'They Were Poets' - Arena Productions

[Maral]

'They Were Poets'

For Immediate Release

 

ARENA PRODUCTIONS

Director: Anahid Aramouni Keshishian

(818) 240-7080

Arena405@aol.com

 

The Magic of Poetry on a Los Angeles Stage

 

“They Were Poets”

 

Arena Productions presents They Were Poets, a theatrical rendition of Armenian Poetry spanning throughout the centuries, all translated into English. Compiled, edited and directed by Anahid Aramouni Keshishian, this production offers an evening of verse dipped in an eclectic array of music and imagery, fused with the human body and voice. The performance will feature poetry by authors such as Grigor Narekatsi, Daniel varoujan, Yeghishe Charents, Parouyr Sevak, Vahe Oshakan, and Violet Grigorian. They Were Poets opens at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood, California, on Saturday, November 6, 2004, and continues through the following two Saturdays.

 

Arena Productions is a non-profit organization committed to bringing innovative productions in the performing, literary, and fine arts to the diverse and constantly evolving communities of Los Angeles. The organization was formed when enthusiastic theatrical energies were taking shape among students at UCLA, where the director Anahid A. Keshishian has been teaching for the past eight years. Under Keshishian’s guidance the group began gathering, discussing, translating, and performing various pieces on campus and at local coffee shops. Myrna Douzjian, a PhD student in Comparative Literature at UCLA, translated Ayvazyan's Props, paving the way for a yearlong, collective labor of love in theater. With meager resources, but enthusiastic community support, in June 2003 Arena Productions staged Props at UCLA and numerous other venues in Los Angeles. The performance garnered critical acclaim and the scholarly support of professors from various interdisciplinary fields at UCLA.

 

This spring Arena’s theatre group performed the very innovative, a multi-lingual rendition of G. Emin’s Traveler of Eternity at various venues throughout Los Angeles. Currently, among Arena’s projects in the making is Arena Production’s debut magazine Random Agenda: an eclectic collection of short stories, poems, and translations which is set to be printed by the end of October. Alongside all this, a creative theatrical compilation based on the life and works of William Shakespeare is in progress.

 

You can witness Arena Productions latest groundbreaking performance They Were Poets in Hollywood’s Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Boulevard, on November 6, 13, and 20, 2004. All shows begin at 8:00pm. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by calling 818-240-7080 or by email, Arena405@aol.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Email: Arena405@aol.com