He studied Civil Administration at in
Yogyakarta,
Central Java and began his theatrical career in the early 1960s as an actor in a study group in
Central Java with
W.S. Rendra. After finishing his degree in 1967, he moved to Jakarta and founded
Teater Kecil (
Little Theater), a laboratory where he and other actors could experiment using the workshop model, emphasizing the whole person, as introduced by
W.S. Rendra, but Noer was focused on the practical aspect of cultivating acting skills. According to the
Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, he was a prolific playwright and director from the 1970s until his death in 1995, directing all of his original plays including his best-known work,
Kapai-Kapai ("Reaching Out"; translated as "Moths" in English) in 1970. In 1972–73, he participated in the
Iowa Writers' Workshop, an international writing program in the United States. He received the
S.E.A. Write Award in 1990. Two years later, his film
Bibir Mer (
Mer's Lips) was submitted for consideration as the Indonesian entry for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His most notable poetry works include
Selamat Pagi Jajang (1979) and a collection of poetry published after his death,
Nyanyian Sepi (1995). ==Selected written works==