Kirstyn Trombetta, Shawn Thomsen, Picture by Denise De Guzman
WHAT: #iambadatthis by Susan Soon He Stanton
WHERE: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant Street
WHEN: May 26 – June 26, 2016
COST: $5-$20; Ticket information below
INFO: 536-4441, kumukahua.org
HONOLULU, HI— The final show of the 45th season at Kumu Kahua Theatre is a comedy by Susan Soon He Stanton:#iambadatthis. As the name implies, this show embraces current trends in communication, and the fall-out of those trends.
Returning home after trying to make it in New York, Emily tries to re-start her life in Hawai‘i. Connected to the world through every electronic luxury, her un-plugged fantasy life bars her from a reality that might offer her a deeper sense of relationship and humanity.
Despite her daily communication with her parents, when she comes face-to-face with them, she realizes that she doesn’t really know more than the façade she’s created in her mind. After receiving one of the best educations available to an American woman, she invests her time in a wide but shallow pool of endeavor… accomplishing nothing.
Written in a unique style reflective of our current trends of social behavior, this play could very well define a generation.
“A fundamental problem for people living in a digital age is that people and digital artifacts are different sorts of things” says playwright Susan Soon He Stanton. “We struggle to understand and use our mobile phones, tablets, and computers that are, they tell us, constantly being upgraded. These devices have an impact on our lives and affect the way we communicate (or fail to communicate). #Iambadatthis is an examination of community, the way communities are formed and maintained within the fabric of a shifting digital world, yet I believe people and their fundamental human needs have not changed. Our needs for connection and love, which are now often communicated through pieces of technology still dominate what we do and who we are. This is a modern play about living in Hawai‘i, and I am grateful to Harry Wong III and our incredible cast for bringing this story to life.”
The show is directed by Kumu Kahua Theatre Artistic Director, Harry Wong III and the cast includes Kirstyn Trombetta of Pearl City, Brandon Hagio of Mililani, Shawn Thomsen of ‘Aiea, Daniel A. Kelin II and Christina Torres of Honolulu.
Daniel A. Kelin II is the Education Director of Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Shawn Thomsen is a season regular on Hawai‘i 5-0.
Tickets for performances can be purchased with a credit card by calling 536-4441, or by visiting the box office at 46 Merchant Street (corner of Bethel and Merchant Streets, downtown) between 11am and 3pm Monday through Friday. Tickets can also be purchased at KumuKahua.org.
Ticket prices are $5-$20.
Kumu Kahua productions are supported in part by The Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and Arts through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i and by the National Endowment for the Arts. Also paid for in part The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, The Hawai‘i Community Foundation, McInerny Foundation (Bank of Hawai‘i, Trustee); Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) Charitable Foundation, The Atherton Foundation and Hawaiian Electric Company; The Star-Advertiser and other foundations, businesses and patrons.
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