In less than a summer month, the Vietnam Puppetry Theater’s artists had performed 100 performances. All 3 groups of performers belonging to 2 artist teams of the Theater have operated continuously on three stages at the Theater headquarters at 361 Truong Chinh, Hanoi, the water stage at the Le Thai To Contemporary Art Theater, Vietnam-Russia Friendship Culture Center and in many schools, agencies and units.
Adventure with the old fishwoman
What is even more amazing is to do such a dense number of performances and at such different stage venues but only 32 artists.
Every summer, the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater always has new programs, especially for children. This shows that children are always the top priority of the Theater, although daily performances serving foreign audiences and tourists are still regular. From May 10th, the Theater decided to focus on serving children during the summer holidays. Three stages at Vietnam National Puppetry Theater, 361 Truong Chinh include: stage puppet theater, the theater combining water puppet and stage puppet, outdoor water puppet stage has continuously red light. Besides, the Theater keeps performing water puppet daily for tourists at the stage of the Contemporary Art Theater - 79 Hang Trong, Hanoi.
This year, the Theater also promotes coordination to perform according to mobile performance contracts at schools and agencies. It can be said that the artists of the Theater are very experienced in responding to the dense frequency of performing as well as staging requested programs from customers, so the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater has received many contracts as well as the trust of a large audience.
There are only 32 artists in 2 groups of artists in 2 teams but the performance organization is not overlapped, artists are not afraid to work, ready to eat on the spot, rest on the spot, run up and down the venues to meet the demand of a large audience.
- (Reporter) Sir, the performance market serving children has a lot of programs with many attractive art forms but why are the puppet shows of the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater has it own attraction?
- People's Artist Nguyen Tien Dung, Director of Vietnam Puppet Theater: The criteria to create the brand for Vietnam National Puppetry Theater are always our highest priority, which is art quality and price. In order to serve the children's audience in the summer of 2019, we have 4 programs: Adventure with the old fishwoman, New land of the little jungle boy, The Concurrence of Vietnam’s Puppets, Happy summer. In addition to the fixed shows, we also direct short shows of only 45 minutes and the contract price is very "soft" compared to the shows on the market. Even if the audience has only 100 children or a few hundred children, the contract price will be the same. It is not the number of children who come to see more, we get a higher contract price. The point is how many child audiences come to the puppet art. If the parents took their children to the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater, they will definitely continue to return to the Theater. Or like schools, agencies after inviting us to perform, when they want to see the art, they always remember the Theater.
What the Theater always reminds artists is that, never be subjective when setting up the program to serve the audience, you need to always be mindful of changing and adapting to the needs of the audience, especially the kids’ requirement to watch new and interesting programs.
The audience came to the Theater not only for teens, children but also for international tourists, the elderly. Is that why the Theater has had programs that are mostly for adult audiences?
People's Artist Nguyen Tien Dung, Director of Vietnam Puppet Theater
- Audience is the target of any show or play. Stemming from the reality of puppet activities over the years, this time the theater artists continue to want to expand the audience, not only for children and tourists but also for those who other students, the elderly ... Through the programs that have been renovated and enhanced to suit the content as well as the audience that the Theater targets, today the puppeteers have devised many tricks. To appeal to the audience, the puppet theater now has more entertainment elements that the educational value has not decreased. I myself have grown up from a performing artist and now a director, with experience in the profession I see the zoning of the audience in each audience, age is to improve the professionalism for puppet art, meeting the increasing demand of the public in each audience.
For example, creating a program for young audiences, artists must have a way of expressing gently, closely and right into the psychology and interests of children. Many people think that making a stage for children doesn't need to invest in such thinking. Making puppet shows for children is very serious, creative, attractive and highly professional.
The brand already exists but if it is neglected, there is no quality performance program, the artist does not take seriously, the interaction with the audience is not good, the brand will be lost and the audience's confidence will also no longer be lost. The survival of the Theater depends on the responsibility of not only the Board of Management, the artistic director, but also of each individual officer and artist.
Source: Thuy Hien - Cultural Newspaper
