Despite the current economic slump and its effect on much of the performing arts, many people are visiting hat chau (temple theatres) to be entertained and make wishes during Ky Yen (Entreatment for Blessings) festivals.

Artists sing at a hat chau (temple theatre). It has become an integral part of any Ky Yen festival.

More than 100 city actors in cai luong (reformed theatre) and hat boi (classical opera) have spilled into temples across southern provinces to perform in events that are being held in a more grandiose manner than in previous years.

“When life becomes harsher, people tend to focus more on spiritual factors,” says actor Hieu Canh, who holds a record number of temple performances so far this year.

“Ky Yen festivals are a chance for the masses to wish for the deities’ blessings for their businesses as they negotiate the bumpy road,” says Canh, explaining the surging number of invitations for actors to perform at temples this year.

As little known as he is, Canh already has his schedule filled until the end of the third month of the lunar calendar.

So do famous stars like Thanh Thanh Tam, Thanh Ngan, Thoai My, Vu Luan and Kim Tieu Long.

Some of them are juggling four shows each day and do not call it a day until midnight.

Actor Vu Luan, for instance, rushes to perform in Can Gio District in the morning, back to the city in the afternoon and Tra Vinh Provinces in the evening, and then back to Can Gio the next morning.

Dozens of shows requested within a day cause troupes to distribute themselves in small groups across temples, spanning from central Da Nang to southernmost Ca Mau Province.

At times they have to seek more recruits from the City’s College of Performing Arts.

Stellar actors can be paid up to VND5-15 million (US$300-900) for a temple show depending on their level of popularity.

Quantity erodes quality

While the troupes rush to keep up, the shows are not living up to the quality expected of sacred performances as homage to deities.

The student recruits, who have little experience performing in public, have only a few days to learn the plots, the lines and the choreography, and end up lip-synching.

In competition, some troupes are ready to bid only VND8 million (US$650) for a show valued at VND20 million ($1,150), while others sell shows to other troupes at lower prices.

As a result, the shows’ quality deteriorates in proportion to the prices. Some rituals or scenes required of a temple show are trimmed to the disappointment of temple executives.

Hat chau is an integral part of any Ky Yen festival, the temple’s most important event of the year, which falls within the15th and 17th day of any lunar month, depending on each temple.

Themed around peace, happiness and good crops, hat chau has shifted from essentially hat boi (classic opera), which today has fewer and fewer practitioners, to cai luong.

In many southern villages, Ky Yen festivals, with their sophisticated processions and rituals, can attract thousands of villagers.

Genies revered in temples are men held in great esteem in the villages, those deified by the kings or legendary characters. They are believed to be the villages’ guardian deities.

The art form partly owes its current popularity to local wealthy businessmen who are ready to pay generously to sponsor the events and receive a board inscribed with Chinese-character wishes, such as Gia quan tien chuc (Steady Promotion).

VietNamNet/VNS