Announcing The Return Of The Art Of Preservation
By “Local Girl”/Yale Playwright Susan Soon He Stanton.
HONOLULU, HI: Kumu Kahua Theatre presents, as part of its Dark Night Series, the remount of The Art of Preservation by Susan Soon He Stanton for two consecutive dark nights weekdays, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 8pm, March 29 through April 7, 2009.
When first performed this past summer, The Art of Preservation played to sold-out houses. With Ms. Stanton’s What Ever Happened to John Boy Kihano? also playing on the weekends, you don’t want to miss this unique opportunity to see works by the same playwright, side-by-side.
The show will be performed at Kumu Kahua Theatre, on the corner of Merchant and Bethel Streets. Tickets for The Art of Preservation can be purchased over the phone with a credit card by calling 536-4441, or by visiting the box office between 11am and 3pm Monday through Friday. Tickets are now on sale for $5 a piece. For more information about this and other productions, visit www.KumuKahua.org.
The Art of Preservation revolves around two outsiders, Dado and Desiree, who’ve known each other all their lives in a small town on Kauai, though they have not spoken in years. Desiree, a notoriously difficult librarian at the local public library, works secretly on a project that may unlock an old mystery about the town. Dado, a local boy who never grew up, breaks into the library basement looking to rekindle a romance with his ex-girlfriend, the assistant librarian. He is surprised to find Desiree there instead. After a tropical storm traps them inside the library basement, they finally confront their shared childhood. Together, they struggle to negotiate their futures while honoring their past. When the threat of a flood becomes imminent, Desiree and Dado must decide what's worth saving.
The play features Kumu Kahua veterans Kiana Rivera and Tyler Tanabe, with Troy M. Apostol directing.
Playwright Susan Soon He Stanton was born and raised in Hawai‘i. Her full-length play, Whatever Happened to John Boy Kihano?, winner of Kumu Kahua's playwrighting contest, is running concurrently with this Dark Night. Her plays have been performed in New York, London, California, Connecticut, and Hawai‘i . From the Sloan Foundation she has received a best screenplay award for Rosalind’s Helix and a feature film development grant. She is the literary manager of the New Sounds Theatre in New York City. She has a BFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, has studied theatre in London at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and will complete an MFA in Playwriting at Yale School of Drama in 2010. The Art of Preservation, which has been previously produced by New Theatre in New Haven and Flea Theatre in New York City, was published this year by Broadway Play Publishing.
