Annahis Basmadjian

Class of 2010 Interviewed by Cam Henderson | August 2018

Annahis has taken the path less travelled. No doubt remains in our minds that she is a free spirit and she said as much in her spotlight which follows. She has continued to maintain an academic balance between her study, direction and passion for the arts over the past several years and there are no hints that this is the last stop in her journey. Read on to learn a little bit more about and possibly a little bit from, Annahis:

It’s been nearly 8 years since you graduated from Mulgrave in 2011. Can you walk us through where you’ve been and what led you to where you are right now as the head of Rushed Productions Ltd.?

It certainly has been a long time though it doesn’t at all feel that way! Well, after I graduated from Mulgrave, I was accepted into the Arts Faculty at UBC. There, I explored all manner of making art, from painting to photography to acting to writing. Midway through my second year, I enrolled in Bryan Wade’s “Writing for radio and the stage” and fell utterly and completely in love with playwriting as a whole. So, I applied and was ultimately accepted into UBC Creative Writing program in my third year, and carried forward into my fourth. Over the course of that program, I had a short play stage read (Bookmarkers) and another produced (Fog Lights) at the Brave New Playrites festival, before I graduated in my fourth year with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Creative Writing. Though I sought to pursue a Masters, I decided to take a year off of academia and explore my prefrered field. I was hired by the Commerce Community Program to

manage their yearly Murder Mystery Musical fund raising event, where I wrote, produced and directed a two act Juke Box Musical called “Psychopomp and Circumstance” to raise money for Project Limelight. Following that year, I was accepted to the Masters of Science of Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Because it was a part-time masters, I could remain in Vancouver and continue producing work on the side. I was only able to achieve this arrangement, however, with the extensive support of my family and my community.

Since beginning my Master’s degree, I have produced several more small scripts through local festivals and competitions including the Cold Reading Series’ 4x3 festival (Kidnappees), UBC Players Club’s Festival Dionysia (Hot Pursuit) and the Vancouver Fringe Festival 2017 (A Very Unpleasant Evening at the Rockefeller Rink Sometime Late December...ish.)

Although being part of a festival is exciting, I did always yearn for a little more freedom to take charge and carry things out on my own terms, and so, it was during Fringe Festival that I decided to take production into my own hands and establish a theater company of my own. Rushed Productions Ltd. now stands to open its first large-scale show this November 21st at the Red Gate Revue Stage on Granville Island! This, along with beginning the final year of my Master’s Degree has left me exceptionally busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Are there any memorable moments or lessons from your highschool career that you still carry with you today?

I remember being called quite a few names by Ms. Morgan in English class, mostly in response to my doubting myself and my writing, and I remember quite a bit of theater with Glen Pope. I recall the production of Major Tom where I was floating around on a pitch- black stage with my arms out for an hour and a half, talk about burning triceps! I also recall my part in Cyberlife the Musical as Tammy, the amazingly awkward cool mom’s avatar. I think it was Tammy who ultimately led me to earning the Bard Award, so I suppose the lesson I’ve taken along since then has been to fearlessly and entirely throw myself into what I love (even if it’s a little ridiculous) and learn you can stand to take your work a little more seriously and yourself a little less so.

Who are some notable people that you attribute to the path you have taken? What did they do for you that led you down this road?

Obviously my family supporting me every step of the way and never making me feel as if the path I’d chosen was the “wrong” one, only that I continue forward, being the best I could be. From my time at Mulgrave, definitely Marlena Morgan, Glen Pope, Isobel Willard, Lee Hardy, Mark Pulfer, and Libby Soper. They all thought outside the classroom, pushed our creative, outward thinking, and encouraged us all not to be bogged down nor intimidated by the IB program.

What is Rushed Productions Ltd.?

Rushed Productions Ltd. is my and my father’s independent Theater Company, established in 2016!

What do you hope to accomplish with Rushed Productions aim at giving back to the artistic community?

With Rushed, I hope to bring new, exciting and fresh theatre to Vancouver. Not to say there isn’t already compelling 'high art' around the city, but we are interested in breathing true entertainment back into the community, make a trip to the theatre- above all- fun! As well, Rushed Productions maintains a strict open arms policy. The work environment these days is something of a Catch-22. One cannot earn a position without the necessary experience, and one cannot get the necessary experience without earning a position. So Rushed’s modus operandi is to get foots in doors! Any artist of any caliber is welcome to approach our job postings, auditions, volunteer sessions, or writing rooms! If their resume is bare, all the better for them to surprise us! If you’ve got the talent, you should have a shot!

Ideally, where would you be in 5 years if everything went your way?

Ideally? Well plan A is to become world famous and bring my shows to Broadway, the West End, even the Sydney Opera House. Plan B will have been to receive my PHD and begin teaching Playwriting and Creative Writing in a university setting. Hopefully, I’ll live in a run-down dance studio converted into an open plan apartment above a local theater which I will eventually buy and live in as some sort of phantom. I’ll have a cat.

Is there anything that you would like to share with the Mulgrave community?

Do not be afraid to ask questions, and do not be afraid to make mistakes. It’s a bit cliche', but when you really mess up and then realise you haven’t burst into flames, it’s sort of jarring to figure out what that old statement really means. A wise person is not one who never makes mistakes, but one who doesn’t makes the same mistake twice. This world is full of things that you think you should know, but you’re not going to know, and that’s just where everyone who knows anything about anything starts.

Understand that you may never be the best at what you do, there may always be someone better, harder working, more talented, more privileged, better looking, faster, younger, older, crueler, bolder and sometimes just plain scary, but they could never do what you love the way you do it.

My company abides by three very simple rules:

Tell the truth: If you’re going to be twenty minutes late to rehearsals, don’t tell me you’re five minutes away. It’ll only take me six to realize you’re lying.

Try not to die: If you’re tired, sleep. If you’re starving, eat. And if you need help, tell someone.

And, we’ll figure it out: No use worrying about things going wrong when things in question haven’t happened yet. Worry a little, Prepare, certainly, and if something goes wrong, you’ll deal with it best you can, and if something doesn’t go wrong, well that’s just a pleasant surprise. Be present. Let yourself enjoy the now, it’s always new.