Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Vietnamese artists are collaborating with artists from the U.S. Artists Repertory Theatre (ART) to present Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on U.S. stages, reported The Oregonian Sept 6.
Their first performance in the U.S. was on July 26, kicking off a four-month tour of the country by Vietnamese artists.

The famous comedy is being played by American actors performing their roles in English and the Vietnamese speaking in their own language, translated into English with supertitles.

The bilingual dialogue production was a great success in Vietnam for artists from the Vietnam Central Drama Theatre and Artists Repertory in 2002.

"For one thing, we've got two-thirds Vietnamese artists - 14 actors, dancers and musicians who perform with traditional instruments onstage,” said Ms. Browning, who serves as dramaturge and supertitles translator. "Only one of them speaks English but she doesn't have any lines, which means that mostly Vietnamese is spoken. So one of the things we have to do is create an environment where the show is accessible to non-Vietnamese-speaking audiences." Supertitles above the stage will help.

Besides bringing Western and Eastern artists together, Browning said the production features top artists from Vietnam specializing in three Vietnamese theater styles: Cheo (traditional opera), Tuong (classical opera) and Kich noi (spoken drama).

"These artists are from Hanoi, but they've never worked together before… so one of my other ideas was to create an environment where they're forced to collaborate," she said. Although the actors read most lines in their own language, she's starting to give out more Vietnamese lines to the American actors and English lines to the Vietnamese, thereby stretching the performers to become more culturally integrated.

ART artistic director Allen Nause said the production relies heavily on movement and live traditional music, which in film fashion accompanies the action. "It's my goal that English speakers are able to watch this play and get it, because the actors are so clear in their actions and emotions."

Pham Do Ky, an esteemed stage director and actor in Vietnam who plays Demetrius, as he did in the film production, was recognized immediately by the waiters at a Vietnamese restaurant when the group went out to eat one night. He believes audiences will be drawn to see the show out of curiosity, and he's curious to know how they will react.

"This is quite different than our collaborations in Hanoi," he said through an interpreter. "Most of the audiences were Vietnamese and we knew their reactions very well. This time we have more Americans, so we're anxious to know the audience's reaction."

Source: The Oregonian – Compiled by The Vinh.

Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 08 September, 2004, 00:02:51 (GMT+7)
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