NEW YORK CITY PLAY "KILLING THE BOSS" TAKES ARMENIAN COMMUNI

[MosJan]

NEW YORK CITY PLAY "KILLING THE BOSS" TAKES ARMENIAN COMMUNITY ACTIVIST BY STORM

New York, NY- The Armenian National Committee of New York took the Armenian Cause to Off-Broadway last week at Cherry Lane Studio Theatre in Greenwhich Village. A largely Armenian audience packed the house to see Catherine Filloux's Killing the Boss on February 23rd, which was immediately followed by a short panel discussion, "Through the Politics of Power: Considering the Legacy of the Armenian Genocide."

• The panelists were ANC Eastern Regional Executive Director Karine Birazian and anthropology scholar Sossi Essajanian. Filloux's drama provided rich material for the panelists and audience to ponder. Two years ago, the ANC of New York sponsored a similar panel following Filloux's Lemkin's House, which presented Raphael Lemkin beyond his death considering the United Nations Genocide Convention in light of the genocides that have been committed with impunity since.

   

  While genocide was not as central a theme in Killing the Boss, the issue still loomed large as the main character in righteous indignation attempted to assassinate the prime minister of a country, where he had previously been an architect of genocide. Cambodia quickly came to mind, but the location was never identified, leaving the viewer to imagine that the scenario of mass killing could have taken place in many nations, as indeed it has.

   

  In reflecting on the performance, Essajanian discussed how the politics of the intimate became the transformative mechanism for overcoming the seemingly unstoppable evil of the regime portrayed in the play. "It was the concern and love of the main character's husband and parents, who needed to find out what happened and not allow the distorted narrative of those in power to control the truth as well."

   

  Birazian connected the play to the Armenian case of genocide. "The government of Turkey continues to engage in the last stage of genocide through its denial of what happened. Righteous communities must remain active and continue to resist the perpetrator's campaign, whether it be in Darfur or in Cambodia or in Van, of falsely appropriating the history of the people they have tried to annihilate."

   

  Doug Geogerian of the ANC of New York thanked the playwright for her compelling work and for the opportunity to hold the subsequent panel discussion. "Dramatic art is a powerful way for the public to learn about the issue of genocide, which the media often presents as a Gordian Knot of geopolitics. Here we see in a visceral way how individual lives are impacted. It allows us to reflect and hopefully, to take future action."

   

  The ANC of NY will also be hosting a panel discussion on April 11th at 6:30 pm with the Middle East & Middle Eastern American Center. The panel discussion entitled Trauma and Memoir will feature authors Anotnia Arslan, Margaret Ahnert, and playwright Catherine Filloux. The event will be held at the CUNY Grad Center, 365 Fifth Ave., NY, NY in rooms 9204/5. For more information email ancaer@anca.org. Karine Birazian Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region Executive Director

• March 4, 2008