Nine Armenians by Leslie Ayvazian CHARACTERS NON (Marie)—The grandmother POP (Vartan)—The grandfather ARMINE—Their daughter, the mother JOHN—Her husband, the father ANI—Their oldest daughter, 21 years old VIRGINIA (GINYA)—Middle child, 15 years old RAFFI—Youngest child, 11 years old AUNT LOUISE—John’s sister UNCLE GARO—Her husband ARMENIAN MAN—Played by the actor who plays POP All nine characters wear coats in every scene: fall coats, winter coats, and spring coats, except sweaters in the summer. TIME AND PLACE The time is 1992. The place is an Armenian suburb (probably in New Jersey) and Yerevan, Armenia. Armenian music is played on Armenian instruments. A simple set. Needs to include: an offstage tree with branches visible onstage. A bush. A doorway. A car. SCENE ONE A driveway. A car is parked in the driveway. There is a suggestion of a house: steps or a door, etc. A rhododendron bush is downstage. A tree is offstage. We see a branch. Armenian music plays. Lights come up as members of the immediate family (all except ANI) are coming together to say good-bye. They are wearing their clothes and carrying pans of food wrapped in aluminum foil. JOHN Good-bye! ARMINE Bye, bye, Pop! NON Manock parov! [Good-bye!] ARMINE Bye, bye, ma! NON You have the food? JOHN, GINYA, and ARMINE It’s here! NON All right. RAFFI It’s spilling! NON You need a rubber band! ARMINE No, no. GINYA Good-bye, Non! RAFFI Good-bye, Papa! NON and POP Good-bye, dear! JOHN Good-bye, good-bye everyone! (They all hug and kiss each other.) Come on, Armine, let’s go! (They break apart.) ARMINE See you Tuesday, Ma! NON Bye, bye. ARMINE Come on, Raffi. NON (She squeezes RAFFI’s cheeks.) Bachigs! [Kisses!] JOHN, ARMINE, RAFFI, and GINYA Bachigs! Bachigs! Bachigs! NON and POP Bachigs! Bachigs! Bachigs! POP I must go inside. ARMINE Bye, Pop. POP Marie! NON What? POP I’m going inside. NON Yes, Vartan, go. Armine! ARMINE What, Ma? POP Come in, Marie. That’s enough. NON Yes, yes. I’m coming. I.O. [Yes.] ARMINE What, Ma? NON (To ARMINE.) Call when you get home. ARMINE Of course. POP Good-bye Annushigus. [Dear one.] ARMINE Bye, Pop. (POP exits.) JOHN Come on, dear! ARMINE Ma, good-bye. Go inside! JOHN Give regards to Sarkis… ARMINE and JOHN …and Va Va. NON Ya. Ok. ARMINE Ma, go! NON Ya. Ya. (NON exits.) ARMINE Where’s Raffi? Raffi! Come on! Time to go! RAFFI Ok, Mom. (RAFFI doesn’t move.) GINYA Look at this bird! RAFFI Mom, can I take my coat off? ARMINE No, no, dear. JOHN Everybody in the car! Let’s go! ARMINE Let me get a rubber band! (NON enters carrying a rubber band.) NON Here’s a rubber band! Why not take the tass kebob? [lamb stew] (JOHN goes in house.) ARMINE Ma, there’s no room. GINYA Nonnie, look at this bird! NON Yavroom [Darling], you can hold the tass kebob. Put it on the floor under your feet. GINYA Between my feet, Non. It’s between my feet. NON What is, darling? ARMINE Raffi! Ok! Come on! Let’s go! GINYA No! Look at the bird. ARMINE Where’s Pop? NON Inside. What bird? GINYA Right there! ARMINE and NON Where? GINYA By the branch there. At the end. See? (JOHN enters carrying a big pot of food.) JOHN Ok! Everybody in the car! ARMINE What’s that? JOHN I took the tass kebob. NON Afarehim! [Excellent!] ARMINE Raffi! RAFFI Ok, Mom. (RAFFI doesn’t move) ARMINE Where’s Pop? NON In the bathroom. ARMINE I want to say good-bye. JOHN Armine! You said good-bye! GINYA Dad, don’t start the car. JOHN Why not? GINYA Come look at this bird. NON A cutie-pie! JOHN It’s time to go! GINYA (Pointing to bird) Look, Dad! ARMINE (ARMINE enters, carrying a tray of baklava.) I think Pop is locked in the bathroom. JOHN Oh, Jesus! ARMINE You talk to him, dear. JOHN Tell your mother….Tell your mother to take the goddamn locks off the doors! (JOHN goes into the house. ARMINE follows, still carrying tray of food. RAFFI stays by the