Kasbar Ipegian (b. 1883 - d. 1952) was a

Lebanese Armenian Armenians have lived in Lebanon for centuries. According to Minority Rights Group International, there are 156,000 Armenians in Lebanon, around 4% of the population. Prior to the Lebanese Civil War, the number was higher, but the community lost a ...

and one of the most important figures of Armenian theater. Ipegian was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

by profession; he had studied at the Sorbonne in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and had a talent for learning

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. Rather than pursue the practice of

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, he became involved with shaping Armenian theater in

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

communities around in the world including

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and

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. Not long after

Hamazkayin The Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society () is a major cultural organization of the Armenian Diaspora. In addition to organizing cultural events in local Armenian communities, Hamazkayin runs three schools; publishes books throug ...

was first established in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Ipegian directed the

Levon Shant Levon Shant (; born Levon Nahashbedian, then changed to Levon Seghposian; 6 April 1869 – 29 November 1951) was an Armenian playwright, novelist, poet and founder of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society. Biography He was ...

play ''Oshin Bail'' and personally wrote the script for ''Ara and Shamiram''. He became chairman of the Beirut Committee of Hamazkayin; in 1941, during his tenure as chairman, Ipegian created the Hamazkayin Theater Association, which put on plays by Shant. Papken Papazian was involved in the Association's 1943 production called ''Bebeks'' (My baby). Ipegian died in 1952. The Hamazkayin Theater Association was renamed the Hamazkayin Kasbar Ipegian Theater Company in his honor.

References

Lebanese people of Armenian descent Cultural history of Armenia Armenian theatre people 1883 births 1952 deaths University of Paris alumni {{Armenia-bio-stub