The merger will be a great opportunity for all 3 theaters
Responding to Lao Dong reporter, Mr. Hoang Van Long - Acting Director of the Vietnam Song Theater - said, "The merger is an inevitable requirement of the times, the merger is to be more streamlined, stronger, supporting each other for mutual development. We have written the project, together with the leaders of the Vietnam Cheo Theater and the Cai Luong Theater, and then submitted it to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In the upcoming roadmap, we need 3 years to complete the overall apparatus, first of all, we support each other, and consider the direction to plan a common operation plan.
We also propose that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism still support 3 theaters in terms of film funding as before, each year providing funding to film 2 plays for each theater, 3 theaters for 6 plays".
Mr. Hoang Van Long analyzed the immediate advantages when the 3 theaters merged. "There will be many advantages, I will take an appointment, my theater currently has only 50 actors and musicians. Meanwhile, we often make plays that require hundreds of staff. Previously, we had to consider hiring actors to act in large numbers, but it was really expensive, beyond our ability to pay, so we always had to make plays in calculations about all aspects, including the use of few human resources. Now, when making plays, we need mass actors, supporting actors... all 3 theaters can use each other's actors, no need to worry".
"We must look at the problems of each theater, each field when merging"
According to Mr. Hoang Van Long, Tuong stage has spent many years selling tickets, finding many ways to reach the audience, building image advertising channels on digital platforms... In addition, they signed performance contracts with festival organizers in many provinces and cities to earn more income and improve the lives of artists.
However, Tuong still faces difficulties in training, scripts, artists following the channel are getting less and less... Accordingly, it has only been about 10 years since there was a Tuong training course at the University of Theatre and Cinema because there are few candidates registering to study.
Actor Han Van Phuong was born in 1995, from Phu Tho, and started working at the Tuong Vietnam Theater in 2018, after graduating from the intermediate level of Tuong actorship at the University of Theatre and Cinema.
Actor Han Van Phuong said: "My salary at the theater was small, when I first started working, I only received 1.8 million VND".
Han Van Phuong follows the line of being born into a family with a rich tradition in art, he is Meritorious Artist Han Van Than, she is People's Artist Hong Khiem. Both of them have been attached to the Vietnam Stream Theater for their entire lives. Han Van Phuong's younger brother follows the art of Cheo.
When the two brothers followed traditional arts, they were very happy to have a grandchild to follow in their footsteps.
Tuong still had difficulties with the script. Mr. Long affirmed that in the current market, there are almost no screenwriters trained in canal scripts who are passionate enough to pursue a career to the end. Because the song script must be written standardly to prepare the singing part for the character, this song is written in a rhythmic style and is specified in detail for each melody in the song.
We are implementing a cultural industry with national cultural identity as the focus. With the current attention of the Party and State, I firmly believe that the merger will help traditional stage types - imbued with national cultural identity like us have more opportunities to overcome difficulties, support each other, and build common plans for development" - Mr. Hoang Van Long said.
