Catherine Bonjukian
CATHERINE HAIG BONJUKIAN is a musician/songwriter and scribe writing screen and theatre plays that have been produced on Broadway and Off-Broadway to acclaimed reviews.
Born on September 23, 1957 in NYC, Cathy was an only child whose parents, Ken (a musical artist) & Helen (a homemaker) Bonjukian encouraged her musical talents along with her maternal grandmother who bought her the first guitar at the age of 13 for a Christmas present. Cathy proceeded to teach herself the instrument and later performed as a solo artist at benefits and school functions around the tri-state NYC area. Her first major endeavor was writing a song that was to be sung and performed at an annual high school function called RING NIGHT where the Junior class received their school rings. Cathy wrote, played and directed the song for the processional during the candlelight event much to the pride and pleasure of her parents, teachers and friends.
As a young adult, Cathy went onto college at Manhattan Borough Community for a year to boost her grades before entering Hunter College in 1976. At BMCC she took music classes with the world renouned Jazz woodwind artist & performer, Professor Yusef Latiff whom whom she learned muscial theory and the phsyics of music. During her college years she became the bass player of a rock band she managed named THE CULPRITS along with fellow armenian american artist & long-time friend, Armen Dokmecjian, guitarist and the band played together for several years around the NY club circuit most notably MAX'S KANSAS CITY and the late GREAT GILDERSLEEVES on the lower east side. It is with this band Cathy wrote many memorable catchy pop tunes that were featured during the bands tenure.
After five years, Cathy left her own band to work with THE BELMONT BROTHERS band, a five piece multi-cultural rock band that also played original tunes and had some industry connections. Meanwhile, during her days, Cathy worked as a freelancer in film, video and television companies working on shows and for companies that helped shape her ideas about writing for the media.
After two years with the Belmont's Cathy moved onto her 4 year stint working in Los Angeles, California with notable executive producers such as Daniel Enright (game show fame of BARRY & ENRIGHT) where she studio managed and worked as a television production coordinator with old and new talented actors, comedians and pop culture icons for game shows; both domestic and for spanish television. She also assisted with several low-budget indie films for little known directors and for Touchstone Pictures on films that never saw the light of day but afforded her the opportunity to work alongside seasoned professionals in the business learning a lot more than just sitting in film school.
Back in NYC, Cathy worked for USA Networks where she assisted the Executive Producer of the network productions department on several cable shows airing as well as the launch of the Sci-Fi Network, which featured an original formatted show called INSIDE SPACE for which she worked as Production Stage Manager for a year of the series run.
She continued to play in rock bands throughout her years at USA and then freelanced with many production companies as a manager including HBO and Showtime cable networks, MTV on several game shows and some non-union low budget features with NYU undergraduate filmmakers who won film festivals for their endeavors. One director/writer, GARO SETIAN who wrote a series of animation films entitled THE BLOG had won for his character a lovable round animated character who helped people in need. Garo resides with his actress wife, Anahid and son, Hunter in Los Angeles, Cali.
In the 1990's Cathy was manager and head writer for two sketch comedy groups that played at the Duplex in NY's Village called DeViant Salad (that featured crazy actor/waiters as sketch actors) and another group OuttaLine that also performed at stages around Manhattan for comedy venues. She is responsible for many funny sketches that are to be featured in a film she is presently writing called SHELF LIFE.
In 2001, Cathy's mom Helen passes away from cancer and Cathy came out to friends and family as a Gay Armenian. Yes...Hovik...there ARE Gay Armenians in the world! Assisted by Henry, the leader of an Armenian Gay organization from the G&L Center in NYC, The HYE Q's, she was able to see that being Gay was not the burden she had felt it would be. Through the Hye Q's she met many wonderful friends that she has to this day including published author/actress/performance artist & English teacher, Nancy Agabian. A year after her mother's passing Cathy meets musician/songwriter, Myqui Patten through Match.com and they begin their lives together as domestic partners (civil partnership in NYC) and musical cohorts (started a futuristic rock band called SOYDOG) and who now reside in Washington, NJ with their two dogs; Samantha & Franky in a single family home with their mustang (car) and a mortgage. Her father, Ken, passed away five years after her mom from prostate cancer that spread to his bone on May 19, 2006.
One of Cathy's plays; VEGAS was performed at the LAMB'S THEATRE in 1998 twice to packed houses and great reviews and was optioned without production a year later for Off-Broadway. Her latest piece called BROKEN follows a man's last hours on earth battling his demons while being hounded by police for spousal abuse, which is being read by several organizations interested in production as well as an Armenian non-profit promoting plays written by armenian artists for a contest.
Cathy continues to write political humor songs about the present republican government and its administration through SOYDOG (site: www.cognitivefungus.com)