Armenians in Lebanon

===Theater===
{{main|Armenian theater}}
Like other cultural institutions of the Lebanese Armenian community, [[Armenian theater]] suffered during the years of the Lebanese Civil War. Many prominent figures decided to leave Lebanon; Berge Fazlian, founder of the [[Vahram Papazian]] group, was among those who fled during the wartime violence. Though theater experience a decline during the war years, it does not disappear entirely; the groups that remained in Lebanon were able to put on productions that filled the two theraters of Bourj Hammoud.<ref name=migliorino />

Fazlian is considered one of the most important figures in Lebanese theater; his theater projects were covered in Armenian, Arabic and French-language newspapers of the period. Fazlian was born in [[Istanbul]] in 1926; after obtaining his education in [[Turkey]] and directing several plays, a friendly colleague advised him to seek his fortune outside Turkey, imploring Fazlian to "never leave the theater", but also reminding him that an [[Armenians in Turkey|Armenian]] was not likely to land a leading role in Turkey. Fazlian left Istanbul in 1951 and settled in Beirut where he founded the ''Nor Pem'' (“New Stage”) theater group in 1956, Vahram Papazian in 1959, and ''Azad Pem'' (“Free Stage”) in 1971.<ref name=mirror />

Lebanon had only one theater group in Beirut prior to Fazlian's creation of the Vahram Papazian group and that was [[Hamazkayin]]'s [[Kasbar Ipegian]] theater company. Ipegian, who had settled in Beirut in 1930, was one of Hamazkayin's founders. Hamazkayin was the cultural arm of the [[Armenian Revolutionary Federation]] (ARF) or ''Dashnak'' party. The Hamazkayin Theater Association, which Ipegian founded in 1941, performed plays created by [[List of Armenian writers|Armenian writers]] like [[Levon Shant]] and [[Papken Papazian]]. Their self-stated mission was to "reestablish and spread the art of theater in the diaspora". This included enhancing "Armenian theater’s educational role in the preservation of national identity".<ref>{{Cite web| title = Kasbar Ipegian Theater Company| work = Hamazkayin| access-date = 2018-11-21| date = 2013-12-03| url = https://www.hamazkayin.com/en/about-us/kasbar-ipegian-theater-company/}}</ref><ref name=mirror>{{Cite web| title = Tribute: Actor and Director Fazlian Played Important Role in Armenian and Lebanese Theater| work = The Armenian Mirror-Spectator| access-date = 2018-11-21| date = 2016-02-25| url = https://mirrorspectator.com/2016/02/25/tribute-actor-and-director-fazlian-played-important-role-in-armenian-and-lebanese-theater/}}</ref>

Fazlian himself was a [[leftist]] and his group was associated the [[Armenian General Benevolent Union]] (AGBU), while Ipegian's group was associated with Hamazkayin and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). There was a rivalry between the two groups.<ref name=migliorino /> Before Fazlian's group the only plays available were partisan plays presented by members of the ARF and their sympathesizers, who would perform in the Hamazkayin plays. On the other hand, Fazlian's Vahram Papazian group performed a variety of plays that included [[Western Armenian]], [[Eastern Armenian]] and even non-Armenian plays.<ref name=mirror />