FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STAR-BULLETIN. COM
At the Honolulu Theatre for Youth studio, Jonathan Sypert, left, and Scot Davis rehearse for the upcoming production titled "War."
Teachers Four teenage boys mix it up in a graffiti-strewn urban reality of their making in "War," presented by the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, in which aggression gets the best of their hormone-driven lives, and the only coping mechanism they understand is to "pop 'em and chop 'em."
demanded
‘War’
By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com
Canadian writer-director Dennis Foon's drama is a tough, provocative piece of work about boys and violence which one doesn't usually associate with the veteran children's theater group, but it's one that, according to artistic director Mark Lutwak, teachers have demanded to be produced.
Presented by Honolulu Theatre for Youth 'War'
Where: Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Queen Emma Square
When: 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 8 and 15
Tickets: $12 adults, $6 youths and senior citizens
Call: 839-9885
Note: Recommended for ages 10 and up; also, a benefit performance will take place 7 p.m. March 15 for the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline. Tickets will be $20. Call 534-0040.
"'War' was on my short list of plays that I wanted HTY to do when I first came here," Lutwak said, "because it's a strong issue-based play. It something that affects all levels and classes of kids, especially in high school, and tries to address what may cause boys to sometimes become violent. Is the media to blame? Personal frustrations in their lives? Parents not being good models?
"What happened at Columbine is an extreme case, granted, but the conversation has to start somewhere, and it basically has to start with the kids themselves."
All performances will be appended with post-show discussions with the four young men in the cast -- Jonathan Sypert, Scot Davis, Reb Allen and Hermen Tesoro Jr. -- in hopes of facilitating a frank exchange on the issues raised. The drama itself offers no pat and facile answers.
"We hope this be the motor to start conversations amongst the audience," Lutwak said, "and something the teachers themselves can take to the classroom." (There's a preview performance for teachers tonight.)
"This play is not just about extreme violence, but the subtler manifestations of it, the gray areas, whether it be boys picking on one another or even abusing girls. It's mostly this competitive, minor warfare kind of thing with them."
STAGING "War" has been the responsibility of first-time HTY director Tony Pisculli, who's made a name for himself in choreographing stage combat for local theater productions over the years. While planning fight scenes comes second nature to him, he realizes the importance of the story itself.
"While we haven't adapted this to make it a more 'local' play in terms of slang and dialogue," he said, "what happens with these boys is universal. In fact, we've had to tone down some of the original language, although the description of an offstage rape is pretty explicit.
"This play tackles real-life issues head on, and the physical conflicts and outright fights are nothing to get excited about. They're not meant to be flashy action scenes -- the fights are staged to be awkward, with gangly arms and legs flying about.
"It's important to stress that this is not a message play, where it tells you how to think and behave. 'War' doesn't draw any conclusions."
Instead, it's up to the male cast to start up what they hope will be a dialogue with their audiences. Each young man brings with him a small variety of personal experiences. Tesoro, who was admittedly shy during his adolescent years, wouldn't stand idly by while his little brother was taunted, and Allen, who attended Campbell High and played football there, remembers "the punks who asked 'I like dollah.'"
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