In Ke Gam, everyone knows Mr. Phan Van Lang - an excellent artist of Tuong. Mr. Lang said that when he was young, he followed his father to the communal house yard and pagoda yard to watch Tuong. His father also performed Tuong, so the sound of Tuong drums, the rhythm of the two-stringed clappers, and the colorful faces of Tuong were naturally absorbed into his blood. Like many farmers in Ke Gam village, Mr. Lang does not know when Tuong came to this land, only knowing that this traditional art has persistently followed people who came here to work from all over, and has been firmly attached to it until now.
“The play is very strange, people who watch it for the first time are immediately fascinated and want to perform it right away, but those who are fascinated and absorbed it cannot stop,” said Mr. Lang. Then he enthusiastically told about his twenties, which he called his “golden age”, when he was able to perform well in ancient plays such as Trung Trac – Trung Nhi, Luu Binh – Duong Le… In his younger days, he was passionate about performing, and even when he reached his old age, his “fire” for the play had not yet cooled, going day and night to teach and instruct the younger generation.
The plays that Mr. Lang choreographed and taught for the Ke Gam village Tuong troupe were highly appreciated by the people and artists who were passionate about Tuong. Mr. Dang Van Huy - Head of the Ke Gam Tuong Club said: Mr. Lang was very instrumental in instructing Ke Gam Tuong actors. He had a good singing voice and knew most of the ancient stories. In particular, he had the talent to stage ancient stories, even though the scripts were no longer complete. He also had an easy-to-understand way of communicating, especially his physical movements and especially his passion that created an attraction for the young generation.
Mr. Dang Van Huy is also one of the Tuong artists of Ke Gam village with more than 40 years of experience in the profession. His father is artist Dang Van Huong - a person who specializes in playing the role of a hat-wearing actor and was selected by the Central Tuong Theater. Like other generations of Tuong artists, Mr. Huy inherited the Tuong gene from his father, so from a young age he was fascinated by the sound of drums, the sound of two-stringed zithers, the sound of clappers and the body intonation of the generals in Tuong stories.
At that time, the age of the village-level “tuong” actors was quite young, he was only twenty years old but he played the main role, specializing in the role of a general. He acted sweetly and sharply, making the villagers and the commune cheer every time he went on stage, they cried and laughed with each performance. “We were so happy to perform the plays, we forgot to eat and sleep, we went to practice the plays every night, regardless of rain or shine” – Mr. Huy talked about the plays, the light shining in the depths of his eyes.
At the same age as Mr. Huy is Mr. Le Khac Tai, who is 70 years old this year. Since his youth, he has specialized in playing the role of puppet or loyal generals. His generation lived and died for the opera, they may not have enough to eat, they may not have enough to wear, but as soon as they heard the sound of the opera drum, they eagerly went to practice.
“At that time, being recruited into a Tuong troupe was an honor for the whole family. We packed our meals and went to practice with enthusiasm. There were nights with drizzling rain and cold wind, but we still cycled from 5pm to 11pm before lighting the torch and leaving,” Mr. Tai recalled with undisguised pride. There were so many happy and sad memories of those days, such as suddenly forgetting the script when going on stage, the prompter behind the stage reminded the audience too loudly, making the audience laugh out loud, then there were not enough costumes, some people were missing shirts, some were missing shoes… The Tuong stage at that time was mainly hastily built with bamboo on a high mound in the fields. However, as soon as the torch was lit and the drums were played, people from all over the region flocked to it like a festival. Mr. Tai said that 40 years of following Tuong were 40 years of him living in that bustling atmosphere, he never lost his enthusiasm or passion for Tuong.
These days, in Ke Gam village, besides the bustling harvest season, there is the excitement of the story of the simple farmers of the village going to Hanoi to receive the Dao Tan award. Ms. Hoang Thi Dung - who specializes in playing the main male role and the female and male actors who have not yet calmed down, shared: We are extremely happy and proud to stand on the stage to receive the award. Ke Gam Tuong now not only has an award in the hearts of the people but is also recognized by the State with a prestigious award.
Ms. Dung said that at the honoring ceremony, she performed an excerpt from My Chau - Trong Thuy, which made the whole audience excited. People were amazed at the skill of a farmer when playing a role in a play, and they were also amazed by the surprise, wondering where those farmers learned to sing and act so well. Then, at the reception, she was asked to perform again, much to the emotion of many actors and the audience that day.
Talking about the award named after the founder of Vietnamese Tuong art, Mr. Dang Van Huy - Head of Ke Gam Tuong Club expressed: After many years of hard work and passion for Tuong, we received the award with great joy. The award gives us more motivation to continue spreading and transmitting, helping Tuong live forever, flowing forever in the heart of Ke Gam.
Tuong in Ke Gam village is not only a spiritual food but also a cultural brand of this land. "Anyone from the elderly to children, young people or the elderly can sing Tuong" - Mr. Dang Van Huy said. That is a general assessment of the movement, but the character of people who truly understand deeply and can perform Tuong well is not many. To perform well, in addition to talent, it is also necessary to have the charm to play the role. There are people who are "nailed" to one character line, finding it difficult to switch to another character line. Tuong lovers all know that in Tuong there are 4 main character lines: general, actress, old man, and actor. Each line needs its own actor, showing the charm to play the role in physical characteristics, facial expressions, eyes, dialogue, smile, even just a hand lift and foot. Therefore, besides the joy of honor, Ke Gam Tuong lovers still have many worries as the career of Tuong actors is getting older. The Ke Gam opera troupe now has 17 members, the youngest of whom is already… 50!
According to Mr. Huy, today's Tuong village in Ke Gam no longer has sharp characters like Phan Lang, Dang Huong, Phan Long... Tuong troupes in the past also had very good musicians, just needing to play trumpets, flutes, drums, and erhu to make the Tuong atmosphere excited. Nowadays, although the music set still exists, the musicians who play well like before are no longer there. Therefore, the most painful thing for Tuong lovers in Ke Gam village is how to train a young generation to be as passionate about Tuong as their predecessors. "If we talk about love among the young generation, it now only exists in the aspect of responding, going to see and supporting. Wherever there is Tuong, there is a full audience of old, young, men and women. As long as it is..." - Mr. Nguyen Khac Tai left it unfinished to share. That "as long as it is..." is the concern to pass on, the desire to make Tuong's sound resonate forever, because deep inside every Ke Gam person, Tuong is a part of the village culture, we must do everything we can to prevent it from fading away...
