The Ho Chi Minh City-based Hong Van Drama Troupe, a leading privatetheatre, is offering training courses in performance skills as thenumber of talented actors has declined in recent years.
Thetroupe's owner, People's Artist Hong Van, a veteran actress who spentmore than 20 years on the stage, said the troupe's new plays werechallenging for the young staff.
"To maintain the stage, we needmore young, skilled performers," says Van, in her interview with SaiGon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.
Van says hertroupe's training courses will give young participants a chance todiscover new techniques and ways of expressing themselves emotionally onstage.
"Offering professional drama training is part of ourtheatre's activities so that one day we can be recognised as aspeciality art centre," she adds.
Before joining the trainingcourses, candidates aged between 22 and 26, will be selected throughseveral rounds by the theatre's veteran artists.
The winnerswill work as professional artists while attending class, and will haveopportunities to perform in the theatre's main plays and comedies.
Van says she is confident that the students can be trained for different levels of performance.
Thismonth, their first three year-course concluded, which trained 18 youngperformers who will perform in the troupe's two latest plays, the dramaNguoi Dan Ba Uong Ruou (The Drunk Woman) and comedy Ga Thi Thuong (TheBonus).
"We asked our students to spend at least three years tostudy the theatre skills," says theatre director and comic actor MinhNhi, an acting lecturer at prestigious theatre schools, including theHong Van Drama Troupe.
The troupe also provides students achance to perform with veteran colleagues, including their teachers, onstage during their training.
"On stage, they can learn thattheatre is not a game. Without hard work and sacrifices, they will neverbecome professional even if they have talent," Minh says.
Hisbest students, including Thuy My, Khanh Ly, Ngoc Giao, Hoang Long andHoang Nhan, have performed in dramas and won plaudits from audiences.
Actors snub traditional arts
In recent years, the performing arts scene has expanded rapidly withan increasing number of young talents achieving success in modern artforms, but traditional forms like drama, cheo (traditional opera) cailuong (reformed theatre) and tuong (classical drama) have been ignored.
Forinstance, about 2,000 candidates last year applied to the HanoiUniversity of Theatre and Cinematography, but none to the tuong course.
"Weare facing a shortage of young, skilled tuong performers," Le Chuc,deputy chairman of the Vietnam Theatre Artists Association, says.
Chuc,a tuong actor, says cultural authorities should invest in producingtalented young artists if the art was to truly develop.
Minhagrees with Chuc, saying that theatres, particularly private arttroupes, should independently headhunt and train their own staff ofyoung performers.
Traditional arts are particularly difficult to master, Minh says.
"Inmusic and cinema, amateurs can practise a bit and perform, but youcannot perform tuong or cheo unless you are properly trained."
Toperform, artists use almost all the parts of their body. If they lack apowerful voice, they cannot perform, sing and dance while alsoexpressing the emotions of each character.
Some talented theatreperformers in HCM City, such as Dinh The Thanh, Thai Hoa and Thanh Van,act in films and sing pop songs to earn a living, Tiet Cuong from theHCM City Drama Theatre, says.
"The fact is that none of us canlive on our income of around 10 million VND a month, even if we arestars on stage. Though our lives are hard, we have a passion fortheatre," the 30-year-old actor says.-VNA
Thetroupe's owner, People's Artist Hong Van, a veteran actress who spentmore than 20 years on the stage, said the troupe's new plays werechallenging for the young staff.
"To maintain the stage, we needmore young, skilled performers," says Van, in her interview with SaiGon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.
Van says hertroupe's training courses will give young participants a chance todiscover new techniques and ways of expressing themselves emotionally onstage.
"Offering professional drama training is part of ourtheatre's activities so that one day we can be recognised as aspeciality art centre," she adds.
Before joining the trainingcourses, candidates aged between 22 and 26, will be selected throughseveral rounds by the theatre's veteran artists.
The winnerswill work as professional artists while attending class, and will haveopportunities to perform in the theatre's main plays and comedies.
Van says she is confident that the students can be trained for different levels of performance.
Thismonth, their first three year-course concluded, which trained 18 youngperformers who will perform in the troupe's two latest plays, the dramaNguoi Dan Ba Uong Ruou (The Drunk Woman) and comedy Ga Thi Thuong (TheBonus).
"We asked our students to spend at least three years tostudy the theatre skills," says theatre director and comic actor MinhNhi, an acting lecturer at prestigious theatre schools, including theHong Van Drama Troupe.
The troupe also provides students achance to perform with veteran colleagues, including their teachers, onstage during their training.
"On stage, they can learn thattheatre is not a game. Without hard work and sacrifices, they will neverbecome professional even if they have talent," Minh says.
Hisbest students, including Thuy My, Khanh Ly, Ngoc Giao, Hoang Long andHoang Nhan, have performed in dramas and won plaudits from audiences.
Actors snub traditional arts
In recent years, the performing arts scene has expanded rapidly withan increasing number of young talents achieving success in modern artforms, but traditional forms like drama, cheo (traditional opera) cailuong (reformed theatre) and tuong (classical drama) have been ignored.
Forinstance, about 2,000 candidates last year applied to the HanoiUniversity of Theatre and Cinematography, but none to the tuong course.
"Weare facing a shortage of young, skilled tuong performers," Le Chuc,deputy chairman of the Vietnam Theatre Artists Association, says.
Chuc,a tuong actor, says cultural authorities should invest in producingtalented young artists if the art was to truly develop.
Minhagrees with Chuc, saying that theatres, particularly private arttroupes, should independently headhunt and train their own staff ofyoung performers.
Traditional arts are particularly difficult to master, Minh says.
"Inmusic and cinema, amateurs can practise a bit and perform, but youcannot perform tuong or cheo unless you are properly trained."
Toperform, artists use almost all the parts of their body. If they lack apowerful voice, they cannot perform, sing and dance while alsoexpressing the emotions of each character.
Some talented theatreperformers in HCM City, such as Dinh The Thanh, Thai Hoa and Thanh Van,act in films and sing pop songs to earn a living, Tiet Cuong from theHCM City Drama Theatre, says.
"The fact is that none of us canlive on our income of around 10 million VND a month, even if we arestars on stage. Though our lives are hard, we have a passion fortheatre," the 30-year-old actor says.-VNA
