it’s obvious you are talking about yourself, Tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota would likely be understood as:

(I) don’t want to perform this stiffly at the city theater.

However:

Keeping Saya makes the sentence clearer and more complete, especially in writing or when the subject might be ambiguous.
In more formal situations, it’s safer to include Saya.

What is the overall level of formality of this sentence?

With the words as given:

Saya tidak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota.

the sentence is:

Neutral in formality (neither very formal nor very slangy).
Suitable for talking to teachers, colleagues, directors, or in most everyday situations.

You could make it:

More formal: Saya tidak ingin tampil sekaku ini di teater kota.
More casual: Aku nggak mau tampil sekaku ini di teater kota.