Typical artistic sectors facing manpower crisis

According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Chuong, Director of Performing Arts Department, a majority of performers working in traditional performing troupes, including writer and director, are 40 years old and above. There is also a crisis of directors and scriptwriters in the traditional art sector, which has led traditional art performing troupes to many difficulties in choosing and staging good scripts.

Many local-level art troupes also meet difficulty in recruiting young actors and actresses with good professional abilities and skills. As a result, there are many vacancies in art troupes. What is more, the number of actors and musicians who are old for performances but too young to retire is large. In fact, these people’s contributions are limited.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Northern Vietnamese Folk Music Theater revealed, in 2016, the theater proposed to recruit 6 more regular staff but only one was accepted but worked at the administrative section.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Tri Dung, Director of the National Symphony Orchestra also shared that many artists have worked for the orchestra for decades but have yet to be enlisted as its regular staff, which have made them unhappy and unenthusiastic at work. He also expressed his sympathy with his colleagues working in traditional art troupes as it is very hard to find a good traditional art scripts.

While many theaters are facing the lack of professional artists, many prestigious artists who are still energetic and willing to contribute to national tradition art have to retire.

Meritorious Artist Minh Hang is a typical example. She cried when received a retirement decision. But she then said, the decision is only a formal document, and she will continue to devote herself to stage.

Many artists sympathized and regretted for Minh Hang as she has missed a chance to be entitled “People’s Artist” since she has retired before the upcoming selection for the title.

In order to ease the human crisis in typical artistic sectors, especially in traditional arts, the Performing Art Department in 2016 completed the plan to boost training of artists and musicians for art troupes.

Accordingly, the plan will be implemented from 2017. The Performing Art Department will work closely with professional troupes to improve the quality and quantity of their performers by 2020. However, the supplement of young artists will not immediately meet the actual need of art troupes.

Sharing the difficulties with typical artistic sectors, Mr. Vuong Duy Bien, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, in the near future, the ministry will carry out more activities to preserve and develop national culture and art.

Regarding the shortage of art performers, Deputy Prim Minister Vu Duc Dam recently directed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to check the list of artists, especially People’s Artists, Meritorious Artists who  are reaching the ages of retirement but still willing to dedicate to the national art. The Ministry will draw up a project and submit to the Government the list for appropriate adjustments of their retirement.