It is said “no man is an island,” but each of us is actually a distinct, separate and unique “island” in the sea of humanity — there’s space between everyone.
That sense of space is multiplied when we leave an area we’re familiar with — our home, the neighborhood, our school, Hawaii — and go somewhere we’ve never been before.
Honolulu Theatre for Youth is exploring the experience of discovering new people and places this month with a newly written play, “You and Me and the Space Between.” Playwright Finegan Kruckenmeyer lives on Tasmania, an island that is separated from the rest of Australia in the same way that Hawaii is separated from the mainland.
HTY artistic director Eric Johnson says the similarities between Tasmania and Hawaii make Kruckenmeyer’s play especially relevant: “There’s space between all of us, and so how do we respect and honor and bring together people? No one needs to know how to do that more than a kid who grows up on an island, because your experience is defined — just by geography — by a very hard border.”
Kruckenmeyer’s seemingly fanciful story of a floating island that starts to sink also references the plight of several Pacific island nations that are slowly being submerged as ocean levels rise.
Some of us choose to go places where the people are different from us and speak languages we don’t understand. Others might have no choice.
‘YOU AND ME AND THE SPACE BETWEEN’
>> Where: Tenney Theatre, Cathedral of St. Andrew
>> When: 4:30 p.m. Jan. 21 and Jan. 28, also 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Feb. 4
>> Cost: $20 general admission; $10 for keiki ages 3-17 and $15 for seniors 60+
>> Info: 839-9885, htyweb.org
>> Length of play: 60 minutes
>> Intermission: No
>> Age recommendation: Suitable for ages 7 and older
>> What it’s about: When a floating island springs a leak and starts to sink, a young woman embarks on a journey of discovery to save her people’s lives and spirits.
>> Morals and messages: Encountering people who are different from you and things you are unfamiliar with can be scary at first, but finding common ground with them is the start to living together.
>> Parental advisory: Kids under 7 might not understand all the dialogue, but there is nothing for parents to worry about — not even juvenile toilet humor.
>> Kid-pleaser aspects: The action-packed start of the story will delight young audiences. Actors perform on a set made of a ton and a half of real sand.
>> Co-director Nathaniel Niemi says: “The sand is the common element between the two cultures, between this island culture and this mainland culture. Some of the movement and dance involves the sand. It gets kicked around and that’s not a bad thing. I think the kids will really enjoy seeing the sand being kicked around.”
