Students of the HCM City Open University are performing 19 English plays adapted from American novels and short stories, most of them award winning and made into films, at the university’s Go Vap District campus.

They include the Wizard of OZ, written by L. Frank Baum, about a young farm girl named Dorothy’s adventures in the magical Land of Oz.

There are romantic novels and stories such as The Price of Salt written by Patricia Highsmith about the love between a pair of lesbians.

Then there are iconic books like Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Gone with The Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx.

Le Quang Truc, a lecturer at the university who uses dramas to teach literature, said performing plays helps his students acquire a deep understanding of literary works and life’s values highlighted in the works.

“They are not professional actors. I also am not a professional stage manager. So shortcomings are unavoidable in the plays. But we hope our effort to stage plays makes learning literature interesting.”

Le Thi Nhu Truc, a third-year foreign language student at the university, said standing on a stage to perform plays teaches her how to “master” herself besides practising English.

Pham Thanh Trung, a third-year psychology student, said, “This is a useful playground for not only students learning foreign languages but also other subjects.”

Do Viet Duc of the University of Technical Education, an audience member, said: “I have come here to check my English listening and understanding skills. I want my university to organise the same event. This is an interesting way to learn.”

The event, which began on December 9 and finishes on December 21, features two to three plays each on eight days of performance. 

VNS