Meritorious Artist Tran Ly Ly: “In order to complete the stages for the opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games, the past few days have been like a true shuttlecock”

Just over 24 hours left until the opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games will take place at My Dinh National Stadium (Hanoi). At this point, the program crew is sprinting to complete all the stages before entering the main event. As the “leader” of the program, General Director Tran Ly Ly was also “out of breath” when he had to manage and closely monitor all stages.

For the past few days, Tran Ly Ly has lost her voice and can only sleep a few hours a night. The efforts of General Director Tran Ly Ly himself and the crew of the opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games show a spirit of determination to overcome all challenges to reach victory.

Before G, Meritorious Artist – General Director Tran Ly Ly has devoted to Vietnamese people a conversation.

Just over 24 hours left until the opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games – the most anticipated Southeast Asian Games of the year. As the “leader” of the Opening and Closing Program, can you share about how far the preparations have been made?

Up to now, all the work for the 31st SEA Games Opening Ceremony has almost been completed. The crew had a preliminary review at My Dinh Stadium on the evening of May 9. And last night (May 10), the team entered the rehearsal with the presence of a large number of personnel participating in the stages and expert advisors. After the rehearsal, we also sat together to adjust some details and discuss more about the smooth operation mechanism when performing at the Opening Ceremony.

Currently, the problem is the technical part. In order for the sound – light – stage to communicate with each other on such a large space with so many grand scenes of the Opening Ceremony, it is necessary to have the support of a complex technical system. Wanting to set-up somewhere this system takes a lot of time because of the meticulous work, errors are not allowed. While the technical side has too little time to prepare and execute.

Why did the crew choose MC Duc Bao and Phi Linh as hosts for the opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games?

Before choosing MC Duc Bao and Phi Linh, we also targeted quite a few candidates. Because this is an international program, it is very demanding on many things, it is impossible to choose a university with eyes. However, after considering each candidate one by one, we decided to choose Duc Bao and Phi Linh.

Both of these MCs are professional hosts of Vietnam Television Station and many major international events. In terms of experience, there is nothing to discuss, and the bilingual ability is also very good. Both have a solid knowledge base and have sports knowledge. The most important thing is that both have standard Hanoi accents – since this is an event held in Hanoi, this condition is mandatory.

Confiding to us, Duc Bao and Phi Linh both expressed their joy and pleasure at having the opportunity to host the opening ceremony of the largest Southeast Asian Games in the region. Despite the pressure, both are determined to complete their mission.

The script for the MC’s narration has also been completed. Briefly, this script is up to 13 A4 pages long. Of course, there are still many last-minute changes, but we fully believe in Duc Bao and Phi Linh’s leadership and handling skills.

At this point, when looking back at the many months with the crew racing against time and weather to prepare for the Opening Ceremony of the 31st SEA Games, do you feel you are taking a risk?

For the past few days, I have almost lost my voice and can only sleep a few hours a night. Loss of voice is not because of shouting too much, but because I have to talk a lot every day and have to run like a true “shuttle”.

Recall, on March 15, when Vietnam decided to open the door after a long time focusing on the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic, the superior leaders decided to hold the Opening Ceremony. In that moment, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the City People’s Committee. Hanoi, Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports invited me to share “We have this mission”. The task is very urgent and very difficult but must be done.

In this situation, I have no choice but to “ride on the back of a tiger”, and in normal circumstances I would require a year of preparation. From creating a literary script, adapting it to a stage script, building a crew, deploying items, selecting actors, etc., it takes a lot of time.

Although the pressure was great right after I accepted the assignment, I also felt very proud because my superiors trusted me with this responsibility. I determine not everyone has such luck in the course of their career. I think so, but it is true that when I started working, I was also quite stunned when I did not know where and how to start.

The first thing I started to do was to build a team including: Advisory Board, Theater Director, Music Director, Dance Director… Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Thai is knowledgeable about art. ; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Cuong is a person who is knowledgeable about history… gave detailed and detailed advice on each part of the script.

Musician Huy Tuan was the one who made me feel very secure when he assigned him to be in charge of 120 minutes of music during the opening show. It must be added that the music in the opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games is extremely massive. Every minute has to use many different music and music colors. The music in the program is also required to be suitable for the spirit of sports, but not far from the content of the performances.

Director Hoang Cong Cuong is also the one who made me feel secure about the stage set-up, especially the image part through the mapping, sound and light system. Hoang Cong Cuong is an extremely talented and enthusiastic person. He solved the given problem in what could be said to be “impossible”.

The two dance directors Kieu Le and Hong Phong also made great efforts to help me in the choreography of the dance performances. In addition, there are 20 to 30 assistants at all stages, working at full capacity every day and racing against the schedule. Many…so many other personnel that I cannot name them all.

Admittedly, time does not allow us to do the things we desire, but we still try to achieve the best within the range of possible, possible strength, possible conditions. The conditions here are both financial, human and coordination issues.

Thanks to Meritorious Artist Tran Ly Ly for sharing.