“Theater” is usually something that happens on a stage and in a building, but with “Plantation Plays,” Leeward Community College is presenting three new plays outdoors at Hawaii’s Plantation Village in Waipahu.
Each play has been written to be performed at a particular location in the village, and the stories reflect what life was like there many years ago.
“Lost Boy” is about a boy who is transported through time for an adventure on a Hawaii sugar plantation in the early 20th century. A 10-year-old plantation girl searches for her missing pet in “Jan Shoda and the Case of the Missing Chicken,” and two young children learn an important life lesson in “Saudade.”
Director Ashley DeMoville said telling these stories in a place where plantation workers and their children lived for more than 75 years is an important part of the storytelling experience.
“It isn’t just a plot of land by the smokestack. This place is in the heart of Oahu, and it represents the first Oahu home of so many families still on the island today,” she said.
“Hawaii’s Plantation Village reminds us that the stories of Hawaii’s early immigrants are woven into the fabric of this island. They are in the food we eat, the pidgin we speak, and the children who are to be the stewards of this beautiful land,” DeMoville said. “To remember these hardworking people is to remember who we are and what we hope to become.”
“PLANTATION PLAYS”
>> Run dates: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Feb. 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26
>> Where: Hawaii Plantation Village, 94-695 Waipahu St.
>> Admission: $5 general admission
>> Length of play: 15 to 20 minutes for each play
>> Intermission: There is no formal intermission but each play is staged in a different location.
>> Age recommendation: 5 to 11 is the ideal range; each play is written for a different elementary-school age group.
>> What it’s about: The experiences of children living on sugar plantations during the early decades of the 20th century.
>> Morals and messages: The best games are played with real friends. It’s good to know about cultures other than your own. If you find something that belongs to someone else, the right thing to do is return it to them. Some things are irreplaceable.
>> Parental advisory: All of the shows are family-friendly. However, the plays are performed outdoors so be sure to wear sunscreen and bring bug spray and an umbrella. Be prepared to walk from location to location; there may not be enough seats for everyone.
>> Kid-pleaser aspects: The plays feature puppets and plantation-era games.
>> Leeward Theatre Manager Kemuel DeMoville says: “Ever since Hawaii’s Plantation Village board president Deanna Espinas participated in our 2014 production, ‘The Waipahu Project,’ we have been trying to get one of our performances in their location. They have such a beautiful and evocative space that it just cries out for live performance.”
>> Info: 677-0110 or hpv.waipahu@hawaiiantel.net
