{"id":212975,"date":"2025-03-31T11:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T21:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=212975"},"modified":"2025-04-02T08:34:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T18:34:57","slug":"uh-hawaiian-language-production-global-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/03\/31\/uh-hawaiian-language-production-global-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Hawaiian language production invited to global stage"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"People
Puana<\/em> explores spiritual connections between K\u0101naka Maoli and k\u016bpuna through song (Photo credit: Hezekiah Kapuaʻala<\/span>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa Hawaiian Theatre<\/a> program is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a major milestone. Its latest Hawaiian language production, Puana<\/em>, was invited to perform this June at the Kia Mau Festival<\/a>, an international Indigenously led performing arts festival in Aotearoa (New Zealand). The festival is a premier showcase of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous performing arts.<\/p>\n

\"A
From left: Kaʻula<\/span> Krug and Joshua “Baba” Kamoaniʻala<\/span> Tavares (Photo credit: Hezekiah Kapuaʻala<\/span>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Kia Mau is a call to hold steadfast. In a way, it\u2019s like our [Hawaiian] word hoʻomau,<\/span> to perpetuate, and in this circumstance it\u2019s about perpetuating our storytelling,” said Tammy Hailiʻōpua<\/span> Baker, director and founder of the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Hawaiian Theatre program.<\/p>\n

“Having Puana<\/em> invited to this festival, elevates the work that we\u2019re doing here, and it also puts us on an international stage speaking to the quality of the work that we\u2019re creating, as well.”<\/p>\n

Bringing Hawaiian moʻolelo<\/span> to the world<\/h2>\n
\"Three
From left: Tavares, Kaʻiukapu<\/span> Baker and Ikaika Mendez (Photo credit: Hezekiah Kapuaʻala<\/span>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Puana<\/em>, which debuted at Kennedy Theatre<\/a> in September 2024, explores the deep spiritual connections between Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and their kūpuna (ancestors) through the power of song. The production is performed primarily in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language).<\/p>\n

Two of the lead actors, Kaʻiukapu<\/span> Baker and Ikaika Mendez, will travel with the production to perform. Mendez, who is from Maui, earned an undergraduate degree in ʻōlelo Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> and music<\/a> at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa and is now pursuing a graduate degree in Hawaiian theatre. He sees this opportunity as a way to share Native Hawaiian traditions with a global audience.<\/p>\n

Related story: Hawaiian theatre returns: Premiere of Puana explores music, ancestral ties<\/a>, August 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

“A lot of times, our moʻolelo<\/span> (stories) are seen as childhood tales, little songs. ‘Oh, that’s the hula,’” Mendez said. “But when you dig deep into moʻolelo<\/span> and hana keaka (Hawaiian theatre), it\u2019s really education at its highest form.”<\/p>\n

For Kaʻiukapu<\/span> Baker, performing at Kia Mau is more than just an opportunity—it\u2019s an honor.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m definitely bringing a little bit of nerves but I\u2019m mostly bringing excitement with me to Aotearoa because I love being in their ʻāina (land) and to see the similarities of their land and their language to ours…it is a privilege,” she said.<\/p>\n

Help bring Hawaiian theatre to Aotearoa<\/h2>\n
\"Dancers
An Indigenous dance company from Vancouver is among performers at Kia Mau (photo credit: Juan Contreras)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking a production overseas is no small feat. The twenty-member cast and crew need community support to raise $70,000 to cover travel expenses.<\/p>\n

Donations can be made to the Hawaiian Theatre Fund<\/a> through the UH<\/abbr> Foundation.<\/p>\n

Award-winning hana keaka<\/h2>\n

Since its founding in 2014, UH<\/abbr> Mānoa\u2019s Hawaiian Theatre program has produced eight original hana keaka, all performed mainly in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½.<\/span> The program is dedicated to revitalizing the Hawaiian language and strengthening cultural identity through theatre.<\/p>\n

Its work has earned both local and national recognition. In 2022, Baker was honored with the Kennedy Center Medallion of Excellence, a top award in theatre education, for her leadership in Indigenous arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Puana<\/em> earned an invitation to perform in June 2025 at the Kia Mau Festival, an international Indigenously led performing arts festival in Aotearoa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[33,1057,134,131,1466,1465,130,9],"class_list":["post-212975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-hawaiian","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-international","tag-kennedy-theatre","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-native-hawaiian-place-of-learning","tag-theatre","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212975"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213137,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212975\/revisions\/213137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}