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Bd\u00e9wi also gave us a lesson in voice acting. She taught us the basics of scriptwork, which involves using the script (and a bit of imagination) to answer questions about characters, such as:\u00a0Who am I? Who am I speaking to? What do I want?<\/i>\u00a0As someone interested in creative writing, I noticed a bit of overlap between these different art forms. A voice actor asks these questions so they can embody the character with their voice, and a creative writer asks the same questions so they can embody the character through their writing. The scriptwriter puts the answers to these character questions in the writing, and the voice actor finds them and brings them to life.<\/p>\n
Then we moved on to actual performance. Bd\u00e9wi handed out scripts for short scenes. Each pair or group of three worked together to answer character questions, develop backstories and choose an active intention behind each spoken line. We practiced on Friday, and on Sunday morning, the library became our stage as we brought our scenes to life. Some groups ended up having completely different performances based on their interpretations of the same script. While the performances were a lot of fun, Bd\u00e9wi made it clear that the skills we practiced are useful to more than just actors. Knowing how to convey emotion and intention through tone, confidently project to an audience and improvise off of another\u2019s energy are all important for public speaking, networking and everyday socializing.<\/p>\n
The next session focused on the rising power of technology. On Friday afternoon, Vatche Isahagian, a senior research scientist at IBM Research, presented on artificial intelligence (AI). The controversy around AI has increased with the emergence of generative AI that creates text, images or even video with only a prompt.<\/p>\n Isahagian walked us through the training process for ChatGPT, a type of generative AI. The model predicts what word comes next in a sentence, a human trainer marks it as correct or incorrect, and the model makes a connection. ChatGPT-4 passed the U.S. bar exam and medical license exam (super impressive!) but somehow only got a 2 (out of 5) on the AP English Language exam \u2014 frankly embarrassing for a language model. You had one job, GPT!<\/p>\n The emergence of AI creates a host of problems, such as hallucinating (or when AI says things that are just plain wrong) plagiarism, scams, biases, ethical problems and industry impacts, particularly in the arts.<\/p>\n Well, that all sounds bad. As an aspiring creative writer, the threat to the creative arts makes me nervous. One day, art may be created, not by a human with purpose and passion, but by a robot with lots of guesswork and other people\u2019s data. I want to make art my career so I can dedicate time to it and share it with others. If I lose an opportunity, I want it to go to someone else with the same dreams \u2014 someone who deserves to tell their story, not a model regurgitating whatever will make it a NYT bestseller.<\/p>\n Yet after this presentation, I\u2019ve formed some new opinions on the benefits of generative AI as well. For instance, AI automating jobs can take over tedious work and increase productivity. AI would also create some new jobs, since it needs humans to monitor, train, program and direct it. Finally, accessibility is the true purpose of AI: it helps people do what they otherwise could not. Generative AI can be a beneficial tool to people who have disabilities, are learning a new language or just need some extra help, for example.<\/p>\n I came away from Isahagian\u2019s presentation fascinated by this topic far outside my usual interests. Isahagian\u2019s clear knowledge of and passion for his work were engaging and insightful. He weathered my many questions during the presentation and into dinner, where the discussion continued.<\/p>\n But the day wasn\u2019t over yet! After dinner, we pushed aside the cafeteria tables to clear the floor for our third session, presented by the Hamazkayin Nayiri Dance Ensemble of New Jersey. After an incredible performance of Armenian (and one Greek!) dances, everyone came together in a huge circle to dance together. Ensemble director Barkev Sanossian led us through the steps. This workshop reminded me of what I love most about Armenian dance. Practiced dancers like the Nayiri Ensemble develop the skills to perform with grace and elegance, but most of the traditional dance steps are simple enough that anyone can participate.<\/p>\n The next morning, we met for the fourth workshop. Dr. Roberta Ervine, professor of Armenian Christian Studies at St. Nerses Armenian Seminary, delivered a lecture titled \u201cDoors in Time and Space: Armenian Khach\u2019k\u2019ars and Other Stone Crosses.