People’s Artist Chi develops Vietnamese drama

PIONEER: People's Artist Trịnh Kim Chi of HCM City. She is founder of the private TKC Drama Stage and has 25 years working in the industry. — Photo courtesy of TKC Drama Stage

Thu Anh 

HCM CITY — People’s Artist Trịnh Kim Chi and young actors from TKC Drama Stage, one of the city’s leading private art troupes, are working in a new play featuring Vietnamese history.

They perform in Hai Người Mẹ (The Two Mothers), a play written by well-known artist Lê Thu Hạnh of HCM City.

The show features patriotism, bravery, and love.

It depicts women living in the South of Việt Nam during the anti-American war in the early 1970s. Their sacrifices and contribution to the complete liberation of the South and the country’s reunification are highlighted.

The play’s director, Chi, invested several hundred millions of đồng on high-tech equipment, including light and sound effects, artificial smoke and visual arts.

To highlight the work’s theme, she used patriotic songs written by famous musicians.

She hired young actors, including Nam Cường, Trúc Ly and Phan Thành Vinh.

TALENTED PERFORMERS: Veteran and young actors of HCM City’s TKC Drama Stage perform in a drama play called Hai Người Mẹ (The Two Mothers), a production about patriotism, bravery, and love. — Photo courtesy of TKC Drama Stage

“Our play, Hai Người Mẹ, is a very old topic of war and love. We perform it with a modern concept to attract young audiences,” said Chi, owner of the troupe, who has 25 years in the industry. “We want to encourage audiences to learn more about Vietnamese history through our art.”

Hai Người Mẹ was chosen to represent HCM City at the National Drama Festival 2024 in the northern mountainous city of Thái Nguyên from June 8-22.

The festival featured 23 plays by 1,000 artists from 19 art troupes and theatres nationwide.

Pioneer

Chi began her career as a fashion model in HCM City in 1991. She was later involved in dramas after performing in TV shows for Hồ Chí Minh Television.

She has performed and directed more than 50 drama and musical shows.

In 2015, she opened TKC Drama Troupe staged especially to serve children and young people.

Her theatre’s shows have attracted 20,000 spectators.

“We want to promote and develop drama among young people, particularly children, who can learn new things about history, culture and the traditional lifestyle through our shows,” said Chi, in a recent interview with local media. “Although we know that we face challenges to keep our theatre alive, we still believe in the future.”

Chi has also worked on training young artists to develop their careers.

Her troupe offers short and long-term training courses for students from art schools. Special courses for children who have a talent and love acting are also included.

The participants study drama, comedy, music and dance, and are later trained at different levels of performance.

They study with professional artists, including Chi, and have opportunities to perform in the theatre’s new dramas and comedies after training.

WAR DRAMA: A poster for Hai Người Mẹ (The Two Mothers), a historical play directed by People’s Artist Trịnh Kim Chi, founder of the private theatre TKC Drama Stage in HCM City. — Photo courtesy of TKC Drama Stage

“TKC Drama Stage offers plays using modern techniques which are challenging for young actors, including graduates from art schools, who are limited in performance experience and life skills,” said Chi, who has ten years of training.

“Our young actors need to spend at least three years to study theatre after training at art schools, because if they train less time, it will not be enough to improve their stage experience and skills.”

Shows by TKC Drama Troupe can be seen at 259 Hậu Giang Street in District 6. — VNS