bush and takes out a small pad and pen and draws. GINYA watches bird. From the house, we hear:) Vartan! Vartan! It’s John! POP John! JOHN I’m here. You’re locked in the bathroom! POP John! I’m locked in the bathroom! JOHN It’s ok, Pop. POP What do I do? JOHN Put your hand on the lock, Pop. POP Help me! JOHN It’s ok, Pop. GINYA Hi, Pop! It’s Virginia! POP Ginya! I’m locked in here. GINYA It’s ok, Pop. POP What do I do? ARMINE Just relax, Pop. JOHN Turn the knob toward the window. Toward the window! POP Which? ARMINE The window! GINYA The window, Pop. JOHN Not the tub! NON Not the tub, Vartan! POP Marie! Are you there? NON I’m here, Vartan. JOHN Turn in the other direction from the tub! POP Which one? ALL (Including RAFFI) Not the tub! JOHN Pop! Listen to where I’m knocking on the door. Listen, Pop! POP Ok! (Knocking sound.) JOHN Turn toward the sound, Vartan! (Knocking continues.) POP Ok. JOHN That’s it, Pop! ALL Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! NON Afarehim! [Excellent!] ARMINE All right now. (GINYA enters. She goes to tree.) GINYA Bird’s still there. RAFFI Where? GINYA See that white thing? (ARMINE enters still with tray of food.) ARMINE Manock parov, Ma. [Good-bye.] Be careful, Papa. Come on, kids. Raffi, put on your coat on. RAFFI Why? ARMINE It’s better. (NON enters with another tray of food.) NON Don’t forget the kata. [rolls] (JOHN following NON) JOHN Marie, we have no room for any more food. NON On the trunk! GINYA In the trunk, Non. It’s in the trunk. NON What is, darling? JOHN Come on, kids! ARMINE Come on, kids. What are you doing? RAFFI Look at this bird. NON Aman. Shad Annushig! [So sweet!] ARMINE That white bird? RAFFI In the leaves. JOHN What bird? GINYA That’s not a white bird. It’s a little brown bird holding a Kleenex. JOHN A brown bird? ARMINE A Kleenex? GINYA It might be a paper towel. ARMINE Maybe he’s taking it to his kitchen! (Laughs. POP enters. All are looking at the bird.) POP What is it? What are you looking at? ARMINE It’s a bird, Pop! JOHN What’s in his beak? NON, ARMINE, and GINYA Toilet paper. Kleenex. Paper towel. POP What? RAFFI He’s stepping on it! JOHN I think it’s a napkin. POP What, Marie? What is it? Ah see inch chay? [What is it?] NON Ice Turchuna Kleenex oonee! [The little bird has a Kleenex.] POP Turchuna Kleenex? Boh! (Laughs.) RAFFI He keeps stepping on it. ARMINE I bet he’s taking it to that nest under the eaves. RAFFI I feel sorry for the bird. NON Yavroom, it’s good! He’s doing his work! GINYA He’s bringing home a big white Kleenex for his family! POP Good for him! (They all watch the bird fly over their heads.) ALL Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ARMINE He’s under the eaves! GINYA Oh no! It ripped! RAFFI It ripped? ARMINE No, no, it’s all right! Now he has a more manageable piece in his mouth. RAFFI Why is he just standing there? JOHN He’s waiting for us to leave! POP Ok! Let’s go! JOHN That’s right! Let’s go! (They come together again, and hug, and kiss good-bye. They break apart when POP says:) POP Good-bye! RAFFI and ARMINE Bye, Pop! (RAFFI goes to a bush and sits.) ARMINE Bye, Ma. Don’t forget, on Tuesday, we go to the podiatrist. NON Ya. JOHN Oh! Marie, did you sew my buttons? NON Aman, of course. I’ll get. JOHN I’ll get. NON I’ll get. (NON and JOHN go in the house) POP They went inside! Ginya! GINYA Yes, Pop? POP When do you have your commencement? GINYA In three years, Pop. POP Ah. Are you successful, Ginya? Do you succeed? GINYA In life? POP Boh? (Laughs.) Life! (GINYA laughs too.) Ahhh. (Smiling.) What’s so funny? GINYA Life? POP Boh! (Laughs again.) Ya. ARMINE Pop, are you ok? POP Ya. ARMINE Do you want to go in the house? POP No dear. I’m enjoying my visit. ARMINE Ok. POP Yavroom [dearest], what is your favorite pastime? GINYA I’m a pretty good athlete, Pop. POP Sports? GINYA