Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc and Dam Loan stand before the portrait of Meritorious Artist and director Doan Ba.
“Back when we were fresh-faced students entering the Stage Arts School 2, the name of our teacher – director Doan Ba – was already very well-known! He was one of the big names among the renowned stage directors in the South, making waves with many Cai Luong operas and spoken dramas at that time in the city's theater scene, alongside teachers Huynh Nga, Thanh Tri, Ca Le Hong, Bach Lan, Chi Lang....
Hearing his name sent shivers down our spines because he was very strict in class. Nevertheless, every student in our generation secretly hoped to be his student, if not officially, then at least in one of his extracurricular lectures. But that was impossible because he was in high demand at the time!
Artists: Phu Quy, People's Artist Ngoc Giau, Meritorious Artist Kim Xuan, People's Artist Kim Cuong, Meritorious Artist Minh Vuong, and impresario Huynh Anh Tuan at the memorial service for director and Meritorious Artist Doan Ba.
My acting class for the third cohort was right next to the acting class for the second cohort, where the head teacher was. During free time, I would often stand in the hallway watching and secretly learning from the teacher's lectures on performance techniques for the older students. Watching him direct and analyze the roles for the older students—Dam Loan, Viet Dung, Van Do, Thi Nam, etc.—with excerpts from plays, I secretly wished I could also be a student in his class.
Having the opportunity to watch Cai Luong opera performances at the Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theatre such as "People in the Realm of Memories," "The Island of Venus," "Love and the Answer," "The Jewel of Con Son," "Lady Xeda," etc., these Cai Luong plays stirred the hearts of audiences in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the Southern Vietnamese stage in general during a golden age that is truly unforgettable. He has long been an idol in the art of staging for generations of students and young artists like us!
Meritorious Artist Minh Vương talks about his role as Nguyễn Trãi (in the play "Rạng ngọc Côn Sơn") which director Đoàn Bá staged.
For us, Mr. Doan Ba is also the only director who has spectacularly brought the immortal works of the Russian playwright Arbudov to life on the stage of the Kim Cuong theater troupe and within our training environment. Arbudov's plays are a genre of romantic drama with profound humanistic values, but extremely difficult to stage because his plays have no villains, no conflicting storylines. Therefore, to successfully stage Arbudov's plays, one must have a thorough understanding of the humanistic values and profound philosophical insights of this genre and of the author himself to find the golden key to unlock the door to these plays' sublime performances. Director Doan Ba has done this brilliantly; to this day, it can be said that no one has staged Arbudov's plays as well or as successfully as Mr. Ba, as if only Mr. Ba truly understood this Russian author so thoroughly.
Actress Thúy Nga, who returned from the US, came to light incense and bid farewell to Meritorious Artist and director Đoàn Bá.
Teacher Bá explained Arbudop to us from an aesthetic perspective based on Eastern philosophy and his own life experiences: "Human nature is inherently good." No one is born evil, and no one wants to do evil; it is only the environment and objective circumstances that push people to become corrupted. The remaining task is to overcome oneself and perfect one's character!
Artist Huu Nghia and Meritorious Artist Hoai Linh stand beside the portrait of their teacher, Doan Ba.
Having been fortunate enough to collaborate with him on each project and role, we, his students, have always absorbed from him that fundamental philosophy and character, enabling us not only to achieve greater success in our singing careers but also to become better individuals in our journey through life!
Teacher Bá was gentle and kind, not stern or serious as his outward appearance suggested. He loved his students more than his own children and loved teaching more than himself. Even though his children had settled abroad and always wanted him to reunite with his family there, he chose to stay, surrounded by his students, pouring his heart and soul into teaching them the profession that seemed unwilling to abandon him!
Meritorious Artist Tuyet Thu and Tu Trinh at the memorial service for Meritorious Artist and director Doan Ba
"I've fallen in love with you, my dear, I can't let go!"
Those were the words I heard my teacher utter, his voice choked with emotion and his eyes glistening with tears as he stood before me!
My teacher and I have had two coffee dates together, just like two friends, to talk to each other, share our life experiences, both happy and sad, and discuss our long-cherished artistic projects. The teacher-student boundary disappeared; we were like people obsessed with our profession, ready to go crazy, ready to die for the fleeting glamour of the stage, just to have a few hours where we weren't ourselves, but something bigger, something more magnificent—all because of that unshakeable, unrequited love!
The actors, who were students of the 6th graduating class (1981) and were mentored by Director and Meritorious Artist Doan Ba, reunited at the memorial service and took commemorative photos with their teachers Kim Thanh and Mai Thanh Dung.
...
We are grateful for the unwavering love of our teacher, for it is thanks to that love that today, whether we are official students or just those who secretly learned from him, or actors who were fortunate enough to have him direct us in various plays... all of us are proud to boast that WE WERE ONCE STUDENTS OF PROFESSOR, DIRECTOR DOAN BA!
Source: https://nld.com.vn/van-hoa-van-nghe/ns-thanh-loc-khoc-thay-doan-ba-20160831131012435.htm
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