Kumu Kahua Theatre Announces The Hawai’i Premiere Of Voices From Okinawa, A New Play By Accomplished Playwright, Jon Shirota
HONOLULU, HI: Kumu Kahua Theatre presents Voices from Okinawa by Jon Shirota. The production will play at Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant Street in downtown Honolulu, from August 21st through September 20th, 2009.
Originally produced last year by the East West Players in Los Angeles, Voices From Okinawa tells the story of Kama Hutchins, an American of Okinawan ancestry who teaches English to local Okinawans. He eschews traditional ESL teaching methods to have his students relate personal stories to the class. As the tales are told, the attitudes of the young students toward the American soldiers stationed on the island, change. (For years, Okinawans have protested the U.S. presence, citing crime, rape and the destruction of Okinawan culture.) From his students, as well as from his shaman great-aunt, Kama learns a great deal about his own cultural heritage. The drama blends with comedy as Kama is compelled to defend his teaching methods to the school principal.
The Los Angeles Times said in January 2008:
“Throughout his life, author and playwright Jon Shirota has been exploring the meaning of identity. The 80-year-old's newest work examines the relationship between U.S. and Okinawan culture in a present-day setting that evokes several parallels with the current war in Iraq.”
The playwright's father left Okinawa in 1907, along with three brothers, and became a pineapple grower on Maui. The brothers eventually returned to Okinawa, but Shirota's family remained.
For more about the playwright, visit http://manoaokinawaissue.wordpress.com/jon-shirota/
Thursday, Friday & Saturday 8pm: November 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28; December 3, 4, 5, 2009
Sundays 2 pm: November 8, 15, 22, 29; December *6, 2009
(No show Thursday, November 26, because of Thanksgiving)
*American Sign Language interpretation available upon request
Reiko Ho will direct the production, with set design by Chesley Cannon; Assistant Director/Stage manager is Katherine Aumer; Lighting Desgin is by Daniel Sakimura; Costumes by Toby Rinaldi; and Choreography by Yukie Shiroma.
The Cast is made up of Kumu veterans: Stu Hirayama, Tyler Tanabe, Julia Nakamoto, Valerie Falle, Daniel Akiyama, and Dann Seki. And Kumu newcomers; Yumi Nakama and Aya Ohara,.
Kumu Kahua Theatre is an air-conditioned, intimate 100-seat performance space; Patrons are strongly advised to purchase tickets in advance as individual performances do sell out. Performances are at 8pm Thursday through Saturday, and at 2pm on Sunday afternoons. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card by calling 536-4441, or by visiting our box office between 11am and 3pm Monday through Friday. Ticket prices range from $5 to $16. Tickets are on sale now. For more information about this and other productions, or to buy tickets online, visit www.KumuKahua.org.
Kumu Kahua productions are being supported by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, celebrating more than thirty years of culture and the arts in Hawai‘i (with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts); the Annenberg Foundation; the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, Mufi Hannemann, Mayor; paid for in part by the taxpayers of the City & County of Honolulu, the Hawai’i State Legislature, and Foundations, Businesses and Patrons.