Yea! POP And you write! GINYA Ani writes. I run. Raffi is the boy. POP Ya, of course. You run, Annushig [sweetie or darling or my love]! Who taught you? GINYA My gym teacher. POP Bravo! GINYA Yea. POP Do they teach the history, Ginya, also, in the school? GINYA No, Pop. POP Shall I come to your school? Shall I speak? GINYA I don’t know, Pop. ARMINE John! Where are you? RAFFI He’s in the house! POP Raffi! There you are! RAFFI Hi, Pop. POP Hi. Are you content, Raffi, with your bush? RAFFI Sure, Pop. POP Afarehim! [Excellent!] ARMINE Raffi? What’s going on? RAFFI Nothing, Ma. POP Ginya! We were speaking. GINYA Yes, Pop? POP Do you know? It is happening again. GINYA What is, Pop? POP The Armenians are starving. Do they tell you this Ginya? Do you know? What is you age? GINYA Fifteen. ARMINE Ginya, where’s your father? GINYA In the house. I’m fifteen, Pop. POP Armenia, Ginya, has one railroad. It goes through the country from the north. Do you know which country? ARMINE John! Come on! GINYA Turkey? POP Turkey? No. Georgia, Ginya, has the railroad that brings the supplies from the sea towns to Armenia. ARMINE Where’s Raffi? POP It is stopped. It is dismantled. The country is starving. GINYA He’s by the bush, Ma. POP Aman…We are dying. GINYA Yes, Pop. ARMINE Ginya! Get your father! POP Where’s Ani? GINYA She’ll be home soon. (GINYA goes into house.) POP What do you draw, Raffi, in your pictures? RAFFI Um. Aliens. POP Aliens? RAFFI Yea. (Gives POP picture.) POP So this is what they look like! RAFFI Yea! POP I see. Raffi, do you ever draw a landscape? RAFFI You mean a picture of some land? POP Ya, some land. Perhaps also with a mountain? RAFFI Well, not usually. POP Perhaps, Mt. Ararat, Raffi. The mountain in Armenia where… RAFFI and POP Noah’s Ark landed. POP Boh! (Laughs.) Ya. Aman. RAFFI I’ll draw it, Pop. POP Bravo! ARMINE John! (JOHN enters. NON follows carrying pressed pants on a hanger. GINYA follows NON. They cross to the car.) JOHN I’m here! POP Marie! Where is Ani? NON Ginya, tell Pop. GINYA She’s in Nevada. The desert. POP Why didn’t she come today? Marie, shouldn’t she come today? RAFFI She can’t, Pop. She’s in jail. POP She was arrested? ARMINE She’s all right. She’s in jail with two nuns. POP Why? ARMINE They prayed on the test site. POP Marie, what is it? NON Aneen Nevada Ah nuclear bombs see head-day. [Ani is in Nevada with nuclear bombs.] POP Aman, Marie! NON She’s all right, Vartan. ARMINE Ma! Did you sew John’s pants? NON I did. I gave. JOHN I have. They’re here. ARMINE Ok. JOHN Let’s go. POP Marie, should we write a letter? Should we write a letter to the jail? NON Armine, talk to Pop. ARMINE Pop, she’ll be home soon. POP I’ll write. ARMINE Ok, Pop. POP Marie, I’ll write. NON All right, dear. JOHN Ok! I’m counting! NON Counting what, dear? JOHN Minutes! NON Aman! The grape leaves! ARMINE We don’t have time, Ma. NON Ginya, you go pick some grape leaves in the back for your mother. Vartan, you help her. POP Did you give Ani the book, Marie? NON What book, dear? POP My book. NON She has them, Vartan. She has them. POP My last book, Marie! GINYA Papa, let’s go. NON All right, dear, I’ll give it. POP Marie, she should be here. NON I know, dear. GINYA Pop, let’s pick the grape leaves. POP We are landlocked. We have no port. NON Vartan, what are you saying? POP The conditions, Marie. The conditions. NON Yes, dear. It’s true. Are you tired? POP I am not. NON Ok…Go on, Vartan. POP Marie, one minute! Just one minute! NON Yes, dear. What is it? POP Where is my photograph? Have I asked you this, Marie? The photo, with my father. At the church. In the frame. Where is it? NON The wire has broken, Vartan. It is being repaired. POP Ok!...Marie… NON Yes, dear? POP We must make a gift to Ani, when she returns. She should have that photograph. The photo and the book. NON