A multimedia theatrical experience featuring ancient Karagöz shadow puppets, indigenous Middle Eastern folk music, oral storytelling, projection, and movement.
She searched for her family’s century-old legacy in war-torn Syria. Inside an old trunk, she found it.
In 2019, L.A.-based actor and writer Sona Tatoyan traveled to her family’s abandoned home in Aleppo, Syria. Eight years had passed since she last visited and, in that time, war in the country had erupted and persisted.
Countering Destruction with Creation: How Azad, a multimedia performance, changed my life.
Walking through the doors of the black box theater, I was greeted with an ambrosial smell reminiscent of my visit to a church in Lebanon. I could not identify why I immediately thought of the church…
Interview: Sona Tatoyan on her Multimedia Theatrical Experience AZAD at the Pico Playhouse
During the darkest of times, surprise discoveries of childhood joy can allow the sunshine in on even the bleakest of situations. And with Ukrainian refugees in the news daily, when I heard about Sona Tatoyan’s…
Episode Description
Sona Tatoyan is a first-generation Syrian-Armenian-American actor/writer/producer with bases in Los Angeles, Berlin, Syria, and Armenia. Bridging cultures and having experienced numerous wars, her wisdom runs deep and her stories are captivating. In 2019 she traveled to her family’s home in Syria which had been abandoned following the 2011 Syrian civil war. There she discovered her great-great grandfather’s shadow puppets in a trunk in the attic while missiles continued to shoot overhead. The shadow puppets spoke to her, inspiring healing, reflection, and progression. Intending to share what transpired during her recent visit to Syria, Sona has written an Immersive Multimedia Theatrical Experience, titled Azad (“free” in Armenian). It’s a personal tale of “one woman’s magical, multi-generational, healing journey from the Armenian Genocide to the Syrian war.” In this episode, you’ll learn about the legendary 1001 Nights, Sona’s journey to healing herself, and how darkness & light dance together.
