The jewel of drama in the Thanh Nga family

The third generation of the Thanh Nga family shines brightly with the precious gem of the drama stage: Meritorious Artist Huu Chau.

Huu Chau is the son of artist Huu Thinh and Thanh Le, calls Thanh Nga his aunt and Bao Quoc his uncle.

Since childhood, he lived in the cradle of the theater troupe, close to his grandmother and his aunts and uncles, so he also inherited many valuable arts of Cai Luong. However, he did not have a soulful voice, so he did not follow Cai Luong. He also grew up when Thanh Nga troupe was in difficulty. His grandmother passed away, and no one in the family continued to manage the troupe, and it was handed over to the officers of the Department of Culture and Information of Ho Chi Minh City to manage, so he chose drama to study.

After graduating from the Stage Arts School 2 (the predecessor of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinema), Huu Chau started making a living by performing comedy because the theater scene had not yet flourished. During the period when comedy was gradually reaching its peak, there were many opportunities for young actors, so Huu Chau rose to fame like Uncle Sau Bao Quoc, making waves in all venues, and both uncle and nephew were extremely admired by the audience.

Then when the 5B stage, Hoa Binh Theater, IDECAF, Thien Dang developed, Huu Chau came to collaborate, shining brightly in long plays, both drama and comedy, historical drama, psychological drama, including the role of director. Huu Chau is very versatile, and although he is good at acting, he inherited and applied many valuable lessons from Thanh Nga reformed theater, making his acting art very different. The role of Nguyen Trai (in the play Secret of Le Chi Garden ) is a role of a lifetime, alongside excellent characters such as Lo Quy ( Thunderstorm ), Mr. Phan ( Cau Dong ), Nguyen Quoc Cong ( King of the Le Dynasty ) ... He also participated in many movies and television shows.

Meritorious Artist Huu Chau and Hong Loan in the play Me Linh Drum

PHOTO: HK

And we cannot fail to mention Huu Chau's great contribution to the training work. For more than ten years, he taught at the University of Theatre and Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Van Theater, famous as a strict teacher, but taught very effectively and was loved by his students.

THE SHADOW OF THANH N GA IN THE THIRD GENERATION

This generation also has Hong Loan (daughter of Bao Quoc) who, although living in the US, is still active in the fields of reformed opera and drama. Hong Loan has a special feature that when she acts, she looks a bit like her aunt Thanh Nga. Of course, she cannot compare to Thanh Nga, but in Hong Loan's blood there is still a bit of the family, so when she plays the role of Trung Trac (in the play Tieng Trong Me Linh ), the audience is suddenly startled. She said: "Even though I am far from home, I am still determined to preserve the family tradition, preserving as much as I can, and I do not dare to compare myself with the generation of my fathers and uncles who are too good. We preserve Vietnamese culture and Vietnamese art so that our descendants will not be disappointed."

Hong Loan and her husband created a YouTube channel called Bao Quoc - Hong Loan, which currently has nearly 300,000 followers, specializing in broadcasting social and cultural news from the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Vietnam. In it, she can sing cải lương for the audience, which is also a way to keep the cải lương flame burning. In fact, the cải lương stage abroad is quite quiet, with only one play being released once a year or every few years. Even though many artists are invited, there is still not enough space for artists to thrive. Therefore, using the YouTube channel to interact with the audience is the most suitable way. In addition, Hong Loan often sings at weekend shows with modern music and comedy, which also helps her miss the stage less. And every year when she returns to Vietnam, she sings cải lương for "manager" Gia Bao, which is also a valuable opportunity.

Gia Bao and Hong Trang in the play Living Demons

PHOTO: HK

When asked about the next generation, her daughter, Loan laughed: "She wants to study cinema. I made a few short films for her to try out and posted them on the channel, and the audience praised them. Well, I can't sing cải lương, so I'll just pursue art to keep the family fire burning."

But Hong Loan has done a very meaningful charity work, which is using her channel to find people who got lost on their way overseas after 1975, completely free of charge. After only 3 years of doing it, she has found nearly 400 people. "Everywhere is our compatriots, reuniting is happiness," she said.

In the same generation, there is also Ha Linh (Thanh Nga's daughter) who also acts in plays and films. She is not as famous as her siblings in the family, but still has artistic genes and can make a living from her profession.

Meritorious Artist Huu Chau said: "We were born into a great artistic family, which is a blessing, but also a lot of pressure. We can only try our best. The important thing is not only to keep the profession but also to keep the "ethics" of the profession, to be kind and decent. We receive the benefits of our ancestors, so we must be grateful to our ancestors and the audience. It's that simple." ( continued )

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vien-ngoc-quy-kich-noi-giua-gia-toc-thanh-nga-185250719203130017.htm