Theatre group brings joy to sick children
VietNamNet Bridge - Artists from the Thai Duong Performance Company help bring smiles to children in HCM City’s Tumour and Cancer centre with a show that offers hope along with a few laughs.
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Spectators of the free performance put on at HCM City’s Tumour and Cancer Hospital join in on the fun, forming a line following the Red Tie Bunny at the end of a show. |
Life may look pretty gloomy for many kids in HCM City’s Tumour and Cancer Hospital on No Trang Long Street in Binh Thanh District. But once every month the wards are all smiles, as one man and his band of theatre performers dedicate themselves to giving kids and parents a little time off from their woes.
White waves crash over a blue ocean and small The cover of Enchanted Things, a music album produced by Thanh Loc and his staff to collect money for children with cancer at the HCM City Tumour and Cancer Hospital.
colourful fish dart about under the water. But this is no coastal paradise; it’s part of a stunning stage backdrop for a free show set up by artists from the Thai Duong Performance Company for patients and their family at HCM City’s Tumour and Cancer Hospital.
Characters like Mickey Mouse and Snow White mingle with the enthusiastic young audience, dedicated to making the children’s day brighter through music and art. Though the spotlight shines on all the performers, many in the audience are equally dazzled by the man behind the curtain, the city’s prominent actor Thanh Loc.
A snapshot records the happy times the children share with the artists.
As one of the programme’s creators, Loc has the ability to make magic in a music-filled theater, and still has the audience, especially children, spellbound after the show’s finale.
“After bringing ‘Smiles for Children’ to the cancer hospital earlier this year, I wished I could give these kids everything they dream of,” he said. He is making good on his promise to sweeten the lives of the little angels.
Lifelong ambition
Born in a family deeply involved in reformed opera, or cai luong, Loc performed his first role when he was just eight. He says his parents, Kids get greeted by a real life clown.
artists Thanh Ton and Hoang Mai, get credit for his “love for theatre”.
Graduating from the HCM City Theatre and Arts College in 1982, Loc has charmed audiences with dozens of roles in many State-owned and private drama troupes.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the country’s theatre scene was dominated by drama troupes from Ha Noi and northern provinces. In the south, More than 60,000 little shining stars of hope were made by young volunteers.
Loc found himself fascinated with theatre shows which starred famous actors and actresses like Tran Van and Hoang Cuc. Loc dreamt of building a contingent of equally talented stage actors for HCM City.
“I cried when I saw amazing actors like Le Khanh and Hoang Cuc from Ha Noi perform on-stage. Their talents dazzled my mind. I asked myself when I could perform like these people,” he says.
It took him ten years of incessant hard work Trinh Xuan Huy, 8, made it to the performance hall with a high temperature. He could only hear the sounds of the show, as he couldn’t see anymore.
and growing passion. He has performed in both comedies and tragedies, notching up 500 supporting and leading roles on stage and in movies.
In the year 2000 Loc began working as an artistic director for the Thai Duong Company, one of the city’s leading private theatres, and has since staged dozens of quality plays. One year later, he received the honour Meritorious Artist from the Government.
“When Loc is involved, a play’s quality and financial success are guaranteed,” Huynh Anh Tuan, director of Thai Duong, says.
“Many critics say that for the next 20 years and more, no one will be able to replace him in the South,” Tuan says. “I agree.”
Though he has played a central role in raising the profile of theatre in the city, Thanh Loc refuses to hog the glory.
“I would be nothing without my colleagues. Putting on a quality play is like building a house because both are the result of teamwork. I’m lucky because my partners, including supporting artists, sound and light specialists as well as stage workers, are skilled and creative.”
The 48-year-old artist believes that art can never be a straight handover from an older generation to the next one, but is instead a series of processes which “lead to new surge of creativity”.
No more pain
Loc and his staff work with everything they have to bring their characters to life and present memorable scenes, from sound and lighting effects and beautiful settings, to funny scripts and silly actions.
Loc has complained that the city only has a handful of free shows for young audiences, particularly underprivileged children. Helping kids look ahead to the future and develop ambition is the duty of true artists, he says.
“Nothing makes our kids happier than to participate in ‘Smiles for Children’. They enjoyed and laughed at Loc and his troupe. They can go home dreaming of beauty, and forget about illness,” said Nguyen Thi Tham, mother of a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with cancer.
Loc received support from both the public and authorities since, as he said, “All of us share a love of children.”
Last month, Loc‘s first album Nhung Dieu Than Tien (Enchanted Things) sold out three weeks after its release in HCM City. The album includes 12 songs by popular musicians, with themes of love, peace and childhood.
Before the album was released, Loc used local media to urge the public not to buy pirated copies. Album sales racked up VND180 million (US$11,000). The money was donated to sick children.
Dreams and reality
Making waves on the stage in more ways than one, Loc is injecting new life into the shows by adding more attractive elements. “A performance stage is a channel for dreams and legends,” he says.
“I want to create on-stage a world built on both Eastern and Western styles. I want to make a perfect stage for young audiences to enjoy themselves and discover the world.”
Loc’s work doesn’t just entertain children, says director of the Thai Duong Company Huynh Anh Tuan, “He is a man of boundless energy. His tireless inspiration and talents are always ready to serve his audiences, both young and old.”
Tuan backed Loc in creating Ngay Xua Ngay Xua 17 (Once Upon a Time 17), a children’s theatre programme that entertained more than 20,000 kids, including 2,000 poor kids who received free tickets.
Through the programme’s historical plays, children can add a new dimension to their love of the country as well as learn important lessons about people and modern life.
Loc also puts on Vietnamese and foreign fairy tales, including Na Tra Dai Nao Thuy Cung (Nezha Conquers the Dragon Kings).
The artist says he thinks the reason his plays are so popular could be an affinity he often feels with children. “I can be very child-like so I feel I really understand what kids want to see on stage. I love directing and performing in plays for children. When I work with them I feel my heart and soul become soft and sensitive.”
The HCM City-born artist has a dream of opening a theatre for children. In the meantime, he continues his philanthropic work, which he says makes him feel “completely alive”.
(Source: VNS)
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