SHARING MANA‘O
In 10 days, I will be an empty nester again. This time, at least, it won’t be as painful as when my only child left home at age 19. Nonetheless, I anticipate a few days of separation anxiety and melancholy musings.
Next Friday, Feb. 2, “The Fisherman and His Wife — Maui Style” will conclude its three-month run with two free public performances during the Wailuku First Friday town party. Closing a show is always bittersweet, but this one is bound to hit me harder than usual because “Fisherman” has become part of my life.
Last July, the Maui Academy of Performing Arts invited me to participate in its annual Educational Theatre Tour as a playwright and performer. Working with Director of Programs Carolyn Wright, Artistic Director David Johnston and Assistant Artistic Director (and Tour Director) Hoku Pavao Jones, I adapted the classic Brothers Grimm tale for a local, preschool-5th-grade audience. In our version, the magic wish-granting fish is a tough tita ulua who befriends a Waihe‘e fisherman, played by Francis Taua. Brett Marynn Wulfson is the wife who gets swept up in escalating desires and ultimately learns the value of gratitude.
MAPA wanted the show to include Hawaiian music, so I enlisted my musician friend Kahala Greig. Kahala wrote several delightful songs and performs in the production as Mele Man, playing ukulele to accompany the actors and provide sound effects.
As with all of MAPA’s school tours over the past 20 years, this production is equally as entertaining as it is educational. With lots of audience participation and lessons in old-fashioned, down-home values woven into a fun — and funny — tale, “Fisherman” has been a source of personal pride and fulfillment. By next Friday, we will have performed at nearly every elementary school on Maui and over a dozen preschools — 46 shows in all.
Angel Emerson, our amazing production and stage manager, is the sturdy backbone of this tour. She has the most challenging role of all, keeping us on track and on time, as well as running sound and providing comprehensive reports on each performance. I’m going to miss her support and guidance as much as I’ll miss playing onstage with my talented castmates.
Most of all, as you can imagine, I’ll miss the interaction with our audiences. At every school and every show, the youngsters have given us memorable moments of appreciation, connection and outright joy.
Several schools serenaded us with mahalo chants or songs. At Sacred Hearts School, individual students presented us with specific thank-you messages along with lei. And many post-show goodbyes included hugs and highfives from swarms of excited youngsters.
My favorite audience comments came during climactic moments, such as when the wife wished to be Queen of the World: “Oh, for Peter’s sake!” exclaimed a Kahului School 3rdgrader. And “She’s even scarier than my mom!” from a Sacred Hearts student, upon seeing the still-unhappy queen.
At Waihe‘e and Kihei schools, a couple of kids tried to help the hapless fisherman as he returned to the beach. Responding to Francis’ line “I wonder if the magic ulua is out there,” one child surreptitiously waved and whispered, “Psst! Uncle! Uncle!” while trying to direct Uncle’s attention toward me by giving sideeye. A young girl simply said, “Turn around!”
And we nearly broke character at Christ the King Preschool when one little boy shouted, “rock and roll!” during our finale.
Please join us at 6:15 and/or 7:15 p.m. Feb. 2 in the MAPA warehouse (the former National Dollar store) on Main Street during the Wailuku First Friday town party. I will gladly accept consoling hugs afterwards to help ease my longing for more performances.
Then I will strive to adopt the lesson learned by the Fisherman’s Wife: It’s hard to be happy when you always want more. True happiness comes from being grateful for what you already have. And in this case, I have a wealth of wonderful MAPA memories.