Theatrical Actors Protest in Front of the Ministry of Education, Asking: 'Let Them Join the Ministry of Agriculture Instead'

It is an absurd and unprofessional decision that no one close to the arts supports. During a protest in front of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport, Lucine Manukyan, an actress from the State Chamber Music Theater, voiced this opinion while addressing the ministry's controversial decision.

Earlier, it had been reported that the ministry plans to merge the Hakob Paronyan Musical Comedy State Theater and the State Chamber Music Theater, and allocate the latter's building to the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Neither Mr. Dumanyan nor Ara Khzmalyan (acting Minister of Education and Deputy Minister, respectively) has come to our theater to see our repertoire, our performances. Creative people should be left alone. If they valued arts and artists, they would not be shutting down theaters,” Manukyan stated in a conversation with journalists.

Samson Stepanyan, the chief director of the State Chamber Music Theater, who is also among those dissatisfied with the ministry's decision, urged the ministry to focus on its internal unifications. “If financial problems are resolved through the unification of theaters, I suggest they join the Ministry of Agriculture instead; let all ministries merge together. What is their job, excuse me, to sit in offices and make decisions? Let them line up their offices side by side, and the ministers can make decisions next to each other,” Stepanyan expressed in indignation.

According to him, this decision wrongly shifts the issue of the music sector onto the shoulders of the theater sector, which cannot be a correct solution. “This decision was unexpected for us; it was a significant blow. I think it will later become clear who is interested in this decision,” the director added.

Recall that on July 13, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport announced that a draft decision is being prepared to unify the theaters. If the decision is adopted, the building of the State Chamber Music Theater will be handed over to the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra. All three parties affected by the decision have expressed their opposition to the ministry's decision; representatives of both theaters emphasize that it is unacceptable to mix different theatrical atmospheres and, as a result, render many people unemployed, while the orchestra stated that they do not wish to have space “at the expense of others.”