Children’s writer to appear at trio of local events

Award-winning children’s writer and teacher John H. Ritter will appear at three events this month.

Ritter, also known as "The Baseball Novelist," will participate in the annual conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Hawaii Region, at the Ala Moana Hotel from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. On Friday, from 9 a.m. to noon, he will conduct a conference-related fiction-writing workshop at Paki Hale. Both appearances are open to the public.

Ritter, who recently moved from California to Koloa, Kauai, also will read from one of his novels from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Pearl City Public Library. The author will sing and play music he includes in his books, in particular "Under the Baseball Moon."

The event also will to acknowledge the achievements of the Waipio Little League team, the Mililani Pookela softball team and the Central Oahu Wahine softball team.

Ritter’s other books include "Choosing Up Sides," "The Boy Who Saved Baseball" and "Over the Wall." His website is www.johnhritter.com.

For more information on his library visit, call Karen Chun at 453-6566. To learn more about the children’s book conference, call Sue Cowing at 373-9522 or e-mail niuiki@hawaiiantel.net.

5 HCC students get backstage view of Grammys

Five lucky Honolulu Community College students will be at the Grammys shadowing Hawaiian music nominees and enjoying backstage access while viewing the production tonight.

Milani Maybin, Vanessa Dacascos, Joel Chasteen, Noah Cronin and Glenn Molina, part of the college’s Music & Entertainment Learning Experience (MELE) program, won spots by writing two-page essays articulating why they wanted to go to the Grammys, what they hoped to gain from the experience and how it would shape their perception of the music industry.

"We worked hard to provide cool activities for the students," program director Keala Chock said. "Only about 30 people will be allowed backstage with the production crew."

The group will have a four-day stay in Los Angeles. "We are going to workshops including (one on) the evolution of hip-hop," he said. Other highlights include a trip to the Grammy Museum and a panel discussion on "How I Wrote That Song" conducted by Cee Lo Green, Seal, Pitbull, Bonnie McKee, Claude Kelly and BC Jean.

UH production vies for spot at Kennedy Center

The University of Hawaii-Manoa Theatre and Dance program’s production of "The Judith of Shimoda" is being performed in Los Angeles this week as part of a nationwide competition for college drama programs.

"Judith," which debuted last May, is competing with college productions from Arizona, Central and Southern California, southern Nevada and Utah for the chance to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in late spring as part of the American College Theater Festival.

A historical drama by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, "Judith" is based on the story of Okichi, a Japanese geisha. According to legend, she was pressured by Japanese authorities to serve the American consul to ease negotiations over the opening of Japan to the West in the mid-1850s. Brecht’s play focuses on what happens to her after she agrees — though initially hailed as a patriot, she is shunned by her compatriots, turns to alcohol and dies in poverty.

Director Paul Mitri, a UH professor, has called the play a timely comment on the "fall from grace" that many heroes undergo. It was translated by Markus Wessendorf, another UH drama professor.

The UH production was the world premiere of the English-language version of the play. Brecht’s original had been lost for 60 years, and the new version had to be reconstructed.

Mitri and Wessendorf are in Los Angeles, along with 23 others from UH involved in the production. Designers David Gerke, Chesley Cannon, Donald Quillinquin and Amy Shrag will participate in a costume and makeup competition, and Dan D. Randerson, Ryan Wuestewald and D’neka Patton will take part in an acting competition. The students will be posting news as it happens at @KennedyTheatre.