Truờng Ca Mẹ Việt nam -- Phạm Duy

Cycle-Songs Mother Vietnam

Objectives

To introduce Vietnamese culture to the students via music and play.

To teach another specific Vietnamese song to each class.

To get the 7^th - and 6^th- graders to actively pacrticipate in the organization of the whole-school activity.

To entertain parents and students.

Script – for the Front Play (Draft Status)

http://vyea.org/web/2001/Music/Script.htm

Music Lyrics

Original Vietnamese Lyrics by Phạm Duy in 1965

English translation by Phạm Quang Tuân

Additional songs

Music Lyrics (Downloadable PDF file)

PDF File

Music Scores with Arrangement

Downloadable PDF files for Music Score Sheets

Original scores by Phạm Duy

Arrangements by Chử Nhị Anh

Musical Play

Story / Structure

Cycle Song Mother Vietnam - Mẹ Việt Nam

Act 1

Scene 1 – In English

The story starts with 2 juveniles named Vince (Viet) and Nance (Nam) meeting somewhere. They were trying to keep up with "life" but felt sad and left out because they had a secret.

That secret is that they have been orphaned of their mothers for some time. They started talking, first normally, then started trading insults about their mama (the usual "Your Mama" jokes can go here.) Finally they come to realize that they miss their mothers.

Nance started describing her mother, introducing:

the song "Beautiful Mother" Mẹ Xinh Ðẹp to be sung by the class 5. The second repetition of this song follows with a dance (simultaneously) by this girl Hoàng somebody in Grade 3 as a Vietnamese woman/mother...

Scene 2 – In English

The story continues with Vince (Viet) telling how he sees things. Despite being away from his mother, he always remembers what she had said. Essentially that while travelling on life's road he kept his head high and spirit fearless.

Relating his travels as part of a historic journey of the Viet people, Vince introduces:

the song "Mother in Traveller's Heart" Mẹ trong lòng người đi, to be sung by Class 4. In between 2 repetitions of this song will be a performance by Gemma Nguyen, a student in
Class 5. She will be performing a Martial Art routine to the music of the song. [Gemma is USA's grand champion in Youth Weapons in 1999. She is overall a very good martial artist already well recognized in the Martial Arts of the US.]

Scene 3 – In English

Settling down, Vince and Nance relates back to the orginin of the Viet people while talking about the historical journey. It started with the legendary story of the Viet people started out in Ðộng Ðình Hồ (just South of the Yantze River in China) as 100 eggs, half going to the sea, the other to the mountains. The current situation of the Polynesia (Bách Việt) is that most of the 100's have been vanquished and become part of China, with the Nam Viet people the sole surviving Viet race in an independent nation.

Introducing the song “One Mother a Hundred Children” Một Mẹ Trăm Con to be sung by the Grade 3 classes.

Act 2 – In Vietnamese

Scene 1

Vince and Nance are now 2 very young kids. They talk about their Mothers and their sweet loves.

Introducing the song "Mother Ocean”, Me. Trùng Dương to be sung by the Momma's (the teachers with áo dài).

Scene 2

Vince and Nance as kids in a refugee camp in Paula Bidong, looking out to the sea and expressed their longing for home. They have just been separated from their Mothers; it's 1975.

Introducing the song "Chiều chiều dứng bờ sông, nhớ về quê me. ....." to be sung (or spoken aloud) by the First graders...

Act 3: Finale. – In English and Vietnamese (each character speaks his/her own language as before)

Vince and Nance (juveniles) are joined by their counterparts (very young kids and Refugee kids, -- past and present of us, talking about the future. The answer is suggested in the Vietnam Vietnam song.

Introducing the large assembly of second grade students (2 A, B, C, D) singing the song

Main characters – We need to fill the following parts

Vince and Nance Juveniles – (about 18 years old)

1. Juv Vince

2. Juv Nance

Vince and Nance Very Young – (about 6 years old) Speaking Vietnamese

3. Babe Việt

4. Babe Nam

Vince and Nance as Refugee kids – (about 10 years old) Speaking Vietnamese

5. Kid Việt

6. Kid Nam

Mother Vietnam – Mẹ Việt Nam – dancing

7. MVN dancer

Vietnamese Traveller – dancing (Martial Arts)

8. VN Man dancer / Gemma Nguyen

Stages and Stage Managing

All students will be assembling on the floor just before the stage (not ON stage).

All performers will be performing ON stage, right up to the edge with spot light on.

Music will be computer generated with mixers controlling relative volumes for background and dubbed voices.

Additionally, there is one Trumpet voice for Mother In Traveller’s Heart, and in Vietnam Vietnam. Ðinh Minh Châu.

There are 2 Flute voices for Beautiful Mother, and for Mother Ocean. Nguyễn Thúy Linh (main voice)/ Chử Nam Phương (second voice).

Computer will be manned by Bobby Nguyễn.

Lighting – Grade 7 student. Put spot light on performers during the act. Turn it to the students during the songs.

Crowd control – Scout group

Taking students to stage area – Grade 7 student and Teachers

Completion of Script – Grade 6 and 7 students and teachers. Remember Act 1 is in English. Act2 2 is in Vietnamese, Act3 is mixed. No direct introduction. Introduction from Acts to Singing should be subtle. Dialogues should be natural to the performer (especially as an American Vietnamese person—don’t try to make a student who can speak Vietnamese to act in Vietnamese!)