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  • Found Narrates Armenian Genocide Experience Comments

    FOUND NARRATES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EXPERIENCE COMMENTS

    The Student Life: Pomona College
    April 25, 2014 Friday

    by: Abigail MacCumber

    When Anoush Baghdassarian CM '17 approached Claremont McKenna College's
    Center for Human Rights Leadership about producing her play Found,
    a historical fiction piece that tells the story of Armenian genocide
    survivor Lucine, she did not expect the amount of encouragement and
    support she rapidly received.

    "At the very beginning of the year, I went to the Center for Human
    Rights and told them how I wanted to be a part of the institution,
    because their work is something I'm really passionate about,"
    Baghdassarian said. "I showed them my playand told them I wanted to
    perform it here eventually, but maybe not this yearbecause I'm only
    a freshman. They thought it was really great, and encouragedme to
    produce it this year."

    Incollaboration with the Center for Human Rights Leadership, the Marian
    Miner Cook Athenaeum at CMC hosts aspeaker about the Armenian genocide
    every year. After proposing her play andtalking to the directors of the
    Athenaeum, Baghdassarian was invited to be thisyear's presenter. Her
    play was shown yesterday, April 24 at the Athenaeum, and will also
    be shown tonight, April 25 at Allen Theatre at Pomona College.

    Coming froman Armenian family, Baghdassarian was greatly inspired by
    her family andheritage. Her relatives fled Armenia-her mother's side to
    Uruguay and herfather's side to Greece and Egypt-during the genocide,
    in which 1.5 million people were killed as the Ottoman Empire during
    World War I.

    "My wholelife, I've learned about the Armenian genocide," Baghdassarian
    said. "I went to Armenian school onSaturdays when I was younger. I
    would wear this bracelet they gave us that said 'Remember the
    forgotten,' because the Armenian genocide is known as the'forgotten'
    genocide. Whenever someone would ask me about my nationality,
    Ialways said I was Armenian first, but then add Egyptian, Greek,
    and Uruguayan.People would ask me how that was possible, and I would
    explain how my familyhad to move because of the genocide."

    "Being Armenian has always been a big partof who I am," she added.

    Growing up,it was this "forgotten genocide" and her upbringing that
    inspired Baghdassarianto educate others. In sixth grade, she crafted
    a poster presentation, decoratedin the colors of the Armenian flag,
    with facts and photos to present to herclass. She continued to present
    to her social studies classes through 11th grade.

    But Baghdassarian's work to promote education and humanrights advocacy
    did not stop there. In 12th grade, Baghdassarian took a playwriting
    class at a one-day theater festival in New York that she had always
    attended. It was there that she wrote a monologue that became the
    basis of her play.

    "I wrote mine, and it ended up beingabout a girl who was talking to
    her therapist or her friends about the deathsof her family, and about
    being alone," Baghdassarian said. "She wondered if her brother was
    stillalive. From that monologue the whole other play came about."

    "I wrote the first scene of the play; my teacher thought it was
    reallygood," she added. "So he told me to keep writing."

    Found depicts the life of the character Lucine in an artistic and
    interesting way; it is clear that her love of theater influenced her
    writing process. The stage is split. One side depicts Lucine in 1915,
    while the other depicts her in 1925. 1925 Lucine writes in her diary
    of what she witnessed during the genocide as 1915 Lucine acts it out.

    Baghdassariansaid she was inspired by her grandmother, who was the
    first Armenian woman elected tothe council that chooses the Armenian
    archbishop. She also drew on stories from herfamily and survivors
    from the Armenian old-age home in New York, incorporating some of
    these experiences into her play.

    "Thesedifferent influences encouraged me to do the play, and this
    really supportedand inspired me to do what I love, which is theater
    and acting as well asraising awareness about the Armenian genocide,"
    Baghdassarian said.

    Found has drawn a cast dedicated to portraying the heavy subject
    matter with taste and integrity.

    "I thinkthe most amazing part of this whole thing is that it's
    completely student-run," said Nooshin Beygui SC '17, who plays the
    character of Mayrig. "You wouldn't believe from looking at the play,
    from seeing the subject matter,that it was actually written by a
    student-by a first-year, even. It's veryinspiring that she could
    be so creative and could touch on such a heavy subjectmatter. Scene
    after scene, it can get difficult because we portrayso much loss and
    so much tragedy."

    Beyguinoted, however, that despite the play's heavy content, the cast
    has still managed to have fun with the many hours they have spent
    together thesepast weeks.

    Despite her impressive work, Baghdassarian did not expect the support
    she received.

    "I am just so shocked and amazed," Baghdassarian said. "TheAthenaeum
    is such a great venue, and I'm really thankful that they're letting
    meuse it. Everyone's heard about the Holocaust. It was a much larger
    scale. Six million Jews died, whereas 1.5 million people died in the
    Armenian genocide.But it isn't just a saying that 'history repeats
    itself.' It's a very definitefact."

    "If I can inform people about what happened and show themthat this
    isn't going to stop unless we do something about it, maybe I caninspire
    others," she said.

    Found will be shown today, April 25 at 8 p.m. at the Allen Theatre
    at Pomona.

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