Marie Rose Abousefian () is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

actress, writer, researcher, columnist, poet and stage director who has investigated historical literature, poetry and prose, portraying human tragedy and the Armenian genocide. She is also involved in researching the topics of national identity, human rights, women's rights and the rights of the Armenian people.

Career

Abousefian studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts of Armenia. She began working at the Arshaluys Theatre as a leading actress and later joined the Yerevan Dramatic Theatre (now known as the

Hrachya Ghaplanyan Drama Theatre Hrachya Ghaplanyan Drama Theatre () is a municipal theatre founded in 1967 by Hrachya Ghaplanyan. It is located in the Kentron district of Yerevan, on 28 Isahakyan Street. The theatre has toured Russia, the United States, Georgia, Bulgaria, ...

). During this time, she took on numerous roles in television, radio, and literary and theatrical shows filmed by Hayfilm. In 1983, she emigrated to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, where she continued her career in acting. Here, she began her "One Woman" performances (acting as different characters, producing the lighting, set design, music and script). In the meantime, she formed the "Saroyan Theatre" of

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 ...

, San Francisco, where she volunteered as a producer for five years. Her career in performing arts, film and theatre includes roles as a playwright, director and actress. She has written, produced and published many audio recordings, including dramatisations of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

and the lives of writers, musicians and historical figures. Her "One Woman" dramatic performances have toured numerous cities across

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Abousefian's literary works appear in publications in Armenia and throughout the

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. ...

. She frequently writes newspaper articles for

Asbarez ''Asbarez'' ( "Arena") is an Armenian-American bilingual daily newspaper published in Armenian and English in Los Angeles, California. It was the official newspaper Armenian Revolutionary Federation newspaper for the Western United States un ...

, Aztag,

Azat Or ''Azat Or'' (Ազատ Օր in Armenian) is an Armenian language daily newspaper published in Athens, Greece. It is an organ of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. See also * Mass media in Greece References

Daily newspapers published ...

Hairenik ''Hairenik'' ( meaning "fatherland") is an Armenian language weekly newspaper published by the Hairenik Association in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper belongs to the Armenian political party – Armenian Revolutionary F ...

and

Horizon Weekly ''Horizon Weekly'' (Հորիզոն in Armenian) is an Armenian Canadian newspaper publication and is the official political newspaper of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)'s Canadian Central Committee. History Canada's ''Horizon'' A ...

. She was awarded the Commemorative Gold Medal of Honour by the Ministry of Culture of Armenia in 2010. In 2013, she was conferred a Doctorate in Literature and Philosophy (Ph.D) by the M. Abeghyan Institute of Literature of the

Armenian National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri azgayin akademia'') is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activ ...

. Her doctoral thesis was on the ''Hundred and One Year Trilogy and The Pierced Pot'', novels by the 20th century Armenian writer,

Hagop Oshagan Hagop Oshagan (; December 9, 1883, in Soloz, Bursa – February 17, 1948, in Aleppo), was an Armenian writer, playwright, and novelist. Among his many novels are the trilogy ''To One Hundred and One Years'' (Հարիւր մէկ տարուան), '' ...

. Her supervisor was Professor Sergey Sarinyan. Abousefian is a member of the International Congress of Armenia. She is also a member of the Ararat International Academy of Sciences (AIAS) in Paris, France. In 2015, the AIAS awarded her the 100th Anniversary Medal of the Armenian Genocide. Representing the AIAS, she attends annual World Scientific Congresses 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 ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 2017, she was given the title of "Professor of International Relations and Diplomacy" by the International University of Fundamental Studies (IUFS) in Moscow, Russia.

Works

Filmography

Abousefian has featured in various Armenian films, acting alongside many well-known actors including Frunzik Mkrtchyan,

Avet Avetisyan Avet Markosi Avetisyan (March 29, 1971, born Voskanyan) was a Soviet Union, Soviet Armenians, Armenian film actor. Biography In 1905, Avetisyan was accepted to the Nersisian School, where he participated in school plays. Before leaving for the ...

Sofiko Chiaureli Sophia Chiaureli ( ka, სოფიკო ჭიაურელი; 21 May 1937 – 2 March 2008), professionally known as Sofiko Chiaureli, was a Soviet Georgian actress. Thought to be the muse of filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, she played a si ...

, Varduhi Varderesyan,

Vladimir Msryan Vladimir Ivanovich Msryan (; ; 12 March 1938 – 24 August 2010) was an Armenian stage and film actor. Msryan was born in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania. From 1958–62, he studied drama at the Yerevan Fine Arts and Theater Institute. He perf ...

and Verjaluys Mirijanyan. *''Morgan's Relative / Մորգանի խնամին'' (1970) *''Blonde Plane / Շեկ Ինքնաթիռ'' (1975) *''Arevik'' (1978) *'' Oh, Gevorg'' / Օ՜, Գևորգ (1979) *'' A Piece of Sky / Կտոր մը երկինք'' (1980)

Performances

All stage performances are adapted from original texts to plays by Abousefian. Among her works are: *''Ever-Tolling Bell'' ''Tower'' -

Paruyr Sevak Paruyr Sevak (; January 24, 1924 – June 17, 1971) was an Armenians, Armenian poet, translator and literary critic. He is considered one of the greatest Armenian poets of the 20th century. Biography Sevak was born Paruyr Ghazaryan () in the vi ...

*''From Kars to Troy'' - Vardges Petrosyan *''Krikor Zohrab on the Road to Golgotha'' *''Payrur Sevak's Great Love'' *''Remnants -''

*''Rendezvous with Love'' *''The Bride of Dadrakom'' -

Gostan Zarian Constant, or Kostan Zarian (; February 8, 1885 – December 11, 1969) was an Armenians, Armenian writer who produced short lyric poems, long narrative poems of an epic cast, manifestos, essays, travel impressions, criticism, and fiction. The genr ...

*''The Madman'' - Matheos Zarifian *''The Pierced Pot'' -

*''The Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian'' *''The 40 Days of Musa Dagh'' -

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

*''This Evening with

Vahan Terian Vahan Terian (, real name Vahan Ter-Grigoryan; 9 February 1885 – 7 January 1920; Orenburg, Soviet Russia), was a prominent Armenian poet, lyricist, public and political figure. Born in Gandza, Terian attended the Lazarev Seminary in Mosco ...

'' *''Tigran the Great''

Papers

''Reflection of the Armenian Genocide in the works of Hakob Oshagan / Հայոց ցեղասպանության արտացոլումը Հակոբ Օշականի գործերում'' (2013)''Germany's Responsibility in the Armenian Genocide'' (2015)''The Importance of National Identity'' (2016)''The World Needs Peace'' (2019)
ref name=":0">
''Taniel Varoujan: Life, Work and Times'' (2019)''Hagop Oshagan: Short Story Reflections on the Armenian Genocide'' (2022)

Books

* ''With Paths of the Mind and Spirit / Հոգու եւ Մտքի Արահետներով'' (2005) *''Hundred and One Year Trilogy / Հարյուր Մեկ Տարվա Եռերգություն''ը (2011)

References

External links

Marie Rose Abousefian Official Website
*
Marie Rose Abousefian
on Amademia.edu
Marie Rose Abousefian
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abousefian, Marie Rose Armenian actresses Armenian stage actresses Armenian film actresses Soviet film actresses Armenian human rights activists Armenian women's rights activists Syrian people of Armenian descent Writers from Aleppo Entertainers from Aleppo Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Armenian actresses 20th-century Armenian women writers 20th-century Armenian writers 20th-century Armenian poets