\u201d She began: \u201cI want to talk about the Armenian fascination with rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n Stonework is a widespread art in Armenia.\u00a0Khachkars\u00a0<\/i>are stones carved with the image of the cross. They can be found leaning against the walls of churches, marking graves, acting as warning signs, commemorating events, standing as a part of a church\u2019s walls or being altars themselves. Spiritually, they are the cross \u2014 there is no separation between the\u00a0khachkar\u00a0<\/i>and what it represents. Through their long history,\u00a0khachkars\u00a0<\/i>became synonymous with the cross, and the cross became the beating heart of Armenian spirituality.<\/p>\n The making of\u00a0khachkars\u00a0<\/i>is a sacred art that reflects the spiritual values of the artist. Common symbols include stairs and doors representing the path to heaven, vines representing unbreakable eternity, the number six representing earth\u2019s days of work and the number eight representing an eighth day beyond earthly time.<\/p>\n Dr. Ervine possesses an astonishing wealth of Armenian cultural and historical knowledge. I would have loved to hear any related stories, side tangents or any other depths of history she could discuss. Luckily, I found she has a number of recorded lectures up on YouTube \u2014 I\u2019ll be checking those out, and if this seems interesting, I recommend you do too! Regardless, I\u2019m so grateful that I could learn from her in person about such a sacred art in our culture.<\/p>\n On Saturday afternoon, bestselling author and playwright Chris Bohjalian led a creative writing workshop for our fifth session. He offered industry advice and shared some of his personal process, but the main focus of the workshop was on simply starting to write. He taught us that there are only two things you need to know before you start writing: a narrator (first or third person, or second person with good reason) and a tense (present or past). Once you pick a narrator and a tense \u2014 each comes with its own benefits and drawbacks, so choose wisely \u2014 you can start putting the words down, and the rest will come.<\/p>\n Beforehand I had figured this session would be my favorite workshop, and I was unsurprised to be right. As creative writing is my passion, Bohjalian\u2019s workshop was the most interesting to me and relevant to my future work. My biggest struggle in writing is getting started, so I took a lot away from Bohjalian\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n As Sunday morning spilled into afternoon, program director Khatchig Mouradian gave his closing remarks. \u201cThank you all for being part of this program \u2014 it was wonderful,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was one of our best groups. I already have a couple of ideas about who\u2019s going to follow Liana as workshop leaders in the next couple years from this crowd. For me it has been also extremely enriching just thinking about the four or five workshops we had, the interactions we had with the speakers, and how inspirational it all was.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamazkayin Central Board representative at ArtLinks Viken Tufenkjian gave the last words of the weekend, with which I wholeheartedly agree. \u201cI would like to state, on behalf of all of you, that Khatchig did an exceptional job this year,\u201d he said. \u201cPersonally, I especially like the balance he struck between the cultural and the almost scientific \u2014 the AI, the creative writing and where they cross. So once again, thank you Khatchig, for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n I loved the opportunity ArtLinks provided for me to learn about many subjects directly from experts. However, equally impactful was the time I spent making friends and sharing in Armenian culture. I don\u2019t often have the opportunity to meet other Armenian creatives around my age. At ArtLinks, I did, but I was also shown just how little of my own culture I know. I don\u2019t speak any Armenian, I didn\u2019t know the songs everyone sang together late one night, and I was a useless team member for the Armenian trivia game. But I never felt less-than for this. Everyone around me was accepting: translating for me, teaching me some basic Armenian, and switching to English when they realized I couldn\u2019t understand. I wasn\u2019t used to being part of a tight-knit community like this, but when we were all together that weekend, I felt at home.<\/p>\n Thanks so much to the organizers\u00a0and fellow participants I had the honor of spending time with this year. You\u2019ve made this weekend one I\u2019ll remember my entire life. I hope to see you all at ArtLinks next summer!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/armenianweekly.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_1574-scaled.jpg\")
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