Ho‘oilina – Electronic Playbill
Written and Directed by M.F.A. Candidate Ākea Kahikina
Mainstage
2021/2022 Season
April 15-16* & 22, 23*, 24, 2022
FRI/SAT at 7:30pm
SUN at 2:00pm
*Pre-show event at 6:45pm
Department of Theatre + Dance
College of Arts, Languages & Letters
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
ARTISTIC TEAM
Writer/Director: Ākea Kahikina
Assistant Director: Iāsona Kaper
Dramaturge: Kaipulaumakaniolono
Set Design: Kara Nabarrete*
Costume Design: Kaneikoliakawahineika’iukapuomua Baker
Lighting Design: Jonah Bobilin
Sound Design: Rick Greaver
PRODUCTION TEAM
Stage Manager: Kekela Oku-Fernandez
Head Electrician: Rebecca Mahar
First Electrician: Kekela Oku-Fernandez
Electrics Crew: Students of THEA 240 & THEA 345
Light Board Operator: Chris Wells
Sound Board Operator: Clayton Searcy
Scenic and Properties Construction Crew: Michelle A. Bisbee, Yajna Casiano, Sage Enomoto, Justin Fragiao, Kara Nabarrete, Gage Thomas, students from the Scenic Painting course
Stage Crew: Axel Chan, Moku Durant
Props Crew: Kelly Nitta
Costume Construction Crew: Hannah Archer, Kaneikoliakawahineika’iukapuomua Baker, Kayla Crawford, Tuesday Doyle, Jesse Höyhtyä, Lisa Nilsen, Devin Walter, Jade Young
Wardrobe Supervisor: Gia Nguyen
Dresser: Hannah Archer
Faculty Consultants: Haili‘ōpua Baker, Michelle A. Bisbee, Maile Speetjens
CAST
DANNY – Kaʻiminaʻauao Cambern
NOE – Makiʻilei Ishihara
MRS. ELLIS – Kekoaopololū Kealoha
KAIMANA – E. Kalikoaloha Martin Jr.
KALEO – Kaʻōnohiokalāeʻālohilohinei Müller*
LILI-LEI – Lily Hiʻilani Kim-Dela Cruz*
NANE – Joshua “Baba” Kamoaniʻala Tavares*
NICK/KALAE – Gage Thomas*
*In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree
Projected run time is 120 minutes with a 15 minute intermission
Content Advisories: Adult themes and stage combat
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
In ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, a single word can carry multiple meanings. This applies to the show’s title, Hoʻoilina. The word translates to a burying place, an inheritance, and a legacy.
These three separate definitions are weaved together into a whimsical story placed on the hillside of Lēʻahi. In 2019, a Kanaka family mourns the death of their hulu makuahine, Mrs. Ellis, and awaits to inherit her legacy. That year was a time where many of us were challenged to ʻauʻa ʻia, to hold on to our language, culture, and values because of the events surrounding Mauna Kea and our iwi kupuna and ancestral legacies.
It’s also a time where Hawaiian language and cultural revitalization was and still is paramount; the saying “E ola ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi” is commonly seen on apparel, stickers, and social media today. In other words, we are in a time where revitalizing our language and culture is pushed to the front in order for our identities to be seen and validated. This makes me think: what are the things that are pushed back to make room for this need? What happens when we revitalize our language and culture before revitalizing our own people?
This is where Hoʻoilina comes in. It serves as a magnifying glass that examines the ancestral legacy of our language and what happens when we use that legacy to be seen by others. Within the play, some characters are fluent and use their fluency to invalidate others. Some hunger for ‘ōlelo but don’t have the access. And some characters refuse to speak it entirely, as they see ‘ōlelo as hindering or performative in our current Americanized society. We, as Kānaka at the beginning of the 21st-century, have differing inheritances and relationships with our own language, and Hoʻoilina serves to honor and reflect this complex legacy for our future descendants to learn from.
While watching Hoʻoilina, I challenge you to look for each of the meanings of ʻhoʻoilina’ as we familiarize ourselves with the Ellis ʻohana. Where are the iwi kupuna of Mrs. Ellis? What inheritance has she left behind for her ʻohana? How does her legacy live on through each of the characters?
Then, I challenge you to think about your own relationship with the word. Where are your iwi kūpuna buried? What have you inherited from these iwi kūpuna, and what will you leave for your descendants to inherit? What kind of legacy have you been a part of, and what kind of legacy will you leave after you are gone?
We, as the cast and crew of Hoʻoilina, thank you for your patronage of Kennedy Theatre and your support for hana keaka productions at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. We are so happy to celebrate the return of in-person theatrical performances, and can’t wait to hear your laughter echo through this house that has been cold and silent for too long. We also look forward to seeing where these challenging questions take you in your own journey. Perhaps we will see and learn from your story and legacy on stage one day.
FRONT OF HOUSE INFORMATION
Face masks must cover the nose and mouth at all times inside the Kennedy Theatre Facility, and on the lanai when social distancing is not possible.
For large print programs or any other accessibility requests please contact the House Manager or call the Kennedy Theatre Box Office at 956-7655.
After dark: to arrange a Campus Security Escort between two points on campus please see a House Manager.
As a courtesy to your fellow audience members and to our performers, please remember that eating, drinking, video recording, photography and use of cell phones and other electronic devices is not allowed inside the theatre. Please take a moment to turn off any sound or light emitting devices now.
FRONT OF HOUSE
Publicity/Social Media Graphic Assistant: Landon McCann
Graphic Designers: Suzanne Seymour, Jessica L. Jacob
Photography & Social Media Design: Christine Lamborn
Kennedy Theatre House Manager: Danielle Tuscher
Assistant House Managers: Yajna Casiano, Manuel Moreno
Box Office: Olivia Schmitt, Rebekah Wood
Playbill: Christine Lamborn, Jessica L. Jacob
KENNEDY THEATRE
Theatre Manager: Jessica L. Jacob
Production Manager: Rick Greaver
Operations Coordinator: Christine Lamborn
Technical Director: Gerald Kawaoka
Costume Shop Manager: Hannah Schauer Galli
DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE + DANCE
Department Chair: Markus Wessendorf
Director of Theatre: Julie Iezzi
Director of Dance: Betsy Fisher
Support Staff: Lori Chun, Jenna Wheeler-Gonsalves
Acknowledgments
The UHM ticket program is supported in part by a grant from the Student Activities and Program Fee Board.
Kennedy Theatre is a member of the Hawai’i State Theatre Council.
Additional Acknowledgements
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by David M. Rubenstein. Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
Additional support is provided by The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein; and the Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation.
Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.
This production is entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The aims of this national theater education program are to identify and promote quality in college-level theater production. To this end, each production entered is eligible for a response by a regional KCACTF representative, and selected students and faculty are invited to participate in KCACTF programs involving scholarships, internships, grants and awards for actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, designers, stage managers and critics at both the regional and national levels.
Productions entered on the Participating level are eligible for invitation to the KCACTF regional festival and may also be considered for national awards recognizing outstanding achievement in production, design, direction and performance.
Last year more than 1,500 productions were entered in the KCACTF involving more than 200,000 students nationwide. By entering this production, our theater department is sharing in the KCACTF goals to recognize, reward, and celebrate the exemplary work produced in college and university theaters across the nation.
Dept. of Theatre + Dance
1770 East-West Rd Honolulu HI 96822
Main Office: (808) 956-7677
Box Office: (808) 956-7655
