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UID:4670368:Event:114612
DTSTAMP:20260428T003611Z
SUMMARY:DEAR ARMEN:  INTERACTIVE THEATRE INTEGRATING A BLEND OF MONOLO
 GUE, ARMENIAN DANCE, EROTIC PERFORMANCE & LIVE MUSIC
DESCRIPTION:Synopsis:\nGaro has been researching Armen Ohanian, an eni
 gmatic Armenian performer and survivor of the twentieth century anti-A
 rmenian pogroms. As the ambiguities surrounding Ohanian’s biography 
 magnify, Garo begins unraveling questions about their own gender and e
 thnicity. Monologue, Armenian dance, erotic performance, live music, a
 nd excerpts from Ohanian’s memoirs weave together a narrative that b
 ridges a century of women and artists.\nExtended summary:\nDear Armen 
 follows the story of a genderqueer writer and student, Garo, as they s
 tudy the life and work of Armen Ohanian, an enigmatic Armenian perform
 er and survivor of the early 20th-century anti-Armenian pogroms in Bak
 u. As Garo grapples with the discrepancies between Ohanian’s biograp
 hy and memoirs, they are forced to confront memories from the past, un
 raveling experiences around gender, sexuality, ethnicity, family, and 
 the role of the artist. An interactive-theatre experience integrating 
 a blend of traditional Armenian dance, erotic performance, monologue a
 nd live music, Dear Armen weaves together the voices and struggles of 
 three generations of Armenian women. Unveiling fragmented legacies of 
 genocide and displacement, the narrative kaleidoscopes fragments of st
 ories that highlight the complexities of survival.\nOhanian’s story 
 and spirit are embodied in the characters and weaved throughout the na
 rrative, invoking the power and complexity of historical and contempor
 ary Armenian identities. Through experimental theatre and interdiscipl
 inary performance, we reincarnate Ohanian’s life and spirit with mov
 ement and sound – demonstrating her ability to transform herself and
  the audience’s perception of theatre and the erotic. The show will 
 uncover the life of this incredibly productive and unconventional arti
 st, recover the legacy of a woman who brought innovation to Armenian t
 heatre, and connect her story to contemporary histories of performers 
 from various genres.\nNote from the creators:\nDear Armen centres the 
 struggles and successes of queer, trans* and gender nonconforming Arme
 nian women, exploring the intersections of identity, history, and cult
 ural memory. By remembering Armen Ohanian, we bring to the fore an ava
 nt garde Armenian figure who is too little discussed or remembered, an
 d highlight the parallels that exist between her story and contemporar
 y experiences. In so doing, this work hopes to break through memoricid
 e, ensuring more of our cultural memories are passed down and used to 
 help heal the intergenerational trauma left by genocide and displaceme
 nt. In bringing Armen Ohanian to our protagonist Garo, we give a young
  trans* Armenian a mentor and heroine to project their own pain of exi
 le and exclusion onto: someone to mirror some of their own search and 
 an echo from the past that they are not alone. Armen becomes a literar
 y friend and figure absent from the young Garo’s life, and together 
 their poetic search for self-expression, artistic innovation, and cult
 ural connection blend into a poetry of words, movement, and music. Our
  hope is to connect these stories with both Armenian and non-Armenian 
 audiences, and in particular, to reach those who see themselves on the
  fringes, and who are searching for representations of themselves on t
 he stage and in stories.\nAccessibility note: We are committed to crea
 ting increasingly accessible theatre. This means that we are actively 
 growing in our awarenesses of different access needs. We are looking f
 orward to making changes and modifications to our work and our underst
 andings, so that with each production we move closer to realizing a gr
 eater spectrum of access. For full accessibility details, please visit
  our event pages and feel free to contact us at unpackingableism@gmail
 .com with any questions, feedback and/or suggestions.\n\nFor more info
 rmation visit http://villagevancouver.org/events/dear-armen-interactiv
 e-theatre-integrating-a-blend-of-monologue
DTSTART:20141024T020000Z
DTEND:20141024T033000Z
CATEGORIES:vancouver, experimental, theatre
LOCATION:Roundhouse Performance Centre
WEBSITE:http://www.deararmen.com
URL:http://www.deararmen.com
CONTACT:
ORGANIZER:lee williams boudakian
ATTACH;FMTTYPE="image/jpeg":
ATTENDEE;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED;RSVP=TRUE;CN="Kamee Ab
 rahamian":http://villagevancouver.org/profile/KameeAbrahamian
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