CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
From left, young playwrights getting ready to stage their works for Theatrefest, are Emily Lau, Jennifer Gire and Lauren Hanley.
Experience shapes Want to know what's going on in your teens' lives? Send 'em to drama class -- specifically Honolulu Theatre for Youth -- where instructors help them channel the drama of their lives into stage-worthy productions.
productions of
teen playwrights
By Nancy Arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.com
"There's not a ton of people who want to become playwrights," said Daniel Kelin, HTY's drama education director, but interested individuals can learn the craft through the Pacific Young Playwrights program. The resulting works can be viewed by the public during Theatrefest tomorrow and Saturday at St. Andrew's Tenney Theatre.
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday Theatrefest
Where: Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral
Admission: $12; $6 for 18 and under and seniors over 60. Children under 2 are free, but require a ticket. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Call: 839-9885
Kids can discover the joy of song at a special KidSing workshop Dec. 7 at St. Andrew's Priory. Keikis will learn basic age-appropriate techniques in a fast-paced, upbeat session. Parents are welcome to observe the teaching techniques during the last 15 minutes of class. Classes for 5- to 7-year-olds are from 9 to 10 a.m.; the 8- to 12-year-old class is from 1 to 2 p.m. The workshops are free. An opportunity
for songGroup size is limited to 25 children. Call Pacific School of the Performing Arts at 394-6547 to reserve a spot.
"It's important that they find something that is going to engage them," Kelin said, adding that it's interesting to watch the works develop over time. Students gradually realize that their ideas evolve, not only from their imaginations, but from their experiences.
"They really do give a window into the personality of the writer. You get a real sense of what their interests are and how they view the world. Some of them have characters that are much more angry."
Some of the young playwrights -- ages 13 to 18 -- participate in Theatrefest several years in a row as actors, stage managers or playwrights. Robert Rath, a senior at Castle High School, has participated in Theatrefest for six years and had four plays produced. His newest venture is "Curtains for the Dragon," about a slightly delusional knight who is always out to slay things that don't really exist.
He won a national award for his play in the National Young Playwrights Competition in 2000.
"I got my way paid up to New York and got to do some writing workshops, met some famous playwrights and had a stage reading. It was a very broadening experience," he said.
"I like creating characters and watching them bounce off each other," he said, adding that he also enjoys watching people speak and move, and observing any odd mannerisms they may have. "It's always extremely exciting to see something that has just been on your computer screen come alive."
Kelin said, "Robert is really toying with the idea of making this his career. He has a very clear style. His characters are quirky, and his recent comedy matches him to a T."
Jennifer Gire, a senior at La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls, presents her first play, "Doughs and Don'ts." As a Girl Scout, it seemed fitting that she worked scouting into her story line.
"After I started writing about the two girls, I got interested in their home lives and added in their mothers. It all clicks," she said. "It's kinda an escape. You can immerse yourself in the world of these characters."
In her light comedy, a girl named Cher wants to be a Girl Scout, but her mother is standing in the way, pushing her to become an Oscar-winning actress. Starbuck, another scout, takes advantage of Cher's desire to join the troop by making her sell cookies under her name. Starbuck's mother is trying to start her own cookie company. As each struggles to achieve their own fame, "the characters get as mixed up as the cookies."
What Gire found most interesting about this process is how various people have different perceptions of her story. "I was surprised to find that my play actually has depth," she said.
Emily Lau's play, "Capsized Romance," is about a teenager who wants to beat his sister at paddling, his roommate who wants to go out with his sister, and the sister's friend who likes her brother. While at summer camp, they manipulate each other to get what they want using magic dances, spy missions and a stuffed hippo. "I got to know the characters so well, they seemed to write themselves," Lau said.
"I've always loved writing and theater. Play-writing is great because is combines both. It's been such an awesome process writing 'Capsized Romance' and watching my talented actors and director bring it to life from paper to stage," she added.
"I've gone to previous Theatrefests and thought they were awesome, but never thought I'd see my own play being produced," said Lau, who is home-schooled.
Lauren Hanley, a junior at Maryknoll, wrote a romantic comedy, "Rock Bottom." Rock is trying to win his father Triton's affection. Although Rock wants to sculpt, Triton prefers that he win a swimming trophy. Rock's sister Maple wants her dad to accept her boyfriend, Fire. All Fire wants to do is make out. When Fire becomes Rock's swimming coach, making out becomes a new swimming technique. In the end, acceptance is found in the most unlikely way.
AS YOUNG WRITERS, the playwrights didn't realize that writing comes from personal experiences. "For them, it's just a cool thing to do," Kelin said. "They come to the class and really learn to take control of their writing. And they learn what it means to be a writer."
The teens soon realize that you don't need to write something just because you are getting a grade, he said. "They know if they don't do any writing, the only thing that they lose is their own ability -- they just won't become better at it," Kelin said. "They realize that choices are available, and hopefully it teaches them some responsibility."
Theatrefest has been introducing young playwrights' works for 17 years. Janet Allard attended the class in the late 1980s. "She was a graduate of Punahou and is now teaching play-writing all over the world," Kelin said.
Thirteen of the playwrights have received national honors. Others have gone on to productions in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Oregon, Massachusetts, Florida and Washington, D.C.
"It jazzes them to realize that there are other people like them," Kelin said. "Often they feel alone and are very much loners here. But they can start realizing that there is a greater world and many others that think as they do."
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