All right, Vartan. We’ll give them to her. POP Make sure. NON Yes, dear, of course. POP All right. GINYA Come on, Pop. POP You don’t go outside after dark, do you Ginya? GINYA No, Pop. (POP and GINYA exit. ARMINE heads for house.) JOHN Armine! Where are you going? ARMINE Bathroom! JOHN Let’s go, Raffi! NON John, Louise is having heart pains. JOHN I know, Marie. NON Yavroom [dearest], she’s your sister. JOHN Don’t ask me, Marie. NON She wants you to listen to her chest. JOHN I have listened to her chest, Marie. Let’s go, Armine! NON She’s not sleeping well, dear. JOHN That’s not new, Marie. (ARMINE enters.) ARMINE Is your sister coming? NON She wants him to listen to her chest. (RAFFI has walked up and joined them.) ARMINE What do you need, dear? RAFFI Nothing. ARMINE Ok. We’ll go in a minute. Get in the car. (RAFFI gets in car. GINYA enters with aluminum foiled package.) JOHN Armine! GINYA Papa gave me the rest of the baklava. NON Where are the grape leaves? ARMINE John, please, Louise is having pain. JOHN I don’t have my stethoscope! Do you think I have my stethoscope? NON Armine, never mind, dear. You’re right, John. You go. Raffi! (RAFFI sticks his head out car window.) RAFFI What? NON (Surprised.) Ah! You’re hiding, Annushig [sweetie]! Good-bye, darling! GINYA Non, Pop didn’t want me to pick the grape leaves. NON Ya. Ok. ARMINE The sink! Oh, John, the sink! JOHN Jesus, Armine, Jesus. (He storms into the house. ARMINE and NON follow.) ARMINE He never tells me why he’s upset. (Beat. GINYA and RAFFI get out of car.) RAFFI What sink? GINYA Who knows. (GINYA crosses to bush, takes a piece of toilet paper out of her pocket. She tears the paper into little pieces, making a little pile.) RAFFI When we get home, I want to show you what I found. GINYA Ok. RAFFI But don’t talk about it, Ok? GINYA Ok. RAFFI Don’t tell me things about it. Don’t tell me things. GINYA Ok. Shut-up. (NON enters carrying her light weight porch chair. She sits.) NON What do you study, darling, in your school? GINYA The regular stuff. NON Anything about the Armenians, darling? GINYA Not yet, Non. I’ll tell you when. NON Ok. That’s perfect. GINYA Non, Papa didn’t let me go through the gate to pick the grape leaves. NON Ya. RAFFI He thinks you’ll get your thumb shot off, right, Non? Like his sister? GINYA Was it his sister, Non? NON It was his sister. First they shot her hand when she put it on the fence gate. Then they shot her in the back. RAFFI Oh. GINYA Non, will you move this to the windowsill, if it rains? NON Your little pile? Ya. (JOHN bursts out of house. ARMINE following.) JOHN I can’t fix sinks! Call someone who fixes sinks! Call Ernie Breed! He fixes sinks! ARMINE Ma, I’ll call Ernie Breed. JOHN I can’t fix sinks. LOUISE (Offstage.) John! (Aunt LOUISE runs on. Her husband, GARO, follows. Both in coats.) John! Pleurisy! Irregular pulse, John! JOHN That’s not pleurisy, Louise. LOUISE I have the symptoms, John. GARO (To GINYA) Hello, dear. GINYA Hello, Uncle Garo. JOHN Pleurisy is an inflammation of the lining of the lung, Louise. You don’t have that. LOUISE I think I do, John. JOHN No, you don’t, Louise. Go home. LOUISE Just listen to my lungs. JOHN You couldn’t have run here in fifteen minutes. You couldn’t have run at all. LOUISE I need a shunt. GARO She thinks she needs a shunt. JOHN She doesn’t need a shunt. Her brain is fine. Her heart is fine. Her lungs are fine. LOUISE My hands are swelling. My rings are tight. JOHN I’m going in the house. LOUISE John! (Exiting.) GARO (To ARMINE) How are you dear? ARMINE Busy. LOUISE He never listens to my heart. GARO (To GINYA) How’s my favorite dancing partner? LOUISE Garo, don’t cha-cha! GARO Have you been practicing? GINYA Not really. RAFFI Hi! LOUISE and GARO Hello, Yavroom! [Darling!] GARO Raffi, come watch. We’re going to practice. (GARO sings