Jan Balakian, a Cornell Alumni, will have a staged reading of her play Dreams on Fire, which tells the story of the Armenian Genocide and the traumatic effects on future generations. When she was a student, Balakian won a Cornell playwriting prize for her play in 1989; this achievement sparked the creation of Dreams on Fire.
Dreams follow the events of an Armenian-American college student who has a nervous breakdown during a 2016 exam week. While his grandmother and a classmate helped him recover, he began to link his condition to the Armenian Genocide. The connection explores the transmission of trauma across generations and the impact the Armenian Genocide has on the past, present, and future.
Projections from 1915, The Palisades of NJ, Arshile Gorky, Facing History's text, NY Times headlines, the Turkish Coup of 2016 are part of the production, along with the melancholy sound of the duduk (Armenian wind instrument), and Katie Melua's Dreams on Fire sung by Aram.
Dreams on Fire brings to light a vital subject in our global history and shows how trauma can linger for decades.
Support Jan and her ventures, inspired by her time at Cornell, and see Dreams on Fire!
Stay tuned for more information about the staged reading.
