”If Known Tell, If Not Tell Fortune” – Saigon Edition
02 – 04 Mar 2023, 07:30 pm
Vườn Thảo Điền
34 đường 11, Thảo Điền, Thủ Đức, HCMC
Registration link
From the organizer:
O velvet curtain, o red silk
O clapper, song lang, tabor drum
We are here, the market’s newly-arrived troupe
Our clacking trays unveil, o numerous lilting voices
Trường Kịch Ta is pleased to present “Biết thì Nói, Không thì Bói”, a stage play by Trà Nguyễn, to mark the start of the year of the Water Cat. Typical of her style, the play will bring forth a quiet and extremely slow-footed experience.
Slow movement is not unfamiliar to theatergoers around the world, be it from classical Japanese Noh plays or Robert Wilson’s operas. In such plays, performers are almost barred from going outside the established image of the role. They must not reveal themselves through “playing” the role but, on the contrary, find ways to unlock it using their bodies through subtle, drawn-out gestures on stage, something the audience would have a lot of time to observe. Slowness, according to critic and scholar Han-Thies Lehman, is a distinctive feature of post-dramatic theater.(*)
Engaging with the post-dramatic mode, “Biết thì Nói, Không thì Bói” (shorthanded as “The Fortune Telling” play) probes into its characters’ abilities to generate stories: three performers in identical outfits moving at a glacial pace in space. No story is told in words, and no situations or conflicts emerge from the dialog. Audiences can drop in and out any time they choose and hence, go home with their version of the play. Inspired by village social environment and landscapes, as well as the life wishes and wisdom instilled in idioms and proverbs, the work opens up a different theatrical experience: audience interaction is an inevitable part of the performance.
The play has little to no dialog. After March 3 evening, the troupe will have a small discussion post-show with the audience to share the experimenting process of the work.
(*)Post-dramatic can be understood as a mode of theater that questions representations, proposing new methods of looking/watching for the audience.
Translated from Vietnamese by Thi Nguyen
About the organizer
Trà Nguyễn experiments with the stage and builds frameworks to convey theater-making possibilities. She is the former Acting Director of Sàn Art, the longest-running independent space for contemporary art in Ho Chi Minh City, where she helped build various programs in the visual arts. Trà’s theater productions and workshops utilize elements rooted in performances, visual art, and theater to explore the potentials of performance. She has written and produced many plays in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Tokyo. After finishing her MFA in Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon University on Fulbright scholarship, she is now developing The Run – A Theater Project – the first platform to center on experimental theater, proposing and discussing new directions in theater practices in Vietnam.
Trường Kịch Ta is the legal entity of The Run – A Theater Project. Headquartered in Saigon, Trường Kịch Ta develops experimental theater productions and training programs, contributing to building a foundation for local learners and practitioners. All of Trường Kịch Ta’s programs are not-for-profit.
Cast Information – The experimenters
Le Mai Anh is a contemporary performer and choreographer. After graduating with distinction from the Vocational Ballet School of Ho Chi Minh City, she went on to study at the contemporary dance company Hellet Eghayan (Lyon, France) and RICD (Rencontres Internationales de Danse Contemporaine – Paris, France). Since then, she has performed and collaborated with differing European dance companies in various works, such as “Mua,” “behind the skins, the spirit lay and wait for their hour,” and “Nhà/La Maison.” In Vietnam, she has participated in diverse interdisciplinary projects, such as “Wintercearig” for people with depression and psychological disorders, and “Cú Chót” – an experimental play at 5B Vo Van Tan theater. She is currently Head of the Dance Department at Erato School of Music & Performing Arts, Ho Chi Minh City.
Hong Anh is a well-established actress, director, and producer in Vietnam’s art scene and commercial industry. She learned to dance at a young age and was predestined to the cinema with her initial, charming characters from “Người đẹp Tây Đô,” “Đời Cát” to “Em Là Bà Nội Của Anh” and “Tiệc Trăng Máu.” She has also been persisting with theater through characters in plays “12 Bà Mụ”, “Nửa Đời Hương Phấn,” and the latest musical “Chị Chị Em Em.” Enthusiastic with young creators, she has joined many experimental projects, like “Sơn Ca,” and simultaneously helped realize differing independent projects through her company Blue Productions, such as the documentary “Chuyến đi cuối cùng của chị Phụng.”
Dat Nguyen is a movement and visual artist. After graduating with a BFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University, he has worked and cooperated with notable choreographers and was one of the founding members of Nicolay Dance Works, a contemporary modern dance company directed by Dana Nicolay in Texas. His theatrical works were performed in theaters and museums throughout the US. Dat also co-founded Queer Spectra Arts Festival in Salt Lake City, attracting the participation of many local and international LGBTQIA+ artists. Currently, he is completing his MFA in Modern Dance at the University of Utah, with his research on the relationship between performance and “spectacle.”
Ngo Tra My is a music performer and one of Viet Nam’s most famous đàn bầu soloists. After graduating with a Master’s degree in Music Pedagogy at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music, she has taught, recorded, performed, and introduced traditional Vietnamese music domestically and internationally at many prominent musical and cultural events; notable shows include Taipei Arts Festival: Noise Assembly, Hanoi New Music Festival, Asian Meeting Festival Tokyo, EXPO Dubai, and ASEAN–India Music Festival 2022. She is a member of The Six Tones, an experimental music band with Swedish and Vietnamese musicians and artists, and a C-ASEAN Consonant Ensemble music advisor.
Tran Thien Tu is an actress known for her “student face” due to her petite appearance and her effervescence. Tu, who began acting at a young age, made a good impression on moviegoers with her various characters in “Áo Lụa Hà Đông,” “Huyền Thoại Bất Tử,” and “Dành Cho Tháng Sáu,” and has since then continued to pursue her professional acting career. After graduating from Beijing Normal University (China), she is now an MFA candidate in the Theater Directing program at the Central Academy of Theater (China), where she explores the development of novel practices combined with acting, directing, and research.
Sponsors
Strategic Partnership: Hum Vietnam
Venue sponsor: Vuon Thao Dien
Organization support: Quy Nha Dau, San Art
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