ROGER LONG / UH-MANOA PROFESSOR
Event to honor life in the arts
Javanese shadow puppetry and dramas from Indonesia were the director's specialty
Star-Bulletin staff
A celebration of the life of University of Hawaii at Manoa professor Roger Long will be held tomorrow at a theater event at Kennedy Theatre on campus from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., the university said in a news release.
Long was a former associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and emeritus professor of Asian theater.
He died April 30 at the age of 68 after a long illness.
A director and actor whose lifelong passion was Indonesian wayang kulit, or Javanese shadow puppetry, Long produced rarely performed Indonesian and Balinese dramas at Kennedy Theatre and earned Po'okela Awards for his direction of American dramas, including "Wit" and "Angels in America, Part 1" at Manoa Valley Theatre.
He was on the UH-Manoa faculty from 1976 until his retirement in 2004, teaching classes in Southeast Asian theater, contemporary Asian dramatic literature, and Asian acting for the Western actor. In addition to serving 10 years as associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Long was also past chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance, and of the Southeast Asian Studies Program.
Several years ago, Long established four endowments at the College of Arts and Humanities at UH-Manoa in support of specific theater, dance and music programs.
Long also founded the college's "Study ALMOST Abroad" program, designed to bring students from mainland campuses to UH-Manoa for one semester to take courses not available at their home campuses.