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May 19, 2015
AGBU Lebanon Schools’s Shoushi Student Theater Troupe Stages Play on Modern Diasporan Life
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Return is a tribute to the importance of fostering links between the old generation and the new generation to transfer memories and values. -
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On April 30 and May 1, AGBU Lebanon Schools’s Shoushi Student Theater Troupe staged a play titled Return [Վերադարձ], written by poet and playwright Noushig Mikayelian. -
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The students themselves exemplified the themes of the play, which revolved around the struggle to remain Armenian in the diaspora, convey the importance of Armenian identity and show pride in Armenian heritage.
On April 30 and May 1, AGBU Lebanon Schools’s Shoushi Student Theater Troupe staged a play titled Return [Վերադարձ], written by poet and playwright Noushig Mikayelian.
Under the auspices of the AGBU Lebanon Education Committee, more than 40 student actors from the AGBU Tarouhy-Hovagimian, Boghos K. Garmirian and Levon G. Nazarian Schools performed for a rapt audience of Beirut theater-lovers and commemorated the centenary of the Armenian Genocide with creativity and flair.
The students themselves exemplified the themes of the play, which revolved around the struggle to remain Armenian in the diaspora, to convey the importance of Armenian identity and to show pride in Armenian heritage. “Return represents diasporan Armenian life, which I have dedicated to all the children and young adults who were born and have grown up outside Armenia. They have heard about Armenia, but have never seen it. They have read about it, but have never lived it. They have written about it, but never known it. And they have loved it, but never embraced it,” said Mikayelian.
Return is a tribute to the importance of fostering links between the old generation and the new generation to transfer memories and values:
--Grandpa, when I grow up big and strong, can I do whatever I want?
--As big as you grow, there will always be people bigger than you, my son. Growing big does not mean that you should fight or give other people trouble. People who cause trouble are punished sooner or later. It is only the punishment of history that sometimes comes late. You should know, my son, that being grown up means having a big soul and a big heart. It means doing great work.
Noushig Mikayelian was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1975 and is the author of three books of poetry and two librettos. Return is her first play. She now lives and works in Armenia. “The protagonist of Return is the collective image of all the Armenian refugees who were forced to leave their ancestral land 100 years ago, barefoot. They left, but throughout their lives their eyes were fixed on the homeland.”
The AGBU Shoushi Student Theater Troupe was founded in 2011 and includes students ages 10 to 17 who perform one show a year.
For more information on AGBU Lebanon Schools, please click here.
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