CA Theatre Festival to kick off with Komitas' 10 Commandments & Colors

PanARMENIAN.Net - California International Theatre Festival makes its debut in Los Angeles on September 8.

Companies from Armenia, Ukraine, Germany, Canada and France are among those taking part in the third annual festival that focuses on bringing international productions to American audiences, Los Angeles Downtown News reports.

"This is a way to explore other cultures, to see all these cultures in one building," said Joe Peracchio, the founding artistic director for the festival. "Theater is a good way to do that because it's a passionate exchange of ideas."

The festival will launch in Downtown with the world premiere of Komitas' 10 Commandments & Colors by MIHR Theatre from Armenia.

Using modern dance and live painting on stage, the piece is based on the work of Komitas Vardapet, an Armenian composer, priest and musicologist who is considered the founder of Armenian classical music and is credited with helping to preserve Armenia's culture through its art during the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

"He's like the Beethoven or Shakespeare of Armenian history. He held everyone together through his work" Peracchio said. "And the company is an edgy young dance theater company coming out of Armenia working with a traditional subject matter, mixing ancient music with modern theater and live action painting on stage."

In an email interview with Los Angeles Downtown News, Tsolak Mlke-Galstyan, the company's artistic director, said they are looking forward to sharing their work with an audience that may not be as familiar with their culture.

"By presenting something new to the people we create a dialogue with them, which presents us new creative horizons and the audience discovers new emotional horizons," he said. "For example the audience does not know Vardapet Komitas, but through our performance they can become closer to him emotionally."

However, Mlke-Galstyan said they are less interested in putting on a history lesson and more concerned about reaching the audience on an emotional level.

"We want them to feel," he said. "I can say that the audience will feel our country. They will feel the art which was created in Armenia and at the same time they will feel that the art has no borders."