Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 2, 1 February 2015 — Taking Hawaiian language to the stage [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Taking Hawaiian language to the stage

This month the University of Hawai'i mounts its finst production conducted entirely in 'ōlelo Hawai'i. It's part of a fledgling but growing Hawaiian Theatre program started in 2012

By Tiffany Hill Four dozen students stretch their legs, loosen their vocal cords by humming and read their lines on Kennedy Theatre's dimly lit stage at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. From a distance it looks like any other rehearsal. That is until they begin the evening's run-through. Unlike any other production to take

plaee inside the 52-year-old theater, the rehearsal is conducted entirely in 'ōlelo Hawai'i. This month, the 45-mem-ber cast heralds in a new chapter for the university's theater program with the Hawaiian language production of Lā'ieikawai, a traditional Hawaiian mo'olelo (story) adapted for stage, featuring original hula, oli and mele. The play highlights the personal journey of the beautiful chiefess Lā'ieikawai, her suitors and her friendships. It's the eulmination of the university's fledgling Hawaiian theater program and a longtime

passion project for assistant professor Tammy Haili'ōpua Baker, who adapted the mo'olelo and heads the program. Baker spent roughly five months writing the adaptation of the epie mo'olelo, after conducting extensive research at the state archives,

Bishop Museum and visiting kūpuna. "I'm a true believer that the mo'olelo chooses us," she says. "Lā'ieikawai just starting popping up. My son had to read it at Kamehameha Schools for his sophomore honors English class. Then the book fell down on the shelf at the house. The story was calling out."

"The story has poetic dialogue," says UH student Ioane Goodhue, who plays 'Aiwohikupua, one of Lā'ieikawai's suitors. "I liken it to Shakespeare; there's broad appeal." Baker has a way with making the language eome alive, and inspire her students and peers. The Kaua'i native grew up dancing hula and performing on stage. Her college thesis was a Hawaiian language

production. After graduating from UH-Mānoa, Baker taught at the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language. But even there she found ways to incorporate theater and making learn-

ing 'ōlelo Hawai'i relevant for her 21st-century students. In between classes, she and her eolleagues and friends would perform with Ka Hālau Hanakeaka, the first all-Hawaiian theater group she started in 1995. "What has always brought people together to do these projects has been the (Hawaiian)

language," says Baker. "We are a company of activists who love our language, our stories and our traditional practices," says Kameha'ililani Waiau, a UH student actor in Lāi'ieikcvwai, and a member of Baker's troupe. "We want to present (that) for contemporary Hawaiians."

When a position opened in the Theater Department, Baker says it was her kuleana to expand what she'd already started. In the fall of 2012, she began the Hawaiian Theatre program. "Sometimes I pineh myself," says Baker with a laugh. "Am I really doing this as a job? To be able to share the knowledge and the language experience I've gained over my various experiences with different kumu, in this venue is a dream and an honor." In the two years since its inception, Baker developed four courses for the program, including a Hawaiian acting workshop, hula ki'i or Hawaiian puppetry, drama and theater of Hawai'i and pidgin

drama, and the UH Graduate Council recently approved a Hawaiian theater master's program, whieh is slated to begin this semester. Eaeh class incorporates both the English and Hawaiian languages, but Baker says her classes are for everyone. "I have theater and language majors," she says, "but also

students in engineering or biology! They gain awareness and appreciation of the language, of different

mo'olelo." While the cast of Lā'ieikem'ai comprises mainly UH students, Baker felt it was important to include the community. The production also involves high school students, community members and four kumu for the production's hula and contemporary dance choreography, and original mele and oli. "I've always wanted to do a Hawaiian performance," says UH student Kau'i Kaina, who plays Lā'ieikawai. A graduate of a Hawai-

ian immersion school, Kaina says both the program and play helped her fall in love with her native tongue all over. "This work helps create a relationship with the community, to bring our culture to life," says Makana Kāne, a UH student who plays Kahalaomāpuana, who befriends Lā'ieikawai. Baker too believes theater is an integral tool to connecting the community to 'ōlelo Hawai'i and revitalizing Hawaiian culture. And despite her long hours at the university - she often eats all three meals on campus - her dedication to Hawaiian theater extends beyond UH. She is already brainstorming ways to take pieces of Lā'ieikewai into schools and community centers with Ka Hālau Hanakeaka. You don't have be fluent in Hawaiian to understand the performances either, she says. "There is still relevance in these traditional stories," she says. "We are faced with many of the same issues today and we ean draw upon these mo'olelo for guidance in today's world." ■

Tiffany Hi.ll, a Honohihi-based freelance writer, writes loealh for Hawaii Business, Hawai'i magazine, Hana Hou! magazine and the Hawaiian news website, akeakamai. hawaii.com.

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See Lā'ieikawai

When: Feb. 20, 21, 27, 28 at 8 p.m.; Feb. 22 and March 1 at 2 p.m. Where: Kennedy Theatre Cost: $25 regular, $22 for seniors, military, UH faculty and staff, $15 for students, $8 for UH-Mānoa students. Special throwbackticket prices on Feb. 21. Note: Subtitles will not be used, but a guide will be available to help with interpretation. Boxoffice: 956-7655 lnfo: hawaii.edu/kennedy

The wūhine in the production, from left, Kalehua Kawa'a (Mailelauli'i), Kameha'ililani Waiau (Waka), Ke'alohi Reppun (Maileha'iwale), Kau'i Kaina (Lā'ieikawai), Taylor Purvis (Mailepākaha), Makana Kuahiwinui-Kāne (Kahalaomāpuana) and Kaulu Lu'uwai (Mailekaluhea). - Courtesy photos: Chesley Cannon

The stage adaptation of the traditional Hawaiian mo'olelo (story) of iō7e/fewo/incorporates hula, oli (chant) and mele (song). Performed entirely in Hawaiian, it is the first production in the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's Hawaiian Theatre program.