Meritorious Artist Si Tien - Director of the Youth Theater: "Nam Dong Military Region reminds us of life values"

Nam Dong Military Region (QKND) - a book that was once considered a phenomenon of publishing with 15 reissues within the last 4 consecutive years, finally had a dramatic version, just lit up at the stage 11 Ngo Thi Nham (Hanoi) of the Youth Youth Theater.

10 years after the first edition, more than 50 years have passed for the setting of the story (the final years before the end of the war against the US) - will that significant delay make the old story outdated? Meritorious Artist Si Tien, the play director, shared with Lao Dong Newspaper:

Pressure before the original

A famous literary work, why do you have to wait 10 years to step up to the stage?

- There are many, many stories about soldiers, but talking about the children of soldiers living together in a group area, perhaps this is a special case. Thanks to that, the story became known to many people along with the uniqueness of literature as well as the writer's delicate observation of his characters. The Tuoi Tre Theater is known as an artistic unit with the function of serving young people, the characters in the National Artist's Award are the age and audience of the Theater.

The Youth Theater was therefore lucky to receive the award from author Binh Ca for the story QKND when it was first released in 2015. At that time, the incubation and adaptation of the story onto the stage took shape.

However, QKND, although a very attractive book, is not easy to stage, from adaptation to staging. Usually, a stage script that wants to be attractive requires a conflict between the main - supporting characters, the main character - the main character - the main character - the main character - the main character, the main character - the main character, and almost no main character. Not to mention, there is still a delay in time, it is necessary to filter out what is still hot today...

It has been nearly a year since the author's enthusiastic connection with screenwriter Pham Ngoc Tien (author of many long-running TV series with famous political style scripts such as: "Chuyen Lang Nho", "Dat va nguoi", "Ma Lang", "Gio Lang Kinh", " Dan Thien", "Sinh Tu"... and most recently, Lan Dinh, currently airing at prime time on VTV1; who also wore the soldier's shirt - P.V), the story was really launched.

Coming up an adaptation script from a famous literary work, do you face common pressures such as the fear of being compared to the original and no more surprises?

- It's true that there is pressure, but it is positive pressure. The original work is too familiar to many generations of readers, so comparison is a certain thing. Literature and stage are two different languages, each work has a different way of storytelling and with a duration of 120 minutes on stage, we did not seek to escape the original, but chose to dialogue and tell a slice of the original story. A detail in a story sometimes only needs a sentence, but on stage it must become acting, action, movement of light, sound, music... and many other things. Therefore, the QKND of the stage version cannot be surprised in the form of literature, but creates surprises with the performance language, with rhythm, rhythm and vivid emotions right in front of the audience.

The most important thing is that the spirit of the original work is still preserved with the soul of the Nam Dong military region - a small fortress in the rear.

In the face of a reality with high characteristics and a rather distant retreat like the Nam Dong military region, how can the director help the audience find themselves and the problems of the past/ present in it?

- Screenwriter is writer and screenwriter Pham Ngoc Tien - an experienced person specializing in composing for cinema and television. When they sat with him to discuss how to approach the work, the two brothers also clearly saw the problems that needed to be answered when bringing the work to the stage.

The Nam Dong area in the 1960s - 1970s had special circumstances, but human emotions were not old. When re-reading the text and getting into the staging, we realized many very modern problems: Children who grow up without parents due to war - today there are also families whose children are far from their parents for a living. The algecity of mothers - is always true. The desire to be peaceful, to study, to live well - always exists...

Watching the QKND, the audience not only meets the past but also meets their own childhood, their family somewhere. Therefore, the National Defense and Security Stage is not only nostalgic, but also dialogues with the present: closeness, responsibility, kindness and courage...

The specialty of the QKND is the high sense of humor in the narration, so when adapted to a stage script, will it fall off?

- We maintain the humor of the QKND as a valuable asset, a unique property of the QKND. But instead of copying the funny details in the story, the stage creates the laughter of humanity, of childhood mischief, of rustic soldiers, and beauty queens through actions and dialogue. When laughter is kept in the right rhythm and quality, the moments of sung time will be more absorbed.

In addition, the drama of the story (though not a major conflict between two "partners" is also an advantage: The stage has the ability to turn those conflicts into real life moments, rich in rhythm and feeling. The stage version's QKND does not lose its humor but is enriched by the dialogue language and expanding the range of emotions.

Mildly reduce the factor of "school violence"

Watching the QKND, I see that the director and stage designer have handled the fights very cleverly, reaching the forehead (even being imprisoned) of the military region's boys to not only not lose the "unique" of the QKND, but also partly show the sacrifice of soldiers when they have to let their children grow up without the support of their father. Should we avoid touching the so-called "school violence" with many recent painful incidents?

- Youth is always strong with thoughts and actions that carry many ambitions to assert themselves, one way or another. Surely, at a certain age, when thinking back to their youthful years, some people will feel regretful for making inappropriate decisions, "wild" and out-of-way games. But few people have corrected their perceptions when they are young, especially when those young people still lack the training support of their fathers who are on the front lines. We understand this is a sensitive point. In the story, the fights are not to honor violence, but to reveal the nature of dishonesty, the protection of friends and the educational space because the father is away from home.

When bringing it to the stage, we wanted to emphasize the motivation, not the behavior. The audience understands why the children "clash", while the action scenes are estimated and controlled, not causing shock and shifting the focus from "fighting" to "growing up". This is the journey to maturity of soldiers from being farming to being knowledgeable and responsible. We want the audience to see that journey, not stop at external behavior. The experienced young cast of the theater is aware of community responsibility with complex acting classes.

Building a national policy at this time, what is the most meaningful message that you want to emphasize?

- To this day, the two words Military Region are only in the memories, the memories of a wartime period with many different joys and sorrows. When society changes so quickly, people easily forget the unforgettable values: affection, kindness, honesty, the will to overcome difficulties and the sense of responsibility towards family, towards the Fatherland... The Government Secretary reminds us of those great things through small stories. In all circumstances, what makes Vietnamese people strong is the love and spirit of standing side by side. Nam Dong area is a slice of the past, but its optimistic, kind, and resilient spirit is what today still needs, and tomorrow it will need more...

- Thank you.