cha-cha music. GARO and GINYA dance.) ARMINE (To LOUISE) Hello, dear. LOUISE Where’s Ani? NON Nebraska. Arrested on the grave site. ARMINE The test site. NON Test site! Aman [an expletive: good gracious]. LOUISE I thought she was coming today. Didn’t she say she would be here? Didn’t she say she would come for Sunday meal? ARMINE She was delayed. LOUISE Vy Vy Vy. [My, my, my.] RAFFI Mom, can I leave my coat in the car? ARMINE No, no dear. You need it. LOUISE Vartan has been waiting for Ani, you know, Armine. ARMINE Louise, for Pete’s sake, I know, what should I do? LOUISE Tell her, there is disappointment! Tell her, Armine! ARMINE No no no….(JOHN yells from house) JOHN Where’s the annoushabourg? [Pudding?] ARMINE She’ll be home soon. NON Garo, how are you? ARMINE It’s in the fridge, John! GARO Fine, Marie. JOHN I looked in the fridge! Don’t tell me the fridge! LOUISE Oh, my heart. NON (To ARMINE) Maybe it’s in the car. ARMINE No, Ma. John! Look on the counter. GARO Hey! Look at that bird! LOUISE What bird? NON On the little counter, Armine. GARO It’s got a white thing! LOUISE Where is it? ARMINE Look on the little counter! GARO What is that? LOUISE That bird? (JOHN enters.) JOHN Pop is dead. GARO What? NON That’s a nap, dear. He’s napping. JOHN No, Marie. (Armenian music plays. Lights shift and come up on:) SCENE TWO A church. The family sits, in their coats. JOHN is at the pulpit. JOHN …and many of us were baptized by him, married by him, as he stood at this pulpit, in this church. I think of this and I think of the church he built in one night in Casaria. The church he built with his father, in one night, from sundown to sunrise, because the Turkish laws forbid the construction of a Christian house of worship. SCENE THREE NON’s bedroom. Music plays throughout. As “Yerevan” is being played, NON walks into her “bedroom.” ANI picks up her backpack and follows. As the song continues, NON gives ANI several items. Each item is given with the intention of preparing ANI for her journey. First, she gives ANI a babushka, which she puts on ANI’s head. Then NON gives ANI Papa’s book. NON opens it to the first page. Together, they silently read the inscription. Then ANI puts the book in her backpack. Then NON gives ANI a beautiful Persian urn. ANI carefully puts the urn in her backpack. The last thing NON gives ANI is the shawl she is wearing. ANI folds it and places it on top of the urn in her backpack. Next NON takes ANI’s head in her hands, kisses the top of her head, looks at her and then turns away from her. ANI stands a moment in silence. Then ANI exits, carrying her backpack. Lights shift. We hear the sound of planes. SCENE FOUR An airport waiting room. Entire family is gathered with exception of NON. They sit in their coats. ANI is wearing her backpack. She has removed her babushka. They are waiting. LOUISE Ani, do you know about your Great Great Uncle Mugerditch? ANI Uh-huh. RAFFI Great Uncle who? LOUISE Mugerditch! RAFFI Mugerditch? LOUISE Yes! He was knighted by the Sultan in 1790! RAFFI What’s a Sultan? LOUISE A Sultan is a pasha, a monarch. GARO A king. RAFFI Oh. LOUISE Ya. A fat king. JOHN They weren’t all fat. LOUISE Usually, ya, they were all fat. GINYA A fat king knighted our Great Great Uncle Muger-who? LOUISE and GARO Mugerditch! LOUISE I can tell you this story! Somehow, in his village, your Great Great Uncle Mugerditch invented a precious thing! Something he know the Sultan would want for his armies, and perhaps for himself also, this precious thing would be desirable! RAFFI What was it? LOUISE I will tell you. This is the suspense! Sit down. RAFFI Ok. GARO Go on, dear. LOUISE Ya. So, he traveled with a caravan, all the way from his village in the mountains to Constantinople. He traveled by horseback, with his precious invention here, in his breast