About Dark Nights
Kumu Kahua Theatre's Dark Night series was created to offer other theatre groups, playwrights, and performance artists the opportunity to present their work to the community. This series is presented during "dark nights," which are evenings when Kumu Kahua’s regular season shows are not being performed. To be part of the Dark Night series, artists must submit a proposal, which is reviewed by the Board of Directors of Kumu Kahua. From these proposals, projects are chosen that the board feels will promote the development of the theatrical arts and benefit local artists. Kumu Kahua sees this as another way to enhance and enrich the cultural diversity and artistic climate of Honolulu.
Dark Night Info
Dark Nights may be booked only on dark nights during the run of a show; on Sunday,Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings, except when scheduling allows in the summer. Saturday afternoons are also possible.
Groups or individuals must be a non-profit, tax-exempt organization or have a General Excise tax license.
Proposals have to be submitted to the Artistic Director of Kumu Kahua Theatre. The proposal should include a description of the project, the names of the people involved in the project, and the desired dates for a rehearsal and the performances.
Availability of the space is subject to change in order to protect Kumu Kahua for special set designs, emergency understudy rehearsals, etc.
Kumu suggests a $5 general admission. Kumu takes the first $50 made from each day there is a performance (this is facility fee) and then we split the proceeds 40% for Kumu and 60% for the Artist, unless Kumu and the artists make special arrangements.
All ticket sales and publicity must be approved by the Kumu Kahua office (Kumu Kahua Theatre will only operate the box office 1 hour prior to show-times, but artists may use Eventbrite or another online ticket agent).
A Kumu board or staff member will oversee the opening and closing of the theatre, the box office, the theatre facility, etc. during rehearsals and performances, including ensuring fire safety code is followed.
The visiting artist/organization will have to provide two support personnel: a person to handle the door and tear tickets, and another person to handle lights and sound. Any concession sales personnel and supplies are the responsibility of the visiting artist/organization as well.
The parameters of space use are as follows:
Seating will be left as is, in the configuration set up for the current main season show.
Lights up—lights down. No special lighting or cues for the Dark Night show.
Rehearsal time for the visiting artist/organization—Saturday in the day, Sunday evening—as long as this does not conflict with the main season show or regular Kumu operations.
The guest artists may bring whatever they want for set and costumes as long as these do not harm the existing set. The facility must be left as the guest artist(s) found it.
The artist provides their own publicity and program, which need to include the Kumu Kahua Theatre logo and this blurb: (title of show/event) is presented as a part of the Kumu Kahua Theatre Dark Night Series.
COMING NEXT IN OUR DARK NIGHT SERIES
April 22 and April 23 at 7pm
Past Dark Nights
Playbuilders of Hawaii Theater Company Presents
On April 18th at 6pm, PlayBuilders of Hawai’i Theater Co will present Mālama I nā Kahu Mālama, a New Works Festival created and directed by award winning playwright Carol Polcovar. Enjoy an evening of new works of poetry, song, short plays, and talk-story opening the door to a variety of ways of seeing the challenges of caregiving.
Proceeds will benefit PlayBuilders of Hawaii Theater Company's Mālama the Caregivers Theater Project to be presented in November 2023 for National Caregivers Month and Kumu Kahua Theatre Company as part of Kumu Kahua's Dark Night Series.
PlayBuilders of Hawaiʻi Theater Company’s mission is to gather and share real stories that resonate with, empower and connect individuals throughout the culturally rich and diverse communities of Hawaiʻi. For more information, please contact Terri Madden at terri.madden@playbuilders.org or call her at 808-218-0103.
I <3 MY AAPI GRANDPARENTS!
Kumu Kahua Theatre presents as part of it’s Dark Night Series: Local actor, composer, and writer Sean Choo in his one-man show, i <3 my AAPI grandparents! a celebration of identity, the performing arts, and 'ohana.
i <3 my AAPI grandparents! had its world premiere in New York as part of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre's NuWorks 2022 program earlier this summer.
Performances will be at Kumu Kahua Theatre on September 12th and 13th, beginning at 7:00 PM each night. Come hear some stories about old folks that are related to Sean, as well as some original songs about family, love, life, and more.
Tickets can be found by visiting https://bit.ly/AAPIgrandparents, or by calling the theatre box office at 808-536-4222.
THINGS I DON'T TELL YOU
PEILING KAO DANCES artistic director, Taiwanese choreographer Peiling Kao presents her latest experimental dance theatre work Things I Don't’ Tell You, featuring Kao’s innovative and deeply investigative dance making. Things I Don’t Tell You implies that because of the deconstructive creative process and ever changing, influencing aspects, a work can never come settled.
Initiated in December 2020, Kao approached three local performers, Spencer Agoston, Madelyn Biven, and Jason Kanda, to set solos on each of them. When the solos started forming their shapes, Kao invited three local writers, Tsuyuno Amos, Richard Hamasaki, and Craig Howes, to respond with words to these abstractions. Kao then revised the three solos upon receiving the creative responses, inserting words in her choreography. Kao presented the solos in Oʻahu miniFRING festival in November 2021.
As Susan Rethorst reflected on her choreographic method “wrecking,” she says:
I tried, in other words, to slip into another’s skin, knowing full well the impossibility of the attempt, using it rather as a means to expand my own definitions. By so doing, I meant to force my own definitions of what’s possible to put on stage….any part of any dance, aided by the power of suggestion….can be seen to be derivative or referential. (“Stealing, Influence and Identity,” Contact Quarterly, Winter/Spring 2012, Vol. 36, No. 1).
Kao invited the three solo performers to wreck each other's solos. After deconstructive exploration, she invited Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu to join Things I Donʻt Tell You, bringing it to its current form as a quartet.
Calendar Listing
Who: PEILING KAO DANCES
What: Things I Donʻt Tell You
When: February 25 and 26 at 8pm, February 27 at 4pm.
Where: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant St, Honolulu, HI 96813
Tickets: $20.00 general admission. Cash only at the door
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/things-i-dont-tell-you-tickets-249773999757
About Artistic Director Peiling Kao
Peiling Kao is a Taiwanese choreographer, dance educator, and performer. Since moving to the U.S. in 2007, she has been working with choreographers of different aesthetic frameworks, collaborating with interdisciplinary artists, performing and teaching nationally and internationally, as well as presenting original work via her company PEILING KAO DANCES.
Peiling is Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research and creative interests are focused on movement improvisation, choreography, bicultural and hybrid movement, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has received Endowment for the Humanities Award (in 2018), Junior Faculty Research Award (in 2018), Office of Chancellor for Research Award (2017 & 2018), Dean’s Travel Fund (in 2016, 2017 & 2018) from University of Hawaiʻi. Peiling was awarded one San Francisco Bay Area’s Isadora Duncan Dance Awards in 2012 and nominated for another in 2013. She is also a recipient of the Lo Man-Fei Dance Fund from Cloud Gate Foundation in Taiwan in 2016 and the MAP fund in 2021.
Peiling has danced in the company of Gerald Casel, Molissa Fenley, Christy Funsch, Nina Haft, Shinichi Iova-Koga, Katie Faulkner, Hope Mohr, Randee Paufve, and Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts in the U.S. She has taught Modern/contemporary dance technique, movement improvisation, choreography, and Taiwanese/Chinese folk dance as a visiting faculty and guest artist at Mills College, Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program and BFA program at Dominican University of California, Hollins University, UC Santa Cruz, Western Washington University, Austin Peay State University, California State University East Bay, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and Chinese American International School in San Francisco. https://www.peilingkaodances.com