People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc - Tam and Tai also face challenges on "The fateful ferry"

People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc

-Reporter : From the milestone of being the principal of the School of Stage Arts 2 (now the University of Theatre and Cinema, Ho Chi Minh City), you are considered a great teacher and artist with tireless thinking and creativity. With more than 50 years of dedication to the education career, you are the teacher of many generations of famous artists and the director of many top stage works in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the Southern region in general. Are you satisfied with this achievement?

-People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc: I always follow the wish to learn from the teachers who guided me, reminding myself that as long as I am healthy, I will still stand on the podium, still concentrate on being the ferryman. The passenger crossing the river may forget me, but in my mind I will always remember each dear ferry trip that has connected my life to the river called the teaching profession.

To say I am satisfied is too much, I can only say I am happy because for the past 49 years, Ho Chi Minh City has been a great cradle in training human resources for the stage after the country's reunification. Every artist attached to the profession, no matter what position, has fulfilled their mission, continuing to cultivate the beautiful and brilliant garden of art. Even happier is that many of my students have now followed my footsteps, taking on the role of ferryman, making the river of artistic knowledge still flow strongly.

A scene from the play "The Fateful Ferry" directed by People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc

- Did you stage the play "The Fateful Ferry" by writer Nguyen Huy Thiep during this period to send a positive message to the young generation who love art?

- Not only for the young generation who love art but also for the public today. I accepted to participate in staging this work on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of Thien Dang Stage's establishment. The play "The Fateful Ferry" carries a positive message, in life, the Heart and Talent in each person will eventually have to step onto their own fateful ferry.

When people are born, they are inherently good people, life has molded each person to grow up, create personality and live responsibly towards themselves, their family and society. The audience's acceptance of the play means that Thien Dang Stage has gradually developed the habit of watching literary plays, gradually improving the aesthetic sense in enjoying art.

Watching plays for entertainment but still have to draw out concerns, reflect on life, on fate and above all aim to live a life that is useful to the community and society.

- Not only Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc but also most of the artists in the field of theater in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the whole country in general always mention him with rare respect and love. What do you think about this?

- I came to the performing arts from an amateur path. At that time, I was an actor in the Drama Team of the Hanoi Labor Youth Union before officially becoming a student of the first class of the Department of Drama - Vietnam Stage Arts School (1961 - 1964), along with artists Doan Hoang Giang, Doan Dung, The Anh, Trong Khoi, Ha Van Trong, Nguyet Anh... After graduating, I became an actor in the Youth Drama Team of the Vietnam Drama Theater, and in 1967, I was sent to Bulgaria to study directing. In 1974, I returned to Vietnam to teach at the Hanoi Theater and Cinema School until 1986 when my family moved to Ho Chi Minh City and taught at Stage Arts School 2.

With Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc, I have worked on many plays such as: "The Most Sacred Thing", "The Jackpot", "A Stolen Life", "Monsieur Jourdin au Tonkin", "Luc Van Tien and Kieu Nguyet Nga", "Paradise of Love", "Love for Two People", "Literary Story", "The Boy", "The Beautiful Shop Owner"... Among them, the main role of the play "The Boy" is bringing home the Mai Vang Award in 1998 for Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc.

I am happy that the memorable milestones in the artistic careers of many artists in Ho Chi Minh City, when it comes to roles and plays, have all had me as a companion. It is they and many more generations of students who have given me more youth, so that this year, at 87 years old, I can still work on stage.

People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc is talking with Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc, painter Meritorious Artist Le Van Dinh and Meritorious Artist Ca Le Hong

-In many people's minds, the image of directors at work is often that of hot-tempered people, due to having to work with a group of people who are not uniform in personality, thinking ability, creative talent... What is your secret to not getting angry while staging?

- I organize exchanges so that artists can maximize their creativity, that is the method when staging. I never demonstrate to actors, although some people consider it an easy method, less strenuous, achieving faster progress when actors cannot express the director's wishes in exploiting the character's actions and psychology.

During the staging process, I meticulously analyze the characters' fates, guide the actors to exploit, explain or find ways to inspire them to unleash their best creativity. Fortunately, my method optimizes the sublimation so that from the rehearsal process until the play is presented to the audience, the role has permeated the breath and flesh of the actors.

- Your health is not as good as before, and you can't walk easily. Do you think it's time to really retire?

- Since my son "confiscated" my motorbike, I now have to rely on technology vehicles, and when it rains, I rely on taxi drivers. Once, I met a kind driver who realized I didn't accept money and gave me his phone number, saying that if the teacher needed to go somewhere and couldn't call a car, he could call me. And then many students volunteered to take shifts to pick him up and drop him off, and from that feeling, it was difficult for me to truly retire. I have a very strange love, which is very difficult to explain clearly with the training job. Happily, after 50 years, that feeling is still intact. That love helped me overcome many difficulties and I never intended to leave the teaching profession.

In the field of theater, my training work helps me to interact with the younger generation, who are full of passion, enthusiasm, and new ideas and creativity. Thanks to that, I always feel young. If you ask what theater people fear the most, it is the aging of the soul. I have tried to keep my mind from becoming rigid, to continue to accept new creations. Going to many shows, participating in seminars and talks is a job that not only helps me maintain my mental balance but also helps me learn many new things from my students.

People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc is not only a respected teacher but also a great talent. He is good at French so he has translated many theatrical works, becoming a valuable lesson for our generation. He is always an exemplary model of passion, dedication to learning, studying, updating to do well in training and is a support for many generations of us who work in theater" - People's Artist Hong Van was filled with love when talking about People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nsnd-tran-minh-ngoc-tam-va-tai-cung-deu-thu-thach-tren-chuyen-do-dinh-menh-196240916115822264.htm