pocket. GINYA What was it? JOHN Tell them what it was, Louise. LOUISE I’m telling! So, the caravan was attacked! More than once. Their horses were stolen! Their goods were stolen! GARO Everything was stolen! LOUISE Everyting was stolen! But your Great Great Uncle Mugerditch was wily! And he arrived safely in Constantinople! RAFFI Then what? GARO He finds an acquaintance who can introduce him to the Sultan! GINYA How did he do that? LOUISE Through a friend. GINYA A friend of the Sultan’s was a friend of an acquaintance that our Great Great Uncle Mugerditch knew? LOUISE Yes, he was. GARO Distant! A distant friend. You should say, Louise. It was distant. Go on, dear. JOHN Go on, Louise! LOUISE I’m going! So he, your Great Great Uncle Mugerditch, has an audience with the Sultan! And he walks in, wearing his zavalla [pathetic] suit. Nothing in his hands. He bows. GARO A deep bow. LOUISE A deep bow. Then carefully, he removes from his pocket, his precious invention, which had weathered the journey in perfect condition. And with two fingers, he holds it up to the Sultan, so that he could see. What do you think? GINYA and RAFFI What? LOUISE Basterma! GINYA and RAFFI What? LOUISE Basterma! JOHN Beef jerky. LOUISE Ya. GINYA He was knighted for discovering beef jerky? LOUISE Yes, he was! ARMINE The plane’s so late. My goodness. RAFFI What is beef jerky? LOUISE, JOHN, and GARO Dried meat! RAFFI Puke. ANI I thought he carried it in his cummerbund. JOHN That’s correct. LOUISE It was the breast pocket. ARMINE Never mind. GARO I was the cummerbund, because it had the taste of sweat. LOUISE That doesn’t disqualify the breast pocket, Garo. You know that doesn’t disqualify the breast pocket! JOHN You distort your facts! You consistently distort and misconstrue your facts. You misconstrue! You never listen! LOUISE You always say I misconstrue, John! When you took me to the pool and left me there and I almost drowned, you said I misconstrued! JOHN I can’t fight with you. GARO Don’t fight with her. JOHN No one can fight with her. GARO Don’t fight. JOHN She’s blameless. She’s without blame! LOUISE Why should I be to blame? Never mind! Aman! Your daughter’s leaving for Yerevan! Why? No one knows! JOHN It was the cummerbund! He carried the basterma in his maroon cummerbund! Not in his breast pocket! Nor in his more favored magenta-colored cummerbund, because the magenta would attract attention from looters! So, the basterma was tucked in the maroon cummerbund. And the magenta, which he brought in preparation for his audience with the Sultan, was carefully folded and carried in his breast pocket! That’s the story! The basterma was carried in the cummerbund! LOUISE Never mind. JOHN Ani! Why are you going to Yerevan? For Pete’s sake! It is blockaded! There is no fuel! You are alone! ANI I’m not, Dad. I’m with a group bringing supplies. JOHN Where? Where is the group bringing supplies? ANI Dad! I meet their plane in Chicago! ARMINE We’ve been through this, John. She meets their plane in Chicago. JOHN How many? How many in this group? ARMINE, ANI, and GINYA Twenty-two. GARO Twenty-two? LOUISE Ya. JOHN Why did I agree to this? I forget why I agreed to this. ARMINE You agreed. GINYA Cher went. GARO Cher who? LOUISE Cher Cher! GARO Cher Cher? JOHN Cher no last name Cher! ARMINE I was Sarkisian, dear. JOHN Ok! Cher! Cher Sarkisian! Cher Sarkisian went to Armenia! It’s pathetic! ANI Dad, I told you. JOHN Witness! Witness, you said! I want to witness for Papa! This witness notion! Kar khan eh geen! [Turkish swear word.] Cher wants to witness! Her publicist wants Cher to witness! ANI Dad! JOHN Our parents escaped! And you want to witness! Es shag! [Turkish swear word.] ARMINE John! JOHN My Father! My Father, the only doctor of his village… ARMINE John! JOHN Was forced to serve in the Turkish army… JOHN and