"50 years of innovation of Vietnamese Stage Arts" - Looking back to move forward strongly

Artists from Ninh Binh Art Theater perform to welcome the Workshop

On the morning of October 3 in Ninh Binh, the Vietnam Stage Artists Association held a scientific seminar with the theme "50 years of innovation of Vietnamese stage arts".

The event was attended by a large number of researchers, directors, artists, cultural managers, representatives of central and local art units. The conference is an occasion to celebrate half a century of formation and development of a theater with rich identity and an opportunity to look back on achievements, limitations and set out directions for the next stage of development.

Artists and journalists attending the conference

Participating in the workshop were many artists and researchers such as: Associate Professor Dr. Do Hong Quan - Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, People's Artist Le Tien Tho, People's Artist Doan Chau, People's Artist Le Chuc, People's Artist Tran Quoc Chiem, Researcher Ngo Thao, People's Artist Trung Hieu, People's Artist Lan Huong, Director Le Qui Duong, People's Artist Tong Toan Thang, People's Artist Giang Manh Ha, People's Artist Vu Ngoan Hop, author Le Qui Hien, author Hoang Thanh Du, People's Artist Kieu Oanh, People's Artist Thu Huyen, People's Artist Bich Ngoan, People's Artist Nguyen Tien Dung, ..

Also attending the workshop was Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ninh Binh .

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thang Vinh and Dr. Playwright Nguyen Dang Chuong - Vice President of Vietnam Stage Artists Association participated as the Chairs of the workshop.

The panel of panelists of the workshop included: Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education , Researcher Nguyen The Khoa, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Thai, Dr. Scriptwriter Nguyen Dang Chuong - Vice President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thang Vinh. The workshop had 24 presentations and 14 passionate comments.

From left to right: Dr. Tran Thi Minh Thu, Director Thanh Hiep and Dr. Mai My Duyen attending the Workshop

Passionate speeches

In her opening speech, People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui, Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations - President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, emphasized: "Theatre is an art form that has the ability to reflect social life most deeply, and is also a place to preserve national cultural identity.

The past 50 years have been a journey of creativity, courage and constant adaptation of generations of artists to the changes of the times." The presentations at the conference systematically described the process of stage innovation from 1975 to the present, divided into distinct stages.

Many researchers have pointed out that it is the dynamism of the artist team that has helped Vietnamese theater maintain its traditional identity in parallel with the modernization process, creating significant successes on the international stage.

Achievements and challenges go hand in hand

The conference recognized many important achievements: the system of public and socialized art troupes is increasingly expanding; many quality plays have won high awards at international festivals; traditional theaters such as tuong, cheo, and cai luong still maintain their vitality through creative preservation efforts.

However, significant challenges were also frankly pointed out: declining theater audiences, the young creative team is not strong enough to create breakthroughs, literary scripts lack contemporary depth, and the operating mechanism is slow to innovate...

Especially, in the context of strong development of cultural industry and market economy, theater needs to redefine its role as a cultural product with both artistic and economic value.

People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui - Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association and Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education at the workshop

Future development orientation

Researcher Nguyen The Khoa raised concerns that hasty decisions should not damage traditional theater.

According to him, in recent years, our country's theater in general and traditional theater in particular are facing many major changes in organizational mechanisms and development orientation.

Besides the efforts to innovate to suit the modern social context, there are still many shortcomings in management and operation, especially in the implementation of policies and important decisions.

One of the issues that artists and managers are particularly interested in is the policy of merging three central traditional theaters (including Tuong theater, Cheo theater and Cai Luong theater) into a unit called "Vietnam National Traditional Theatre of Art".

These are three core art institutions that play a pivotal role in preserving traditional theatrical forms that have been included in the list of cultural heritages that need to be strictly protected.

However, many opinions are concerned that this merger does not have a complete and systematic process of professional exchange and discussion, leading to the risk of hasty implementation, lacking practical basis. Many artists frankly pointed out: in meetings, discussions often take place superficially, overlapping, without long-term strategic preparation.

From left to right: People's Artist Bich Ngoan, People's Artist Kieu Oanh, People's Artist Thu Huyen at the Workshop

In fact, looking back at the history of the development of Vietnamese theater since 1975, we can see two distinct development periods: the golden period lasting from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, and the period of decline that followed.

Recently, the theatre industry has begun to show positive signs of entering a "new breakthrough period". Therefore, any important decision, especially the merger of national theatre institutions, needs to be carefully considered so as not to interrupt this fragile recovery.

If the merger policy is implemented without professional preparation, organization and vision, the theater industry may face a serious crisis.

Challenging stage appearance

The consequence is not only the weakening of traditional art forms, but can also fade the achievements of decades of preservation by many generations of artists, as well as the State's correct policies in the cultural field.

Faced with this situation, many opinions suggest that it is necessary to organize a national conference or resolution to comprehensively evaluate the merger process, listen to the opinions of experts and artists, and from there plan a clear development roadmap with a vision of at least 10 years.

Researcher Nguyen The Khoa believes that this is not just a matter of administrative organization, but also related to the survival of traditional cultural values that have shaped national identity.

Traditional theatre is the heritage, the "cultural soul" of the nation. All decisions related to it must be made with caution, science and high consensus.

From left to right: People's Artist Le Tien Tho, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, People's Artist and Director Giang Manh Ha, Researcher Nguyen The Khoa at the Workshop

Dr. Tran Thi Minh Thu commented that Vietnam's theater scene is currently facing many internal challenges. Although Vietnam's public theater system is present in most provinces and cities with more than 3,000 employees, this field is facing many structural and long-term development problems.

According to her, the current human resources for the stage are too numerous but lack quality. The stage team is large but lacks real talent. The key creative forces such as directors, authors, and screenwriters are mostly middle-aged and have few breakthroughs.

Young actors are still inexperienced, while the veteran artists are gradually leaving the stage to switch to management or teaching, creating a worrying generation gap. There is an imbalance in the creative components: about 90% of the workforce is currently actors, while screenwriters, musicians, painters, choreographers or critical researchers are extremely scarce.

What Dr. Tran Thi Minh Thu is particularly concerned about is the degraded facilities. Most theaters, practice rooms, and stage equipment are outdated. Many new constructions are far from residential centers and lack the appropriate design to become a real art center.

Poor infrastructure hinders creativity and the ability to attract audiences. And the problem of lack of young stars, lack of new works, repetitive themes, amateur activities, weak promotion, outdated facilities… makes the stage increasingly weak in competition with modern forms of entertainment.

From a strategic perspective, delegates agreed that in order for Vietnamese theater to develop sustainably in the coming period, it is necessary to: Strengthen training of young creative human resources, encourage experimentation and explore new forms.

Develop specific support policies for socialized units, creating a healthy competitive environment. Promote the application of digital technology, bring the stage to online platforms to expand the audience. Selectively preserve traditional values, while actively engaging in international exchanges to enhance status.

"The workshop in Ninh Binh has become an open forum where generations of artists and managers share their passion and propose many solutions, thereby creating new momentum for the development journey of Vietnamese theater in the new era" - Dr. - Screenwriter Nguyen Dang Chuong said.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/50-nam-doi-moi-cua-nghe-thuat-san-khau-viet-nam-nhin-lai-de-tien-buoc-manh-me-196251003143538619.htm