Listen to Lo Lo confide about her lottery career

Travellive had the opportunity to chat with Ms. Lo Lo (Lam Quoc Khai), founder of Lo To Sai Gon Tan Thoi - a pioneer in transforming traditional lotto into a show imbued with folk culture and full of entertainment value.

PV: Hello Ms. Lo Lo, can you share the reason why "Sai Gon Tan Thoi" was established?

Road Road:Since childhood, Lo has been passionate about singing. But when he grew up, he was afraid that he could not sing as well as others, so he only participated in movies. Around 2015 - 2016, Lo received an invitation to pre-produce a bingo movie. Of course, to make a bingo movie, one needs real-life experience. When collecting documents about bingo singers, only then did he truly see how pitiful bingo singers are. Although very talented, the times and social views make them more reserved in the cultural and artistic activities they choose.

The bingo stage is a place that can shelter them. Seeing the bingo singers juggling on stage, Lo feels very excited and believes that they can develop into real artists if given the conditions. Lo was right in choosing this as the form to develop. Saigon Tan Thoi was born, a place where people who love bingo can satisfy their passion. Many long-time folk artists, like Ms. La Kim Quyen, although singing bingo for 17-18 years, but only became widely known when coming to Saigon Tan Thoi.

PV: Why is it "Sai Gon Tan Thoi"? What is the meaning of this name?

Road Road: Lo thinks, bingo in Saigon during that time was almost non-existent. If it existed, it only appeared in plays or comedy excerpts, not as a complete and widely known show. Saigon Tan Thoi (SGTT) was born with the meaning of pioneering the breath of innovation for traditional bingo. From the service object, the artist, to the stage decoration or the performances... everything was changed. Only then could the simple folk entertainment form be transformed into an art show that is consistent, humorous, interesting, and attracts the audience.

PV: Does SGTT intend to develop Lo To Show into an entertainment product or is it more inclined towards preserving traditional cultural values?

Road Road:SGTT does not lean towards any aspect, but tries to balance between folk culture and entertainment. Folk culture elements can be mentioned as folk songs, verses... interwoven with rich, trendy entertainment elements. SGTT team always updates trending songs, along with many forms of show exploitation such as dragqueen, fashion catwalk or simulated beauty contest. In SGTT's performance program, there are many acts, each act has more than ten lines. They sing the whole song to have a number, and there are also various small comedy skits to keep the audience interested.

PV: In Saigon, there is no shortage of different forms of entertainment. Do SGTT Lottery in particular and lottery shows in general have to compete with those forms to attract customers?

Road Road:Competition is inevitable in the entertainment industry, but bingo shows always have their own uniqueness. A bingo artist must be talented, charming, and attractive enough to attract audiences. Among countless forms of entertainment, bingo SGTT always has a stable audience. Each performance has an average of 300-500 spectators, and when it is crowded, it can reach up to thousands of spectators.

Many people think that bingo shows only have men dressed as women, or transgender people singing on stage. But it is not that simple. Bingo singers keep the audience not only by their impressive appearance, but also by their knowledge and talent in many different fields such as singing, dancing, drama, circus, magic... Each singer has their own color and talent, together creating diversity and appeal for the show.

PV: So, to become a real bingo artist, the bingo singer must also fight to assert his personal mark on stage to be remembered by the audience. Is that not a simple task?

Road Road:Honestly, Lo also made mistakes in recruiting staff. Singing requires talent, performing requires technique, dancing requires dancing ability. Bingo is a type of performance that involves speaking, singing, narrating, and also requires appearance. At first, Lo saw that people loved the profession so much that he accepted them, without paying too much attention to talent. As a result, now there are many people who appear but the audience does not remember their names.

However, perhaps to develop in the profession also requires a bit of innate talent. Later, I realized that passion for the profession is not enough. Performers also need to have some skills or talents to gradually create their own value on stage, to be accepted and noticed by the public. Only then can they have more opportunities to develop themselves.

PV: What is the biggest difficulty that SGTT Lottery Group encountered during its operation?

Road Road:I love the stage, but because I love it so much, I don't know how to plan my finances. If I have 100 million extra, I spend it all on stage decorations. To be honest, before the pandemic, I had a diamond ring to wear, but now I don't. The only important thing is to be happy with what I'm doing, enjoy it day by day. I work according to my passion without financial planning, which leads to easy debt even though SGTT is still operating actively.

PV: You love the stage and art so much, have you ever thought about stopping?

Road Road:Yes. After the pandemic, Lo wanted to give up. But when looking back at the staff who accompanied him, reading the encouraging messages from the audience... Lo thought it was impossible to give up easily. 2018-2019 was the golden period of SGTT, so it had many positive influences to help the lottery troupes in the provinces. The program "Loto Memories" was born, although the number of views was not high, it brought about changes and more positive perceptions, helping the theater troupes in the provinces to develop. Wherever they went, they were welcomed and applauded. Because I continue to bring value to the community, so as long as I have the strength, I will continue to do it.

PV: How do you envision SGTT developing in the next year?

Road Road:Next year, SGTT will be more colorful, with many performances that invest in both image and content, bringing more value to the audience. The seats will also be different, they can sit comfortably and appreciate their seats. As for personnel, every year SGTT organizes a "Lottery Talent Search" contest to select a few talented and potential people to develop.

Lo will also step back to manage more. The special thing is, before Lo got married and had children. Now Lo is married, her children are grown. People get married once and have a tiring role. Lo's children are now at an age where there are many changes in their psychology and physiology, so she needs to have time to accompany and be with them until they are able to feel what she is doing. Lo gives herself 5-6 years to focus on building her family.

Lo also has a direction to develop the talents that are being seen at SGTT in their own colors. I see that there are many members who can continue to run Saigon Tan Thoi. Every artist has their golden age, and Lo Lo is no exception.

PV: Most of the people who come to see the show are locals. There are also a few tourists from far away who come to see it out of curiosity. But do you think that bingo will become a cultural product that attracts tourists?

RoadRoad:Bingo shows are not yet recognized as a cultural form that is easy to get a license to perform. To get a license to perform, and then develop it into a tourism product, there are still many problems. Although it has been welcomed by many audiences and has received support from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, turning bingo shows into a cultural tourism product is not easy.

Almost every show SGTT welcomes groups of guests from Hanoi, or overseas Vietnamese to watch. SGTT is also fortunate to be well known, receiving many invitations from countries around the world to participate in performances in programs. People from the US, France, and UK consulates also find it interesting, so they come to watch and enjoy. SGTT is truly grateful and thankful for the support of the audience for the troupe. Lo hopes that the public will be more receptive, and hopes that soon the bingo culture can soon become a type of tourist product that attracts visitors.

PV: Do you have any further wishes in developing the Saigon Tan Thoi Lottery Group?

Road Road:During his last business trip to Hanoi, Lo realized that there are many people who do not know about bingo. Even though he only performed for an internal event, they were very excited, so Lo really hopes to bring the bingo show to the North. The program may not be regular, but Lo hopes that the audience in the capital will know and experience the beautiful culture of the South. As for abroad, the SGTT troupe has also toured many places. In the near future, Lo will also go to the US to perform.

Thanks Lo Lo for sharing with Travellive!

Bileo