Kumu Kahua Theatre is a community theater located in the city of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

on the island of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

in the state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. Kumu Kahua Theatre is best known for producing

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

by local Hawaii-based

playwrights A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, especially plays featuring themes and stories of the people of Hawaii. (Their motto, as seen on their T-shirts and Web site, is "Plays about life in Hawaii. Plays by Hawaii playwrights. Plays for people of Hawaii.") Therefore, actors are often featured utilizing their natural local

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

or respective ethnic accent, and many plays have incorporated or are solely written in

Hawaiian Creole English Hawaiian Pidgin (alternately, Hawaiʻi Creole English or HCE, known locally as Pidgin) is an English-based creole language spoken in Hawaiʻi. An estimated 600,000 residents of Hawaii speak Hawaiian Pidgin natively and 400,000 speak it as a sec ...

, an English dialect commonly known in the Hawaiian islands as ''pidgin''. Their productions are also known for involving local actors, designers,

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and theater technicians. Appropriately the Hawaiian language words ''kumu kahua'' translate to "original stage." People familiar with the theatre often call it affectionately by its nickname of ''Kumu''.

History

Kumu Kahua Theatre was founded in 1971 by graduate students of the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

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with the goal of producing locally-written experimental works. The experimental nature of the theatre gradually disappeared in later years. In 1982, the group was granted Non-profit organization, not-for-profit status, and in 1994, the Hawaii State Legislature awarded the group its current 100-seat playhouse located in downtown Honolulu a
46 Merchant Street
Dennis Carroll served as its artistic director for many years. Kumu Kahua's current artistic director is Harry Wong III.

Playwriting

Kumu Kahua Theatre also offers classes in acting and writing, as well as sponsoring an annual playwrighting contest in conjunction with the University of Hawaii at Manoa theatre department. The playwrighting contest categories are as follows: :*Hawaii Prize: This award is open to Hawaii residents and nonresidents, and the play must be set in Hawaii or involve some aspect of the Hawaii experience. :*Pacific/Rim Prize: This award is open to Hawaii residents and nonresidents, and the play must be set in or involve the Pacific Islands, the Pacific Rim or the Pacific/Asian-American experience. :*Resident Prize: This award is open only to residents of Hawaii at the time of submission, and the topic of the play is unrestricted.

External links

*http://www.kumukahua.org/ {{authority control Theatres in Hawaii Asian-American theatre Buildings and structures in Honolulu Culture of Honolulu Tourist attractions in Honolulu

History

Playwriting

See also

External links