ANI With no shoes!!! JOHN That’s right! ANI I know! RAFFI Why didn’t he wear shoes? JOHN He was forced, every day…every day, he was forced to administer care to the Turkish soldiers, who would return to camp, after a day… ARMINE John!!! JOHN Of killing Armenians! (To RAFFI.) So he couldn’t run away. RAFFI Oh. GINYA Oh. RAFFI Did he have a horse? JOHN Armenia is dangerous, Ani. It’s uncomfortable. GARO (To RAFFI) He didn’t have a horse. ARMINE She’s used to that, John. She’s been to jail, John. JOHN Jail! Aman! For what? Three days? She sang songs with nuns! She slept in a heated room! She ate cooked food! Armenia is cold! The people there want to come here! ARMINE Shut-up, dear. LOUISE Good for you, Armine! GARO Shut-up dear. JOHN Bravo, Garo! Does she do it? When you ask her to shut-up, Garo? Does she? GARO Never mind. LOUISE Aman! RAFFI I liked your story Aunt Louise. LOUISE Thank you, Annushig! [dear] ANI You agreed, Dad. You can change your mind and take back the money that I am borrowing, if you want. But I’ll go eventually, Dad. JOHN Ani, you don’t even speak Armenian! You think you understand it, Ani, but you don’t. You think you speak Armenian, Ani, but you don’t. You don’t speak Armenian! You don’t understand Armenian! ANI I know I don’t! I don’t know I don’t know how to speak Armenian! How was I supposed to learn it? I could never hear it! The only time you spoke Armenian in the house was when you and Mom told secrets. You whisper in Armenian! You yell in English! And you curse in Turkish! ARMINE You’re yelling in the airport, dear. ANI Yes, Mom, I’m yelling in the airport! We’re all yelling in the airport! We all yell everywhere! We are yellers! We yell! And what are we yelling about? Cummerbunds and basterma! ARMINE Sit down, dear. ANI (Sits down, then stands up) Dad! JOHN We don’t all yell! Your mother doesn’t yell. ARMINE Sometimes I do, John. JOHN When, Armine? ARMINE In the evening, John. JOHN No dear. You don’t yell, dear. In fact, you get quieter. GINYA There’s no room for her to yell. JOHN What? ARMINE Never mind! Aman. LOUISE Ginya’s right! ARMINE Shhhhhhhhh, Louise. JOHN What were we talking about? ANI Me! We were talking about me! ARMINE Yes, we were. You speak Ani. ANI Dad! My friends, Dad, my friends don’t even know were Armenia is. They think… JOHN Ani… ARMINE Please let her speak, John. ANI You have taught me, Dad. Papa taught me. 1915! JOHN Yes. ANI Over one million Armenians were killed. JOHN That’s right. ANI And to this day, the history books make no mention—not one word of the genocide! JOHN And to this day, Ani, Armenia has no allies! It is unprotected. ANI Because no one has witnessed! JOHN Aman. ANI I have to go to Armenia, Dad. I have to go so I can see things and write things. And then send the things I write to newspapers. I want to yell things in newspapers! I want to yell things in newspapers! LOUISE What is she saying, Garo? GARO She wants to yell things, dear. GINYA She did it in Nevada. JOHN What? ARMINE Yes, John! GINYA Remember? Remember that story? ARMINE In the newspaper! GINYA Yea! ARMINE They got attention! In Nevada! RAFFI Yea! ARMINE It was important, John. RAFFI and GINYA Yea! JOHN Aman. GARO Bravo, Ani! LOUISE What, Garo? GARO I am moved. JOHN Garo! You are moved! I am worried! GARO I understand, of course. JOHN For Pete’s sake! GARO Of course. Of course. ANI Dad…Please. JOHN Ani. Do you understand…we…I…am frightened. GARO Now, it’s said. ANI I know, Dad. Your family escaped. And you’ll never go back. But I can go, Dad. I am ready! …Mom? …Mom? ARMINE She can go, dear. We cannot. But she…believes she can. ANI I know I can! Look at me! JOHN What will you do there? ARMINE She will help. JOHN How, Armine? ARMINE In her way, John. JOHN Aman… ANI Dad. JOHN (Takes candles from his coat pocket.) You’ll need candles, Ani. You