National awards for UH Hawaiian language production

In Hawaiian, Hoʻoilina means legacy or inheritance.

Part of the play is spoken in ʻōlelo māhū which is similar to the cadence of Pidgin. Credit: Māhūcha

Link to video (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/bon

A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa hana keaka (play) written and directed by a recent alumnus of the Department of Theatre and Dance captured six national awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The national theatre program, which incorporates 18,000 students annually from colleges and universities across the country, awarded productions in higher education that promote long-term societal impacts through an artistic lens.

The UH Mānoa Hawaiian Theatre program’s production, Hoʻoilina (pronunciation: ho-oh-ee-lee-nah) is written and directed by Ākea Kahikina who penned the comedic hana keaka mostly in Hawaiian. The play also features other languages such as Pidgin, English and ʻōlelo māhū (māhū creole). Set in pre-pandemic Hawai‘i, Hoʻoilina explores real-time issues such as what it takes to be considered Hawaiian. 

“It is truly an honor to be recognized on the American national level for theatre excellence,” Kahikina expressed. “The true award, however, is the participation, laughter, tears and leo kākoʻo (supportive voices) of our lāhui: our people, our nation. That is the validation we as hana keaka practitioners look for when putting out moʻolelo (stories) for our people.”

The production, which closed Kennedy Theatre’s 2021–22 mainstage season last April, netted awards ranging from the play’s ensemble, original artwork and costume design.

“This national recognition of our students' creative scholarship confirms the po‘okela or level of excellence that is pursued and inherent in Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) theatre praxis,” said Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, director and founder of the campus’ inaugural Hawaiian Theatre program. “When a hana keaka production is honored nationally, that award elevates the Hawaiian Theatre Program, the Department of Theatre and Dance and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.”

Awards for Hoʻoilina

Kennedy Citizen Award

Distinguished achievement for the company/ensemble 

Distinguished achievement for original artwork (Ka‘iminaʻauao Cambern)

Distinguished achievement for costume design (Kaneikoliakawahineikaʻiukapuomua Baker)

Distinction for production of a new play

Distinction for dramaturgy (Kaipulaumakaniolono Baker)

Nationally recognized 

Last spring, KCACTF presented eight awards to UH Mānoa hana keaka, He Leo Aloha. The production performed exclusively in Hawaiian earned recognition for directing, individual performance, and lighting and music. The Hawaiian storytelling genre is flourishing rapidly. In 2022, for the first time in Kennedy Theatre history, Hawaiian language productions opened and closed out the theatre’s mainstage season. 

Related UH News story: UH Hawaiian language play scoops 8 national awards

UH aspires to be the world’s foremost Indigenous serving university. In 2014, the Hawaiian Theatre program was formally established at UH Mānoa by Baker. Lāʻieikawai, the inaugural hana keaka production she wrote and directed, played to sold out audiences on the Kennedy Theatre mainstage in 2014 before touring to Hawaiʻi Island, Molokaʻi, Kauaʻi and Aotearoa (New Zealand). In January 2020, Baker’s production ʻAuʻa ʻIa: Holding On, was showcased off-Broadway in New York City.

VIDEO BROLL: (1:12)

0:00-1:06 - clips from Ho‘oilina

1:06-1:12 - exterior of Kennedy Theatre