Theater is usually something that the public experiences as passive observers. However, when Alvin Chan’s production of “20,000 Leagues Deep, #hawaii_ascending” opens Friday at the University of Hawaii’s Kennedy Theatre, the audience will be part of the action from the moment they step into the lobby.
“We wanted to do a show that focused on climate change in Hawaii, so we set it with the idea that the audience members are scientists who are going to board the ‘Nautilus’ submarine and go on an adventure,” Chan explained recently. “We basically say, ‘Welcome, you’re on board a submarine.’ Then we lead groups of kids through the side hallways (of the theater) that will be decorated to look like the inner workings of a submarine, and pretty much zigzags all over the place throughout the theater, so that the kids really do feel like they’re a part of the action, as opposed to just sitting down and watching.”
A maximum of 25 “scientists” per 40-minute performance will embark on an imaginative journey inspired by Jules Verne’s famed novel, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” and search for solutions to the problems of pollution, sea level rise and climate change.
The adventure, which is geared for third through sixth graders, includes an encounter with a giant kraken (sea monster) that was created when trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch somehow came to life.
Chan, who directs the play, brought impressive credentials to the project. His credits as an actor include a starring role in Kumu Kahua Theatre’s 2001 production of “A Language of Their Own;” the title role in “Macbeth” at the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival in 2003; and a chilling performance as a painfully shy loner-turned-mass-killer in “Echoes of Dat Red Guitar” at Kumu Kahua in 2015. He spent eight years at the Honolulu Theatre for Youth — initially as a company actor, and then as an artistic associate who wrote and directed HTY shows.
Chan was teaching a class last fall at the University of Hawaii at Manoa when the idea of using the entire theater as a performance space came into focus as an immersive Theatre for Young Audiences project.
During the class, Chan and his students developed the script.
“We created the story and the characters, and a lot of those students are now in the show. That’s how we were able to get it done, but for me alone, I was like, OK, I can direct this, but it’s a huge project for one person (to develop).”
COVID-19 restrictions were still in place when Chan and the students were writing the script. That made doing something with smaller audiences an attractive option. It also got Chan thinking about other unconventional approaches to theater productions.
“We’re giving designers and giving students the chance to do something completely different from a performance standpoint and a design standpoint. … Not just memorizing your lines, but learning how to successfully interact with children, which is where my HTY history comes into play.”
Chan and the students addressed another challenge as playwrights.
“We definitely had to approach this from the standpoint of how do we build a show that presents a problem but also offers great ways for young people to create a solution,” he said. “There are lots of different riddles and puzzles for the kids to solve along the way that all have to deal with climate change, and the difference between good energy and bad energy sources, to get them thinking about better practices (and) energy consumption. We’re trying to treat the kids as scientists who can help the adults solve the puzzle.”
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“20,000 Leagues Deep, #hawaii_ ascending”
>> Where: Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa
>> When: 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m Friday; also at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. March. 3, and at 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., Feb. 26, March 4-5
>> Tickets: $20 (adults) and $10 (ages 2-17); other discounts available
>> Info: manoa.hawaii.edu/liveonstage/leagues
>> Note: Recommended for audiences third grade and older. Audience limit is 25 people per performance.
