VietNamNet Bridge – Tran Thi Thu Binh not only spends all her time manipulating puppets at the Rong Vang (Golden Dragon) Puppetry Theatre in HCM City's Workers Cultural Palace, but she also takes care of her little charges - and often talks to them as if they are people.

Little people: Tran Thi Thu Binh talks to her beloved puppets. (Photo: VNS)
Born in the southern province of Dong Thap, Binh, joined the puppet theatre in 1996 after visiting her sister who was a puppetry artist at the theatre.

Binh said she was attracted by the colourful characters and the skill of the artists.

"I decided to leave everything to go to HCM City and join the theatre to learn puppetry," said Binh, adding that after three months of hard work, she was allowed to perform in front of audiences.

Binh said she never forget that first night on the special stage - a pond of water.

"Since then, my passion has increased because I admire the artists for their perfect co-operation during performances. This helps make the plays a success," said Binh.

Apart from their skills, the artists, who wear waterproof clothing, have to immerse themselves in the pond for more than an hour a night.

As a result, many female artists did not last long. Binh, now the only female puppeteer in the theatre, has been performing for almost 15 years.

Binh's husband, Nguyen Trung Nghia, who is also a puppet artist at the theatre, said puppetry helped promote husband-and-wife bonds.

"Thanks to puppetry, we have time to help each other in daily life and improve our performance," said Nghia.

Theatre manager Chau Hung Lam said apart from performing, Binh spent time to clean and repair the puppets.

"In the past, we had to send our broken puppets to a repair centre, but since Binh joined us, she does the job very well," he said.

"Binh is not only a skilled artist, but helps us to train new ones and knows how to infuse the passion for puppetry into young artists," said Lam.

Binh said she liked to take care of each of her puppets and can talk to them as if they are human. "They are the soul of our theatre," she said.

The Rong Vang Puppetry Theatre attracts hundreds of people ever day, particularly foreigners and children.

"The tremendous applause is the biggest reward for us. We are always writing new plays to serve them," said Binh.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News