Theatre club night for amateur thespians in HCM City
From the front La Habana Restaurant and Bar, which is located on a quiet street in downtown HCMC, is a rather small room with a bar serving drinks. But once inside one can get into another area where expatriates and locals, and a group of theater lovers called the Saigon Players, gather once a month not just to unwind but also to present plays.
Anyone visiting on that day will see a group of people of various nationalities, including Vietnamese, working together and acting scenes in a play.
Normally the evening consists of theater games and exercises, and ends with the group presenting scenes. Some actors may have a background in theater, some may not, but they all join and help each other to act the given scenes. Some of the productions they have presented are ˜A Dog Life, ˜Miss-ed Saigon and ˜Little Red Riding Hood among others.
Saigon Players was formed in 2003 by a non-profit group of expatriates who live and work in the city. With sponsorship from Saigon Town & Country Club and the La Habana Restaurant and Bar, they have been allotted a space to host the ˜Club Nights and a venue to perform a variety of shows, attracting many people from all walks of life in the city.
Joe Springer-Miller, an American, a member of the organization, told the Daily that it is difficult to say exactly how many members it has, because people join the club and then leave it to work in another country!
The plays are always performed in the English language, so it requires participants to be good communicators in English, of course. If not, one cannot join the club, for it was formed for those who are interested in developing an English-language theater group.
However the club organizer says everyone is welcome. As Joe Springer-Miller said: we do not say no to anyone who wants to join the club.
œAlthough many of our players have a background in theater, Saigon Players welcomes anyone with an interest in any aspect of theatrical productions. We are a venue to encourage not only actors, but any person seeking an outlet for artistic expression. Writers, directors, stage-management, make-up, choreography, to name a few, are also integral parts of productions, the club said.
The night usually runs from 6.30pm to 9pm on the first Wednesday of each month. It costs VND50,000 per person which includes a soft drink or beer.
Source Viet Nam Net