HUYNH LAP is passionate about national culture

Reporter: After the success of the plays "Mother of the Street Singers" and "The Secret of a Hundred Bamboo Knots", looking back at the achievements, how does Huynh Lap evaluate himself?

Actor Huynh Lap. (Photo provided by the character)

- Actor HUYNH LAP: I studied stage directing, so returning to the work of staging and composing is something I have wanted for many years. I feel more mature when bringing the ideas of composing and staging that previously only existed on the coffee theater stage to the stage of the big stage. It is an effort that I myself realize I need to summarize more lessons for the work of directing and composing.

Besides, when I came to Truong Hung Minh Stage, after watching a few plays, I understood the style and creative tendencies of this stage, learned the "school" of acting of the main actors such as Minh Nhi, Viet Huong... to blend into my staging style. And through the 2 plays I have staged, I am confident that I can continue to accompany to bring many new works to the public on Truong Hung Minh Stage.

What event led Huynh Lap, who was already a sought-after comedian, to take on this hard job?

- At the end of last year on New Year's Eve, artist Viet Huong texted me to invite me back to the stage with the intention of creating a stage show for children. On the morning of the first day, she sent me lucky money, both to celebrate the new year and to put down a deposit for the work I would return to. After watching the stage play as an audience member, I told artist Minh Nhi and artist Viet Huong to let me stage a psychological and social play before doing a children's play to get used to the pace of the stage.

Artist Viet Huong and actor Huynh Lap in the play "Mother of the Street Singer" Photo: THANH HIEP

Indeed, when I re-staged "Mother of the Street Singers" it was beyond my ability, because the previous play by the Tia Lia group was performed in a small space of a coffee theater, so I had to try my best to do well both as author and director. This was a challenge for me and the result was the collective effort of the entire stage.

.Currently the economic situation is difficult, does Huynh Lap have any projects for himself?

- It's true that the economy is so difficult that no project dares to be launched at this time. However, I recently completed the film project "A stick of incense for a spirit child" and part 3 of "The youngest son, the chrysanthemum son". At Truong Hung Minh Stage, I will soon participate in a play as an actor. The stage is recruiting a new director to have more styles and nuances in staging.

To survive in an artistic environment that requires the coordination of many creative stages, what does Huynh Lap think is the benchmark for successful connection?

- When I started working at Truong Hung Minh Stage, I encountered many difficulties because I was a perfectionist. It was very difficult to do things my way, I had to reconcile my way of handling things with the creative personalities of artists Minh Nhi and Viet Huong. In my opinion, we had to create a harmonious block, then connect the artists together with a high sense of responsibility in performing art. It is very difficult to have a performance that attracts audiences, so we listen to suggestions to improve every day.

Truong Hung Minh Stage's intention is to create the program "Fairy Tales". Making plays for children is very difficult, does Huynh Lap think so?

- I racked my brain to think, adjust the script, and the staging for the whole month. When the review board of the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports finished watching, People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau gave comments and made corrections to make the pieces and situations more coherent, which is something I learned a lot from working on plays for children.

I wanted to have interaction, so in the scene, I invited the children to come on stage to compete in a tug of war with the characters and allowed the parents to film clips to spread this part, to add more liveliness to the play. "Fairy Tale" will be a place to create a magical, shimmering world and incorporateeducational lessons for young audiences, thereby fostering their passion for the stage.

What is Huynh Lap most concerned about right now?

- I am participating in the program "Brilliant Journey" - a reality TV show on VTV3 - as a guest. This is a program to explore and honor the history and culture of places across the country. Starting from national pride, the program uses the form of group travel to different provinces and cities and tells interesting, profound stories imbued with local culture.

Coming to the program, famous artists will join the audience in fun games, through which they will learn about the country, culture, history, cuisine, people, music, art..., thereby arousing love for the homeland and country.

I am interested in the fact that groups of young people will join artists in performing excerpts of reformed opera right at the village communal house, contributing to rediscovering the ancient cultural space that our ancestors created, so that we can appreciate the artistic pearls of the nation.

"In my opinion, today's youth must be aware of preserving and maintaining the culture and traditions of their ancestors.

Huynh Ngoc Lap was born in 1993, stage name Huynh Lap. He is a versatile actor, director, screenwriter and film producer. He became famous after winning the championship of the "Laughing Across Vietnam" contest in 2015. He was voted by readers of the Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper for the Mai Vang Award in 2021 (films "A Stick of Incense", "Turn Off") and 2022 (film "The Lonely One").

The first work titled "Kaleidoscope" received the attention and support of netizens. Huynh Lap and the group members decided to build their own comedy group, creating short films and famous videos later such as "Cầu hoàn cua chong", "Cô dâu 1,800 tuổi", "Giòng hát thực", "Bông chồng noi reo - hot boy muon khoc"... In 2014, the comedy group DAMtv and Huynh Lap were one of the famous comedy groups on the internet among Vietnamese youth.

In 2015, Huynh Lap won first prize in the artist version of the show "Laughing Across Vietnam", becoming a film director and live show director for Tran Thanh and Viet Huong. In 2016, he made an impression when he participated in the film project "Sai Gon, I Love You" as co-director and actor. The film won the Best Film award voted by the art council.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/van-nghe/huynh-lap-tam-huyet-voi-van-hoa-dan-toc-20230805194015618.htm