VietNamNet Bridge – So far English-language dramas have not been too popular with Saigonese but experts in art circles say they have great potential.



Actress Lan Phuong (L) and director Jaime Zuniga performs in The Little Prince
in HCMC earlier this month - Photo: Courtesy of Dragonfly’s Theater


There are two foreign theater groups who have regular English dramas in town, namely Dragonfly and Saigon Players.
Their members come from all over the world and most are amateur actors who have a devotion and passion for drama.

Joe Springer Miller, co-founder of the Saigon Players has a degree in performing arts of Furman University in the U.S. and fellow co-founder Frank Christensen has directed dramas in Chicago, Taiwan and HCMC. And of course there is Dragonfly co-founders Jaime Zuniga and Aaron Toronto.

These two groups have an average of three performances per year and any profits they make go to charity.

The Little Prince written by Toronto and directed by Zuniga was a big hit as it was performed on the big stages instead of small clubs with total sales of over 1,000 tickets for four nights. This is a huge number compared to local theater at this time.

Thus, Hong Van Theater Stage director Hong Van has shaken hands with Dragonfly to popularize English-speaking dramas to the community and this gives an opportunity for Dragonfly to perform at her theaters in Phu Nhuan District and SuperBowl in Tan Binh District.

“At the first days of establishment, I have always dreamt of a stable stage to conduct professional dramas but due to some objective reasons I haven’t had a chance to do it yet. I came to many theaters to ask for cooperation but what I’ve got was a denial as English drama is not popular. Even renting a stage was not easy,” said Zuniga.

“Performing skills and arrangement techniques of The Little Prince by Dragonfly have the same quality as dramas in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries,” said an American audience member Bob Olson who resides in Vietnam.

Dragonfly also plans a Southeast Asia tour for The Little Prince and if it comes to fruition will be the first English drama made in Vietnam that has been performed abroad.

VietNamNet/SGT