Mimi Kerley became president of Kahilu Theatre’s board of directors in June 2012, a month after the theater closed its doors to re-evaluate its mission, goals and fiscal matters. She had just one year of board participation under her belt and was its newest and youngest member.

“I tend to blame the fact that I was five months pregnant and not thinking clearly to have taken on the enormous responsibility of bringing the theater back to life,” Kerley said, smiling. “We needed to rethink what had to be done to renew our connection with the community at large and strengthen our commitment to education. Our desire was for Kahilu to become a community hub.”

Kerley had joined the board because she wanted to give back to Waimea on Hawaii island, where she was born and raised, and Kahilu, where she had grown up performing in plays and teaching summer arts programs. Her parents were actively involved with the theater, both on and off the stage.

“My mother and father, Nora and Everett Knowles, volunteered as ushers, acted in shows and played music,” Kerley said. “Dad is a talented pianist; Mom was a wonderful singer. She also played the harpsichord and was a board member for many years prior to her death in 2005. My brother, David, also acted with me at a young age.”

Fifth-generation Parker Ranch heir Richard Smart (1913-1992) founded the theater and named it in honor of his mother, Thelma Kahiluonapuaopiilani, who died in 1914, 18 months after he was born. An accomplished theater actor and singer who performed in many Broadway shows, Smart much preferred entertainment to ranching.

Architect Sid Char of Wimberly, Allison Tong & Goo led the $1.5 million project’s design team. Groundbreaking was in 1979, and the 490-seat theater opened on Feb. 6, 1981, with “Oh, Coward! ” starring Smart and veteran Honolulu actress Wisa D’Orso.

In 2012, after more than 30 years of presenting first-rate productions, the theater, facing financial challenges and waning community involvement, went dark. Smart left no endowment for it, believing that it would survive with the support of its patrons.

Unfortunate but necessary, the “intermission” called for a strategic plan and commitment from its 12-member board. The members rallied the community, contributed their own time, talent and money and obtained a $1.5 million grant from the state Legislature to pay for urgently needed repairs and upgrades, including a new roof and carpeting, energy-efficient lighting and a new reception area and classroom performance space. In addition, seating was reduced to 484 to provide better accessibility for disabled theatergoers.

The revived multidisciplinary arts center reopened in August 2013 with a limited schedule of events and offered its first complete season in 2014-2015. “We’re striving to present a wide variety of genres — Hawaiian, jazz, blues, classical dance, theater and more,” Kerley said. “We don’t expect everyone to love everything, but hopefully people will be excited about something. That’s how we’re working to reach a broad cross section of our community.”

Kahilu Theatre’s 36th season, themed “Indigenous & International,” launches in September with a full slate of shows and concerts, enhanced visual arts exhibits and an expanded educational program that includes forming its own Youth Troupe comprising keiki from Waimea who are interested in learning acting as a craft.

To showcase its Steinway grand piano, which was acquired last summer thanks to patrons’ generosity, a new “Steinway Series” featuring pianists from Hawaii, the mainland and around the world will be presented on select Sunday afternoons beginning Sept. 25 with Cristina Valdes (see sidebar). Hilo resident Cheryl “Quack” Moore, an Emmy award-winning former musical director for “Saturday Night Live,” will perform Nov. 27.

“We’re privileged to have a beautiful facility where visitors and kamaaina can enjoy world-class performances and learn from exceptional teachers,” Kerley said. “We’re passionate about sharing our resources, so people of all ages can discover gifts they don’t realize they have and use them to touch others in meaningful ways. Art, in all of its amazing forms, is magical; it inspires, challenges, informs and elevates the human spirit.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.