Playwright
SING A PORPOISE HOME was a pleasure to read. We so enjoyed the script's exploration of magical realism through a beautiful story about acceptance and letting go. Our committee loved the script's attention to its characters' relationships, and the interconnections that the play focuses on between the two different generations and what each is able to teach to the other.
WORLD PREMIERE
other: a micro-story
Kumu Kahua Theatre, March 18-April 3, 2021
This backward theatrical journey follows two Marshall Islands youth who set off for America, facing challenges of fitting into a frustratingly abstruse world.
Sing a Porpoise Home (Porpoise – An Excerpt)
*Developed in part through an Aurand Harris fellowship from the Children‘s Theatre Foundation of America
*Winner of the NYU New Plays for Young Audiences, with development workshop
*Winner of an New England Theatre Conference Aurand Harris Playwriting award.
2 F, 2 M. On a small island near a vast ocean, the unwitting discovery of a long-held family secret begins to change their lives in astonishing ways.
Donnie Q: Knight of the Third Grade (Donnie Q – An Excerpt)
*Winner of the 2017 Old Miner’s Children’s Playwright Award, with a development workshop.
3 M, 2 F. A young boy’s crusade against oppression upsets the tenuous balance of family and friends, but helps, in a slightly hilarious and slightly sad way, to offer a promising future for all.
A Fool and h
er Flying Ship
*Available at Big Dog Plays
An absurd comedy based on an old Russian tale
9 F, 7 M. The story always ends happily ever the same. However, a pair of sisters, fed up with playing second fiddle, scheme to control the story for their own glory. But can one change the ‘ever after?’
Soul Survivor (Soul Survivor – excerpt)
*Finalist in the 2018 NYU New Plays for Young Audiences
*Selected playwright, 2018 PlayFestival of the PlayBuilder’s of Hawai’i
1 F, 1 M (playing multiple roles). Reality collides with fantasy, as a teen girl clumsily discovers who she might truly be.
Shipwreck’d on the Body Beautiful, or, the Tats Dancing Man
*World Premiere, Kumu Kahua Theatre, Jan-Feb, 2019
*”Our readers expressed great admiration for this play. Your voice and ideas have made a significant impact on our reading team.” Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center
1 M. After twenty years of performing about his shipwreck adventure in the Pacific, James F. O’Connell faces the self-wrought loneliness of a life caught between subterfuge and fame while challenging his listeners to consider what, truly, defines humanity.
“I walked in not knowing what to expect and was moved by his energy, charisma, and drive. His vulnerability and heart were on display.” Hittingthestage.org
Musical (Mis)Adventures of Goopy and Bagha
*Available at YouthPLAYS
*Originally produced by the Isha Center Home School, Coimbatore, India
*Winner of East Valley Children’s Theatre playwriting competition, AZ
9+ F, 12+ M. 7+ flexible. Goopy and Bagha search for someone, anyone, who will love their awkward musicianship as they comically encounter ghosts, wreck a ship, and inadvertently save a kingdom through their questionable music.
A Highly Ridiculous Tale of Jack
*Available at BigDog Plays
6 M, 3 F, 5 flexible. A strange bagpipe, a clueless King, an overzealous knight, and a princess who is the only one with a clue. A flabbergasting tale of the legendary Jack!
A Most Lamentable and Excruciating ROMEO & JULIET, Or, What hath they done to thee Shakespeare?
*Available at Big Dog Plays
7 F, 3 M. A high school drama group desperately tries to rehearse Romeo and Juliet despite diva attitudes, hijinks, backstabbing and clowning. The show goes on, however in a most hilarious production of something that almost resembles Shakespeare’s classic.
Romance by the Surf
*Featured selection – PlayBuilders of Hawaii 2019 Play Festival
1 F, 1 M. A four character play for two actors.
Short One-Act: An oft-told island tale of surfing and feisty romance becomes the vehicle that brings together a pair of heartfelt young lovers.
Brazen
1 F, 1 M. Short One-Act: An ancient story of boasts and battles in which a braggart chief challenges a woman of legend. Sparks fly.
When a Wave Calls
2 either. Short One-Act Comedy: A humble islander overcomes the wily challenges of a monster wave.
OTHER PRODUCED PLAYS
Honolulu Theatre for Youth
Everyone Knows what a Dragon Looks Like
…and the people spoke music: stories of the Marshall Islands
Keiko and Louie: Best Best Friends (Mostly)
‘Da Bugga Like Eat‘ in Runny Noses, Tiny Tails
‘Birdbrain and Featherhead’ in Fools and Monkey Tales
Pacific Tales
Hawaii Tales
Island Spirits, Island Life, The EPIC Project