Po‘okela Awards
on 2005 hiatus

The board of directors of the Hawaii State Theatre Council decided the organization would observe a 2005 hiatus from the annual Po'okela Awards, honoring the best in Hawaii theater, in order to allow time to reexamine the annual adjudication program.

Begun 21 years ago, the awards offered encouragement and celebration of live theater arts in Hawaii, but over the past five years, questions have been raised about the fairness and appropriateness of adjudicating productions from theaters of widely varying budget size, that may use only professional or only avocational practitioners, and productions that are intended for widely different audience types (adult, youth, educational).

"By taking this hiatus, the board can objectively and thoughtfully consider the Po'okela process and related issues without having adjudication and event planning concurrently under way," said Deena Dray (Diamond Head Theatre), who was just named president of the HSTC council. Other officers named are Dwight Martin (Manoa Valley Theatre), vice president; Andrew Meader (Hawaii Pacific University), secretary; and Francie von Tempsky (Maui Academy of Performing Arts), treasurer.