Luna Theatre Director Aramazd Stepanian transformed himself into the passionate and desperate Gourgen Yanikian, making Luna Theatre’s Genocide Commemoration audience forget we were watching a performance. Afterward, Stepanian said that this role has at times overwhelmed him.
Gourgen Yanikian: In My Defense, is a 30-minute monologue in which the Armenian genocide survivor describes his early life experiences, his lifetime of struggle for genocide recognition, and his rationale for killing two Turkish diplomats in Santa Barbara, California in 1973.
The monologue was preceded by poetry (in English) and song (in Armenian). Poetry selections, by Siamanto and others, were disturbing and graphic, reflecting bitterness toward God as well as humanity. The monologue itself, enacted so passionately by Stepanian, pulled the audience into Yanikian’s deep despair over his inability to achieve recognition of the Armenian genocide.
True stories like these are difficult to hear. Yanikian’s actions are impossible to justify. The desperate man’s self-defense is gripping, however, and the political indifference he rails against continues to frustrate Armenians around the world.
Luna Theatre’s Genocide Commemoration will be featured again tonight (Friday, April 24th), and Saturday, April 25th, beginning at 8 p.m. Admission is by donation.