Anelga Hajjar brings spotlight to armenian culture in selected play
Anelga Hajjar is the epitome of an emerging artist. As a student at Northwestern University, her play, Janitor’s Baby, has been chosen to be showcased as part of The Next Step Project, a collaboration between Northwestern University and BoHo Theatre. On the surface the fact that her work is already being developed by a Chicago theatre is a win, but what is most impressive is the passion, intellect and perspective she brings to her characters and the story they have to tell.
Hajjar uses humor, music, and more to highlight connecting to a culture’s painful past and familial bonds in he breakout play. Find out more about what inspired this play, how Hajjar turned pain to healing, and what she has learned already from the plays development during The Next Step Project.
Q. What was the process like to have your play, Janitor’s Baby, chosen to be a part of The Next Step Project with Northwestern University and BoHo Theatre?
A. Janitor’s Baby was selected in 2021 to be part of Northwestern’s Agnes Nixon Festival. After its virtual reading in May of that year, Laura Schellhardt, the head of the playwriting program, contacted me to say that she thought Janitor’s Baby was ready to have another reading at Boho Theatre. She picks one playwright or play a year to participate in The Next Step Project, and I was honored that she chose Janitor’s Baby to continue its development in a Chicago theatre with age-appropriate actors. I said yes, and here we are!
Q. Your play tackles adoption, tradition, culture, and identity, what was the spark that began the writing of this play?
A. I wrote this play in the comfort of my bedroom in the fall of 2020 when I was taking college classes on Zoom. There was a war unraveling in Armenia, and in both the isolation that came with the pandemic and the community that came with being a diaspora fighting for awareness, I started to reflect on what Armenianness meant to me. At the time, being a good Armenian came with a lot of heartbreak. It meant sending aid to our outnumbered soldiers. It meant shouting into a void by soliciting politicians to recognize the war crimes, attempts at ethnic cleansing, and censorship that were being committed against us by Azerbaijan. Eventually, at the end of the war, it meant mourning over 1,000 casualties and the loss of sacred land that was conceded to the oppressors who authorized our genocide 100 years ago. I wanted to give the burden of these cultural obligations to someone else. And so the character of Molly McMannon was born: a character who discovers Armenianness as a source of healing and not pain. At the end of the day, this story is about a woman who is trying to heal her relationship with her daughter, her relationship to success, and her relationship to motherhood. While Armenianness gives her the intense curriculum, sense of purpose, and the community she’s seeking, it’s ultimately the deeper cuts of the culture that forces her to reflect upon herself and the choices she’s made.
Q. Janitor’s Baby sounds like it’s a very serious play, yet you have roots in comedy and improv. Is Janitor’s Baby a departure from this work, or are these topics taken on with a comedic flare?
A. All of my work is imbued with comedy. I believe the only way you can open an audience up to reflect and receive harsh truths is by offering them laughter alongside it. My art is focused on exploring the tension that comes with the hyphenated American experience and womanhood, and since comedy thrives on contradiction, I always knew this story had to be told with humor, chaos, and music.
Q. Why was it important for you to tell this story now?
A. Unfortunately, unprovoked attacks on Armenian territory have not ceased since the war in 2020, and Azerbaijan's military aggression continues to escalate on Armenian borders. As our survival as a country feels more vulnerable than ever, this play is my way of raising awareness for the current troubles facing my people. It’s also my love letter to Armenians everywhere to celebrate our strength as we continue the fight for our existence. In the words of novelist William Saroyan, “Go ahead, destroy Armenia. See if you can do it… For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a new Armenia.”
Q. What has been the most thought provoking, beneficial, or surprising moment while being a part of The Next Step Project and seeing your play on stage?
A. I had never heard this play spoken out loud in person throughout the two years that I was writing it. When I finally got to listen to bodies in the space recite the words this past February, I realized how crucial it was that all three women gained resolution by the end of the Ted Talk. I was so focused on Molly’s emotional arc that I often treated the other two characters as pillars that buttressed her story, but after the reading, I discovered how invested we are in all three of these women getting closure. They each have something to learn from each other, and it’s only through their acceptance and validation of each other, not the audience’s, that this Ted Talk can conclude.
Audiences will get a chance to see Hajjar’s Janitor’s Baby on May 8 at The Edge Theatre at 7:30 PM. For more information and tickets (suggested donation), click here.
