Hawaii’s caregivers are in the spotlight this week as the PlayBuilders of Hawai‘i Theater Company presents its new community-based play, “The Super Executive Aunties of the Malama the Caregivers Collective.” The play will be staged first at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives and then at the Brad Powell Theatre in Iwilei.
PlayBuilders founder Terri Madden developed the script in collaboration with real-life island caregivers. Story circles, workshops and individual interviews helped Madden and her staff collect the authentic caregiver perspectives and personal experiences that became the script.
In addition to sharing their stories with the playwrights, local caregivers are also participating as actors. Audiences will see some theater veterans onstage — Sharon Garcia Doyle, Will Ha‘o, Allan Okubo and Peggy Anne Siegmund — but they will also see some caregivers making their stage debuts.
Madden challenges audiences tell which is which.
“The Super Executive Aunties of the Malama the Caregivers Collective” runs at 7 p.m. Nov. 16-18 at Mission Houses (553 S. King St.). The grounds at Mission Houses open for picnics at 5:30 p.m. The Brad Powell Theatre (650 Iwilei Road) shows will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 20-22. Tickets for all performances are $25; $15 for seniors and students.
For more information or to purchase tickets, go to missionhouses.org or taghawaii.net/dark-nights.
Aviation museum honors veterans
The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum is celebrating Veterans Day weekend with two aviation-themed events on Ford Island. On Friday, Charlie Morris, a Hawaiian Airlines captain, will be the featured speaker at “Hawaiian Airlines: The Newest Addition to Their 94-Year Legacy.” The virtual presentation will go live at 1 p.m. Hawaii time on Zoom and Facebook Live.
Morris will reveal how and why the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was selected as the new flagship carrier for the company. He’ll also share some of his experiences flying for the airline. Questions are welcome.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, historian Daniel Martinez and film director Erik Nelson will co-host a screening of Nelson’s documentary, “Apocalypse ‘45,” in the museum’s Hanger 37 Theater. The film covers the final months of World War II and was assembled from hundreds of reels of archival color film that had been stored at the National Archives. Two dozen survivors of the war provide the narration.
Due to the graphic content of some of the footage, “Apocalypse ‘45” may not be suitable for younger audiences.
Both the virtual talk and film screening are free. To register for either event, visit pearlharboraviationmuseum.org.
4 Hawaii poets celebrate protected lands
Poems by four writers with Hawaii ties are included in “Writing the Land: Windblown II,” an anthology of poetry about places that are protected by land trusts across the United States to preserve them from commercial exploitation and development.
Each poet was paired with a conserved property that they visited and then wrote about. Hawaii’s four poets were paired with places conserved by the Hawai‘i Land Trust on the island they call home.
Azure Kauikeolani Iversen-Keahi describes the Maunawila Heiau Complex on Oahu, Brandy Nalani McDougall found inspiration in the Waihe‘e Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge on Maui, Mahealani Perez-Wendt wrote about the Nu‘u Refuge on Maui, and ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui celebrates the Kahili Beach Preserve on Kauai.
The Hawai‘i Land Trust protects and stewards Hawaii lands through purchases and conservation easements. Proceeds from book sales benefit the trust and other land trusts that participated in the project.
“Writing the Land,” which costs $20, is available at hilt.org (click on “shop”).
