A new twist on When I was in high school, I was kind of a punk," says Garrick Paikai, the 28-year-old writer/actor/producer who, along with fellow dramatists at the Leeward Community College Theatre, is staging a seven-part performance called "World Blend: Tales from the Planet's Depth" over the next two weekends.
7 international classics
Fighting time and dyslexia, student
Garrick Paikai puts a modern twist
on a collection of age-old tales
from around the globeBy Shawn 'Speedy' Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.comIt is an absolute labor of love for Paikai, who is still amazed by his path into theater. "I used to tease the people who took drama and stuff. Ten years later, here I am," he chuckles.
If not for a scheduling mishap at the college several years ago, "World Blend," Paikai's all-consuming project, may have never gotten off the ground. Although he had originally planned to enroll in a Hawaiian studies class, he grudgingly settled for drama when all seats in the class were filled. He's never looked back since.
"World Blend" is an adaptation by Paikai and co-writers Phillip Bullington and Mike Mariani of seven classic stories from around the world, redone in the style of "story theater," meaning actors narrate as well as act.
Age-old tales from France ("The Devil's Bridge"), Japan ("The Lady of Frost"), Mexico ("The Japanese Woman") and Cameroon ("The Feast") are given an amusing makeover. "The Monkey Bridge," culled from the ancient Indian epic the Ramayana, is described as melding the traditional tale with the cyber-realism of "The Matrix," while a 1970s-style "Little Red Riding Hood" is given the polyester treatment, bell bottoms and all.
While such a production would normally require a good three months of preparations, the crew, working since the end of September, has had only a fraction of that time to plan, assemble a cast and rehearse before this weekend's performance.
Where: Leeward Community College Theatre, 96-045 AlaIke St. "World Blend: Tales from the Planet's Depth"
When: 8 p.m. today, tomorrow, Thursday, next Friday and Nov. 17, and 4 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $13 adults, $11 students, seniors and military
Call: 455-0385
As if dealing with deadlines were not enough, the situation is compounded by Paikai's struggle with dyslexia.
"It's really, really difficult for me, especially coming up with that first draft," explains Paikai, who must meticulously pore over every word to see what has actually been written on his own documents. "What might take someone an hour to write will take me an hour and a half just because I need to be extra sure the spelling is right and the grammar is right. It takes all of my concentration to overcome that."
Thirty-three actors will be involved in "World Blend," Paikai included, yet the overwhelming majority of them have little or no stage experience. This, he says, is an asset rather than a liability because the aspiring actors bring to the production an enthusiasm that is inspiring and contagious.
"Sometimes you get actors who, you know, feel like they've seen and done it all," Paikai says with a groan. "But we've got a lot of new people involved this time, and that's what's great about it -- they're all so fresh and eager to do this. That's really good to see."
The novice cast is aided by the talents of drama instructor Paul Cravath, whom Paikai refers to as the "drama guru" of LCC, and student director Troy Apostol, whose attention to movement and blocking on stage promises visual impact.
While Paikai is able to devote most of his time to "World Blend" without having a full-time job to hold him back, it also means he must get by with little money and often puts in a full day's work without eating or stopping for rest. But he says, "Seeing my characters portrayed by others, that totally gets me off. To me it's worth it."
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