Auditions Set for Kumu Kahua's Production of TWO NAILS, ONE LOVE by Lee A. Tonouchi, based on the novel by Alden M. Hayashi directed by Harry Wong III
AUDITIONS SET FOR KUMU KAHUA’S PRODUCTION OF
Two Nails, One Love
by Lee A. Tonouchi
based on the novel by Alden M. Hayashi
directed by Harry Wong III
Monday, November 10 at 6pm
Tuesday, November 11 at 6pm
at Kumu Kahua Theatre
46 Merchant Street Honolulu, HI 96813
Performances will be from January 22 - February 22, 2026. Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm. There is the possibility of added performances.
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Sides will be provided. Actors can prepare a monologue from the script if they desire to but it is not required. Please note any conflicts on audition form.
Script Synopsis:
Ethan Taniguchi is a recently single gay man living in New York City when his estranged mother from Hawai‘i pays an unexpected visit, forcing him to confront their complicated relationship. “Anxious Ethan” is the Pidgin-speaking voice of self-doubt that haunts Ethan as he and his mother unravel painful family history: her incarceration during World War II and subsequent deportation to Japan as part of a little-known hostage exchange in which the United States traded its own citizens for whiter Americans held abroad. Will Ethan finally be able to understand the woman who is his mother, and will she be able to understand him in return?
CAST
Ethan Taniguchi: Japanese American, gay worrier, 35 years old, Male
Anxious Ethan: Ethan's neurotic self, talks Pidgin, 35 Years old, Male
Mother: Female, Japanese American, Ethan's Mom, Fierce, Funny
Young Mother: Ethan's mom as a child; also plays Japanese mean girl, Ethan's friend, Waitress and Worker in Senators Office
June: Female, Japanese American, Ethan's mom's sister
Richard: Japanese American, Male, Ethan's mom's brother; Also plays Senator Inouye
Grandpa: Japanese American, Male; also playsTeacher, Music teacher, game show host
Grandma: Japanese American, Female; also plays Japanese mean girl, Receptionist, fashion show attendant
Dad: Japanese American, Male; also plays other characters
Lucas: Ethan's Haole Boyfriend; also plays other characters
Reporter: Reporter for LA Times; Also plays Salesperson, Japanese Mean Girl, Fashion show attendant
You can read the script by Clicking Here
Call the Kumu Kahua Theatre office 536-4222 or email officemanager@kumukahua.org if you need more information.
Harry Wong III has directed over 100 plays in his career, 52 of those at KKT as Artistic Director. Harry was the co-founder of HSF and a founding Board Member of the Lizard Loft. Awards he has received include the 2015 Ho‘okele Award recipient; second recipient to sustain quality service in the non-profit art industry sector. 2010 recipient Outstanding Alumni of HCC, 1999 recipient of the SFCA Individual Artist Fellowship Grant for Theatre Directing; first non-playwright to be honored, 1996 Princess Grace Award for Theatre Directing Recipient; 1996 Lincoln Center Theatre Director's Lab participant; result of a national search of young directors, 1995-1996 Allan Lee Hughes Fellow at Arena Stage Washington DC; result of a national search of postgraduate people of color entering the regional theatre scene and the 1991 & 1993 Masako Sakamoto Scholarship for Acting; given to Hawai‘I High School graduates studying acting or playwriting.
Lee A. Tonouchi a.k.a. "Da Pidgin Guerrilla" writes in Hawai'i Creole English. He had several plays produced by Kumu Kahua Theatre. Dey include Gone Feeshing, Living Pidgin, Da Kine Space, Echoes of Dat Red Guitar, and UchinaAloha. Paliku Theatre did his play Oriental Faddah and Son. HTY did his youth play Three Year Swim Club. An'den da East West Players did da adult version which wuz one Los Angeles Times Critic's Choice Selection.
Kumu Kahua productions are supported in part by The Kim Coco Fund for Justice of the Iwamoto Family Foundation, Timothy and Eddie, the NME Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, the Island Insurance Foundation, The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawaiʻi, The AAPI Community Fund, The Richard Aadland Fund, The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Spectrum/Charter Communications, ABC Stores, the Gloria Kosasa Gainsley Fund, Hawaiʻi Public Radio, H. Hawaii Media, Simply Storage, HUB Coworking, Vacations Hawaiʻi, Zippy’s Restaurants, Highway Inn, Generations Magazine, CVS/Longs Drugs, HMSA, Hawaiian Electric, MonkeyPod, and other foundations, businesses, and loyal patrons.