Spreading love of traditional art through school stages

From tuong, cheo, cai luong, hat boi, don ca tai tu to drama, folk music… each type is a quintessence in the treasure trove of traditional Vietnamese art. However, in the modern pace of life, bringing those quintessence to the younger generation, especially students, has been and is posing many challenges. Faced with this reality, many school stages have been born, becoming a bridge to spread love and arouse pride in traditional art.

When students love drama

Recently, at the Vietnam - Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace ( Hanoi ), the Life's So Drama Club of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted brought to the audience of the capital a traditional art performance full of emotions through the play "Rach Can". With a unique script, imbued with mystical spirituality, the work left a deep impression on the audience when it was able to lead them through many levels of emotions - from curiosity, suspense to calmness and contemplation.

Set in a remote village worshiping a guardian deity, “Rạch Cạn” opens up a mysterious space before the audience, where the appearance of a strange man awakens a series of mysterious phenomena and secrets that seem to have been buried over time. The work skillfully peels away the layers of belief, revealing fear and silence, while also sending a message about the desire for salvation. This salvation is not by miracles, but by truth, courage and compassion brought by humans themselves. Amidst the dark layers of dust of the past, there is still somewhere a ray of love and tolerance that illuminates even the eyes that are blurred with tears and stained with sin.

Not only impressing with its profound script, “Rach Can” also conquered the audience thanks to the natural and emotional acting ability of the main cast and extras, who are young people aged 15-17. Although they have never received professional training, they still confidently transformed into their characters, bringing emotional performances. In addition, other stages such as staging, stage design, sound, lighting, backstage, performance organization, communication, ticket sales, are all undertaken by members of the Life's So Drama Club.

Sharing with the media, Ms. Nguyen Linh Dan - General Director of the program said: "During the preparation process, we encountered many surprises and situations that required quick handling. Fortunately, each member was very flexible, proactive and willing to support each other. Thanks to that, not only was the progress guaranteed, but the spirit of working together was also increasingly united, helping the entire project run smoothly and leaving many memorable memories."

School stage at Van Lang Secondary School with the participation of artists from the Ho Chi Minh City Opera Theatre. (Photo: Huong Tran)

With meticulousness and care in every stage of preparation for 6 months, the play “Rach Can” was a great success. Not only did it receive recognition from the audience, even artist Tu Oanh and actor Trung Ruoi - two special guests of the program - also expressed surprise at the scale of organization and level of investment of a student drama club. It can be affirmed that the play is a worthy result of the constant efforts, demonstrating the passion and love of the stage of high school students.

“Rach Can” is not the first production of the Life's So Drama Club. Established in 2014, Life's So Drama quickly became a familiar meeting place for young people who love the performing arts. After 10 years of operation, the club has continuously expanded its appeal, gathering many members not only from Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted but also from other high schools across Hanoi.

Before “Rạch Cạn”, the Life's So Drama Club had made a name for itself through many plays with diverse and emotional content. In 2016, the play “Frollo” was inspired by the novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, the play “Doản Tuyệt” (2018) depicted a picture of Northern Vietnam during the colonial and semi-feudal period. Next, “Huyền Ảnh” (2020), “Khi Troi Mới (When the Wind Rises)” (2023) and most recently “Nam Ngàn Dâm”, told the story of Vietnamese children living abroad in Russia. Each work demonstrated the creativity, dedication and passion for traditional arts of the Club members.

Meaningful school stages

Looking at “Rạch Cạn” as well as previous works of the Life's So Drama Club, it can be seen that the plays not only honor the talent and enthusiasm of young actors, but also contribute to spreading the vitality of drama and traditional arts through school stages. The plays directed and performed by students themselves seem to have become a special bridge, spreading love and arousing pride in traditional arts to students.

Notably, not only are there school stages performed by students, but there are also school stages organized by artists - people who have devoted their whole lives to the stage and traditional arts. With the desire to preserve and continue the artistic values ​​left by their ancestors, artists have organized many programs right at schools to bring the quintessence of Vietnam's traditional art treasure closer to the younger generation, especially students.

Over the years, the artists of the Ho Chi Minh City Opera Theatre have organized a series of meaningful programs to preserve and promote traditional artistic values ​​at dozens of primary, secondary, high schools and universities in the city. Each program such as "Preserving and promoting traditional national artistic values", "The Art of Opera - A Hundred-Year Origin" or "The Quintessence" are flexibly designed by the Theatre, suitable for each age group of students. For example, young students will play games to learn knowledge, try on costumes, and guess the characters, while students will focus on more in-depth content, analyzing acting techniques, music , costumes and aesthetic philosophy of Southern Opera.

Most recently, at Van Lang Secondary School (Tan Dinh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), artists from the Ho Chi Minh City Opera Theatre presented two impressive excerpts, "Tran Hung Dao Ra Quan" and "Vo Thi Sau". Present at the program, students were able to enjoy and participate in the performance with the artists, transforming themselves into characters through typical opera movements such as riding horses, rowing boats, holding spears in battle, or learning how to breathe, emphasize, and sing in each verse.

Impressive images at the play “Rach Can” performed by Life's So Drama Club. (Source: Organizing Committee)

Sharing the mission of bringing the quintessence of Vietnam's traditional art treasure to students is Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theater. In August 2025, the Theater coordinated with Binh Chanh Commune Youth Union to organize the program "School Stage with Traditional Art" at Tan Quy Tay Primary School (Binh Chanh Commune, Ho Chi Minh City). The program took place in a vibrant and exciting atmosphere with the participation of more than 300 students, children, union members and youth in the commune.

Coming to “School Stage with Traditional Arts”, the artists of Tran Huu Trang Opera Theatre brought unique and familiar excerpts of Cai Luong, suitable for students. Besides the performance, the artists also exchanged and shared about the process of training, preserving traditional arts and their love for Cai Luong.

In fact, in Ho Chi Minh City and many other localities, school theater has gradually developed into a regular activity, maintained and widely spread. In order to create opportunities for students to directly access a variety of traditional art forms, the programs do not only stop at forms such as hat boi and cai luong but also expand to don ca tai tu, drama, folk songs, etc.

In this way, each program becomes a lively "extracurricular class", helping schools educate students about traditional culture, thereby nurturing patriotism, national pride, awareness of preserving and promoting the flame of traditional art for future generations.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/lan-toa-tinh-yeu-nghe-thuat-truyen-thong-qua-san-khau-hoc-duong.html