PlayBuilders Collaborates with Maui Okinawa Kenjin Kai on
Our Okinawan Ohana by Lee Tonouchi
PlayBuilders of Hawaiʻi Theatre Company is excited to announce a partnership with the Maui Okinawa Kenjin Kai on a new statewide community-based play, Our Okinawan ʻOhana.
Since late last year, PlayBuilders, in collaboration with playwright Lee Tonouchi, has been gathering stories from Okinawan community members on Oʻahu, which has resulted in a full and rich first draft of the script. To ensure Neighbor Island voices are included, we reached out to the Maui Okinawa Kenjin Kai, which responded with warm enthusiasm.
We will be holding a script reading and story circle on January 24, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Maui Okinawa Cultural Center (MOCC). Okinawan community members, Delania Thomas and Diane Aoki will be leading the story circle and reading alongside PlayBuilders’ Executive Director and lead facilitator, Terri Madden.
This session will be welcoming and interactive, first participating in story circles and then sitting together to read and discuss the script. All members of Maui Okinawa Kenjin Kai are invited, whether Uchinanchu by heritage or connected through family, and friendship.
Looking ahead, Our Okinawan ʻOhana, directed by Reiko Ho, will be performed on September 27, 2026, at the Hawaii Okinawa Center Ballroom on Oʻahu. PlayBuilders also hopes to bring the show to Maui in late October or early November 2026 and will tour MOCC during the January visit to begin planning.
PlayBuilders sends a heartfelt mahalo to the Maui Okinawa Kenjin Kai for its warm welcome. Maui’s stories will help make this play truly reflective of Okinawan life across Hawaiʻi.
For more information about PlayBuilders, please visit www.playbuilders.org or email Terri at [email protected].
Note: Please email [email protected] or call and leave a message at the kaikan office 808-242-1560, if you are interested in participating in the story circle and/or script reading.
Keala Ford, the Girl Wonder, in 2023ʻs "The Super Executive Aunties of the Malama the Caregivers Collective." To learn about any of our former projects check under Past Projects above or watch our videos under the New Page heading.
I
Okinawan Project News!
Lee Tonouchi has written the first draft of "Our Okinawan Ohana"
More information to follow soon! Reading for the community who shared their stories is tenscheduled for January 15!
Hot PlayBuilders News!
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Okinawan Festival last weekend!
What a wonderful celebration it was! We had such a great time visiting the many booths—including the Lion Shishimai selfie booth—and watching all the incredible performances. It was inspiring to see the community come together with such dedication and joy. The organizers worked so hard, and we are so grateful we could be there to join in honoring Okinawan culture.
Looking Ahead: The Okinawan ProjectWe’re excited to share that our Okinawan Project is moving into its next phase. So far, we’ve hosted seven story circles and conducted interviews with more than 40 community members. Thanks to these rich and heartfelt contributions, playwright Lee Tonouchi has already begun crafting the play.
Rehearsals will begin in mid-August 2026 at the Jikoen Honwanji Social Hall, with two performances scheduled for September 26, 2026, at the Okinawan Center. We’re also working to secure additional venues so we can bring this important play to more communities across Hawai‘i, including the Big Island and Maui.
Mahalo for the SupportWe are deeply appreciative of the in-kind support we’ve already received from the Okinawan Center and Jikoen Honwanji. As we move forward, we continue to seek funding to ensure that our community participants, story collectors, playwright, director, and team are recognized and compensated for their work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A note from Jon Itomura, Executive Director at Hawaii United Okinawa Association: "The translation for the Japanese characters is read in Okinawan... "Miree Ya Kugani" , A Bright Hopeful Future ". Japanese will read Okinawan words differently because Okinawa, like the Hawaiians, did not have a written language, thus, words and names are often mis-read as the Okinawan word is read differently from the literal translation of the Japanese characters. Japanese Mirai = Future / "in okinawan" and Korean = miree, Kugani "in Okinawan" = gold)"
lee tonouchi + PLAYBUILDERS =
1 great Local kine
Okinawan community-Based Play !
PlayBuilders is excited to collaborate with the Hawaii United Okinawa Association, Young Okinawans of Hawaii, Okinawan Paranku Ladies and other Okinawan groups to collect stories for playwright Lee Tonouchi to write an original community-based play commemorating 125 years of Okinawan immigration to Hawai'i and worldwide.
Directed by Reiko Ho, the play will be presented by PlayBuilders on September 26, 2026 in the Okinawan Center Ballroom, courtesy of HUOA, at 4 pm and 7 pm. Additional venues and dates will be announced in the near future.
To learn what to expect at a PlayBuildersʻ Talk-Story Circle, please copy and paste the following link into your browser and take a look at this YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVP_EGElK-I&t=6s
Okinawan Talk-Story Circles are On-going
Please contact Terri Madden at
[email protected] for dates, times and location.
Project-Based, Not Season-Based
PlayBuilders of Hawai‘i operates through community-driven projects rather than traditional theatrical seasons. Each production grows organically out of relationships with specific communities, beginning with story circles, interviews, and collaborative development.
This approach allows us to stay responsive to the needs, timing, and voices of the people we serve. Instead of a preset season, our work emerges when the stories are ready to be told—ensuring that every piece is rooted in authenticity, cultural respect, and shared ownership.
PlayBuilders of Hawaiʻi Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Organization.
