Dramatizing rural and urban stories

In recent years, the Mass Art Festival of new rural communes in Quang Nam province and the Mass Art Festival of typical cultural villages and blocks in Quang Nam province have contributed to portraying a vivid and colorful picture of Quang Nam countryside.

A skit for the Mass Art Festival of typical cultural villages, hamlets and blocks in Quang Nam province. Photo: D.T

Spread the good news

In recent years, the team of folk playwrights and stage play writers in localities, especially in mountainous areas, has gradually become scarce, and in some places there is a serious shortage.

But from the reality of life, before the strong changes of the new rural construction movement, many localities and cultural subjects have become people who feel, contemplate and struggle to create "spiritual children" in the places where they live, and bring them to the stage.

The Co Tu people in Tay Giang, Nam Giang, and Dong Giang localities always value and propagate the beauty of solidarity in daily life and culture through simple songs: "Share a piece of rice, a bag of vegetables/ Corn, cassava, and sweet potatoes when we have a good harvest/ Share fish, shrimp, and sweet fruits/ We share with each other at every door and house/ Young and old men and women are happy and smiling"...

It is also from that spirit of solidarity that Porning cultural village (Lang commune, Tay Giang) has promoted collective strength, united together to do green tourism , protect the forest for descendants to follow.

Or in the Nga Ba residential group (Prao town, Dong Giang), with the spirit of helping each other, for many years, the head of the Nga Ba residential group has not hesitated to go to each house to mobilize donations to support poor families in the village. That story of solidarity was materialized on stage, making the audience moved and more appreciative of the beauty of the Co Tu people's great wilderness.

In recent years, the speed of rural urbanization has been taking place strongly in Quang Nam. The areas around Tam Ky City and Hoi An City, along with the movement of industrialization and commercial services, have also emerged many issues that need attention and resolution to create harmony between urban development and people's livelihoods.

Through art festivals, viewers can find the story of building Dong Tra block (Hoa Thuan ward, Tam Ky city) towards the criteria of green - clean - beautiful. Or in the story "Building future roads" of Xuan Tan village (Tam Hoa commune, Nui Thanh) clearly demonstrated the spirit of solidarity, donating land to open traffic routes...

People's Artist Tu Minh Hiep - who has been a judge for many years at mass art festivals, affirmed: "In addition to ensuring the criteria of local life, the staged skits participating in the festivals have demonstrated the structure of the script layout, using a variety of stage languages, speaking, singing and singing Bai Choi opera... This not only spreads positive energy to the movements but also contributes to preserving the precious traditional folk opera of Quang Nam."

Increase the element of criticism

On the other hand, although the movement to build a new countryside is bringing positive results, there are still some shortcomings and limitations. The skit of village 1, Tra Mai commune, Nam Tra My on the stage of the 2023 Provincial Mass Art Festival, typical cultural groups of the whole province, is the evils of alcoholism and domestic violence in the skit "I am wrong". This reality is still common in areas with few ethnic minorities.

In particular, the timely intervention of the government and the determination of each family and community have contributed to reforming those who have committed wrongdoings. Many stories about environmental protection, neighborly love, etc. have been observed, felt and put into stage works by amateur “playwrights”, creating a significant effect on the audience.

Mr. Phan Hong Vinh - Quang Nam New Rural Area Coordination Office said: "We highly appreciate the sense of responsibility of the people in places that have been strongly and sustainably developing the criteria for building new rural areas.

They boldly pointed out and brought to the stage what was good and what was not. Thanks to that, other localities have approached and learned from experience to do better, more sustainably, the movement to build new rural areas and increasingly go into depth.

And amateur playwright Le Trung Thuy - who has devoted many years to writing folk plays in Quang Nam, said: "If we only see the positive side without filtering and discovering the bad side to put into the script of stage skits at mass art festivals on building new rural areas, cultural villages and blocks... then that is also a pity. Because the good and the beautiful are always precious to each person and the community, but knowing what we are lacking and what we are limited in is the key to success."

Source