On July 15th, the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association will organize a dialogue program where artists such as Hong Van, Quoc Thao, Minh Nhi, Lam Vy Da, Minh Luan, Binh Tinh, Huy Khanh, Mi Le, etc., will talk about their roles.
Hearing the audience speak their minds
"Dialogue Space: Performances and the Public," organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Theatre Association, has opened up a positive feedback mechanism for artists in theatres to listen, adjust, and engage with audiences. People's Artist Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports , highly appreciated this activity of the Ho Chi Minh City Theatre Association – actively creating an information channel for audiences and public and private art organizations to exchange ideas and listen to each other in order to create works of worthy caliber.
When the performance ends, applause lasts for a few minutes. But what lingers for the artist is the audience's gaze, the unanswered questions, the feeling of not having reached the viewers as desired. And at that moment, the artist needs a place to hear the echoes of the stage again, not in silence, but in dialogue. From the 1st Ho Chi Minh City Theatre Festival - 2024, organized by Ho Chi Minh City, the program "Dialogue Space: The Performance and the Public," initiated by the Ho Chi Minh City Theatre Association, has become a valuable and practical initiative, benefiting both artists and theatre-loving audiences.
After years of the stage being seen as a "one-way street" where artists perform while the audience silently receives, the emergence of "Dialogue Spaces" represents a turning point in thinking. Meritorious Artist Le Thien commented: "These spaces are much needed and should be organized more frequently."
According to experts, the program is not only a place to introduce works, but also a two-way forum where performances can be interpreted, shared, and debated in a civilized and approachable manner. Importantly, the public is the one actively speaking up; the distance between artists and viewers has disappeared. In the same space, the audience expresses their genuine feelings, and the artists listen with an open and receptive attitude.
People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc once shared: "A play that is only good in the eyes of the artists is not enough. It must touch the audience. To know that, those in the profession must ask the audience."
A scene from the play "Emotional Reunion" by Truong Hung Minh Art Theatre, which won a gold medal at the 5th National Professional Art Theatre Festival on the "Image of the People's Police Officer" - 2025.
Reaching a younger audience
Beyond mere praise or direct feedback, the "Dialogue Space," after nearly a year of organization, has demonstrated a deeper role: extending the artistic lifespan of the performances. In reality, many plays participating in the festival, despite winning high awards, cannot survive after the competition ends. The reason is the lack of genuine feedback from the audience.
At the upcoming seminar, the Ho Chi Minh City Theatre Association will pose the question: "How can political drama sell tickets?" This is not just a matter of revenue, but also a major challenge for a genre of theatre that has abundant material but lacks sufficient market appeal.
On this occasion, four socialized art troupes that recently achieved success at the 5th National Professional Theatre Festival on the "Image of the People's Police Officer" - 2025 will present their competition plays to audiences in July and August, including: "Deep Night" (bronze medal - Quoc Thao Theatre), "Emotional Reunion" (gold medal - Truong Hung Minh Art Theatre), "Another War" (silver medal - Hong Van Theatre), and "Sugar-Coated Bullet" (directed by Mi Le and managed by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Film Association).
These performances will be followed by thematic dialogues, where viewers don't just watch and leave, but stay to discuss, ask questions, and offer insights – a beneficial reverse learning and creative process for the artists. It can be said that this is one of the rare models in Ho Chi Minh City today that allows theater to connect closely with young audiences.
Meritorious Artist Minh Nhi believes that each conversation after a performance is a way to verify the work in the context of societal reception. Artists know what they are doing and for whom. "The audience knows what they are watching and has the right to question it. This is not only about fairness between the two sides but also a foundation for restructuring creative thinking, helping the stage avoid falling into clichés or 'being confined within oneself's own mind.' We really want to listen so we can make appropriate adjustments," said Meritorious Artist Minh Nhi. People's Artist Hong Van added: "We participate in this dialogue space to be listened to, thereby helping us to improve our staging and acting."
People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association, emphasized: "Today's theater space is no longer a place for artists to deliver monologues. It needs to be an open forum, where art faces a two-way journey: between practitioners and viewers, to walk together, contribute ideas together, and flourish together, bringing about harmony from seriously staged works."
Source: https://nld.com.vn/san-khau-can-lang-nghe-de-vuon-xa-196250711212736447.htm
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