Meritorious Artist Thai Phu

Artist Thai Phu was born in 1941 in Vinh Linh, Quang Tri , and has been active in the arts since 1959 at the Lien Khu V Opera Troupe. He is an artist who grew up as an actor, has extensive experience, and has devoted his whole life to professional performing arts.

A talented actor

Starting out as an actor, artist Thai Phu has always been passionate about his profession, diligently learning, working, and creating to best transform into his roles. In his youth, during the war years, he and the "Singing Over the Bombs" shock troupe performed for the people and soldiers in areas that were often fiercely attacked by the American invaders. Those were the border lines of Vinh Linh, Quang Binh , Route 7, Southern Laos, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, to Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong. Regarding the art of acting, in any role, whether positive or negative, he portrayed distinct, unique personalities, with no repetition between characters. Therefore, every time he appeared on stage, he attracted the attention of the audience; he was admired by audiences nationwide and was considered by his colleagues as one of the few talented actors of the Bai Choi folk opera stage. After the complete liberation of the South, artist Thai Phu was assigned to build the Hai Au Thuan Hai Folk Song and Drama Troupe (with People's Artist Le Thi); he was later appointed Deputy Head of the Hai Au Folk Song and Drama Troupe.

In 1987, in response to the wishes of the local people, Thuan Hai province established the Nhan Trang Opera Troupe, and he was appointed as the Head of the Troupe. In April 1992, Binh Thuan province was re-established, and he continued to be involved in the performing arts. In 1994, implementing the policy of the Ministry of Culture and Information, the provincial leaders decided to merge the province's three professional art troupes (including: Song and Dance Troupe, Nhan Trang Opera Troupe, Hai Au Folk Song and Drama Troupe) into the Binh Thuan Blue Sea Opera Troupe. With extensive experience and prestige in managing artistic activities, artist Thai Phu was appointed as the Head of the Blue Sea Opera Troupe. In his new position, he promptly proposed and implemented the selection of two classes of young actors in singing and dancing, who were children from localities in the province, to train on-site, and sent promising talents for formal training. Not only focusing on professional skills, he also paid attention to supplementing foreign languages for actors, although it was only at the beginner level, it proved that he had a very valuable vision. This was the key resource for the troupe to stand firm and achieve many results throughout its artistic activities; at the same time, it was one of the solid foundations for the successors to upgrade the unit from the troupe to the Blue Sea Music and Dance Theater in the following years.

Success with the role of Uncle Ho

In his leadership role, artist Thai Phu always clearly demonstrated his in-depth management skills and deep understanding of art; always thinking and creating to build programs and plays that are suitable for the needs and healthy tastes of the majority of the public. In particular, he is one of the few actors approved by the Vietnam Stage Artists Association to portray Uncle Ho and he successfully portrayed the role of Uncle Ho in the song and dance scene "Dream of meeting Uncle Ho". The play received many compliments and high appreciation from leaders at all levels and the public; won many awards and medals through competitions and performances, especially the "Sen Village Singing" festival held in Uncle Ho's hometown Nghe An.

With over 62 years of dedication to the arts, he has held many key positions such as: Deputy Head of the Hai Au Thuan Hai Folk Song and Drama Troupe; Head - Artistic Director of the Nhan Trang Thuan Hai Cai Luong Troupe; Head - Artistic Director of the Bien Xanh Binh Thuan Song and Dance Troupe; Vice Chairman of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association. In any position or working environment, artist Thai Phu has always devoted himself wholeheartedly to culture and arts and always completed the assigned tasks excellently.

Since his retirement, although he is over 80 years old, artist Thai Phu has continued to create and contribute to the province's arts in many fields such as: writing scripts, directing, and teaching professional skills to cadres working in the province's cultural and artistic movements. For me personally, the most unforgettable memories are when I participated in the Jury of festivals and competitions with artist Thai Phu. In this environment, he was always close, sincere, and shared professional matters in a detailed and thorough manner. When evaluating and assessing stage plays, he always paid attention to and respected the research of non-professional creators and always found new ideas and inspiration for his own works. He has won many awards for scripts and directing, including the Duc Thanh Literature and Arts Award awarded by the Provincial People's Committee every 5 years; at the same time, he has published many short plays to promptly provide stage performances for the grassroots art movement.

Recently, artist Thai Phu was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist by the President according to Decision No. 1432/QD-CTN dated November 28, 2023. Colleagues in Binh Thuan and other provinces congratulated him on receiving this good news. For me, artist Thai Phu is one of the few artists who are attached to Binh Thuan and have chosen the "stage sanctuary" to devote their whole lives to art.

During his dedication, he was awarded the Second Class Resistance Medal, many certificates of merit from the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Provincial People's Committee. In the field of acting, he won the Gold Medal for the role of Mr. Nam Sanh in the musical play White Cotton at the National Professional Theater Festival in 1980 in Hanoi; the Gold Medal for Art Direction at the National Professional Music and Dance Festival in 1994 in Da Nang...

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