Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 5, 1 May 1987 — Balaz Wins Kumu Kahua Playwriting Contest [ARTICLE]

Balaz Wins Kumu Kahua Playwriting Contest

Hawaiian writer Joseph P. Balaz of Punaluu is the Division One winner for a short piay in the 1986-87 Kumu Kahua playwriting contest by the University of Hawaii Drama Department. His debut play, "Da Seventh Dimension," deals with the complexities of language and eommunieahon, using island pidgin as a contact vernacular in the argument for and against bilingualism. Balaz, who won $200, is also the author of "After the Drought," a book of poetry, and "Ramrod," loeal literary publication. It is his second writing award. He also won first plaee in the 1985 poetry on The Bus contest for his graphic art/poem, "No Moking."