must take some candles. Here. ANI Thank you. JOHN Keep them for yourself. LOUISE Armine, did you give her food to eat on the plane? ARMINE Of course. GINYA Basterma? ARMINE No, no. Too much garlic. GARO (Handing ANI a small box.) Here, Ani. I made this. A gift. It’s nothing. A small thing. (She opens a box, it’s a ring. She puts it on.) ANI Thank you, Uncle Garo. GARO Good-bye, dear. LOUISE I brought you some cheese boeregg [turnovers], darling. RAFFI I got you some Blow Pops, Ani. GARO When you come back, Ani, we’ll yell our heads off! (He starts to dance.) Bravo! Bravo! Louise. Garo! Aman! (Flight announcement.) GINYA It’s time to go, Ani. Here, I bought you a pen. ANI It’s pretty. Thanks, Gin. GINYA Bye, Ani. Bye, bye. ARMINE Kehzee guh serum, Ani…[I love you.] ANI Mom… ARMINE I know, darling. LOUISE Bachigs, Yavroom. [Kisses, dear.] (LOUISE crosses to ANI and ARMINE. Hugs. Then GARO, RAFFI, and GINYA join hug.) GARO Good-bye, Ani. (Hug breaks up. ANI looks at her father. She goes to him. They hug. Then ANI begins to leave.) LOUISE Take the boeregg! (ANI stops, Louise hands her the little shopping bag containing boeregg.) ANI Raffi! RAFFI Yea? ANI Thanks! (Holds up the Blow Pops.) RAFFI Cool. ANI Bye bye. (They all raise their hands to wave a still wave. Lights shift.) So, they built all through the night: an altar, twelve benches, three and one half walls. Then the sun rose. And they stopped building. But the people came. Even through the winters, people came. And he preached to them. Remarkable. (Beat.) I have a picture. (Beat.) I’ll show you. (Bows his head.) Asht-vatz-hogeen Los Ah Vor reh. [May God illuminate his soul.] (Beat.) Ani. (JOHN steps down.) ANI (Ani goes to the pulpit carrying a piece of paper.): My Grandfather. Papa. My Papa. The Minister from Armenia. Told stories. When I was young enough to sit on my Papa’s knee, I would lean my head against his vest, and he would say: “Which, Ani, my Annushig, which story?” And together, we would choose: The: Noah’s-Ark-Landing-on-Mt.-Ararat-Story, Or: The Margaret-Mead-and-her-Armenian-Son-in-Law-Story! Or: The Meshrop-the-Great-Who-Invented-the-Armenian-Alphabet-in-400-A.D.-which-I-could-never-figure-out-when-that-was-Story. Or: The-Good-Turk-in-Istambul-Story. The Good Turk who sat on his porch with his chair and his gun. And when the Turkish soldiers came with their orders to: “Kill All the Armenians!” The Good Turk said: “These people are my neighbors. I love them.” And the soldiers moved on. Papa told stories. Papa wrote sermons. Papa wrote letters. Non told me that during World War Two, Papa wrote to every Armenian soldier. Every one. More than once. Our Papa. Who babysat on Sunday evenings and polished the copper bottoms of the pots and pans while we watched television. And before bed, he would sit with us on the front steps, stirring honey into his coffee, clinking, clinking. Papa. The Minister from Armenia. Our Papa, who wrote fifteen books on Armenian history, on his Armenian typewriter, which I now have in my room. Papa tried to tell us about the history. The massacres. But we resisted. So he waited. He waited to tell his American grandchildren in American schools, playing on teams in American sports. I knew he was waiting and I didn’t want to hear. My friends don’t know about the Armenians. Pam Hansen didn’t know that my grandfather’s family was forced to walk across a desert without food or water, until they dropped dead. My American friends who became more important to me than school. Or grades. Or Papa. And now, again the Armenians are starving. And no one knows. I want to go to Armenia. I have to go. I want to witness. For Papa. I am going to Armenia. RAFFI Wow! LOUISE and GARO Shhhhhhhhhhhhh! JOHN She can’t do that. ARMINE John! NON Shhhhhhhhhhh! (Lights shift. Armenian music, “Yerevan” plays)