Board of Directors

PlayBuilders Board of Directors

Paul Kuehn, President
During his 28 year career in teaching and administration in both elementary and higher education in California, Paul and his wife LuAnn caught the Community Theatre bug from a friend who encouraged them to join her in volunteering in local theatres. After retiring from the State of California and moving to Hawaii, Paul found himself working at Leeward Community College as Dean of Academic Services, where one of his responsibilities was oversight of the Leeward Theatre. During this time, he was introduced to a relatively new Theatre Company, PlayBuilders, and soon they became Artists in Residence at Leeward Theatre. Paul has since retired, again, and enjoys spending time with his three grandchildren, working with PlayBuilders and enjoying his new home, Hawaii. If you look hard enough, you might catch him very early on Saturday mornings kayaking near Ala Moana.

Donna Prather, Immediate Past President and Vice President
When Donna arrived in Hawai’i 20 years ago, it was with the idea that her family would spend two years here before moving on to her husband’s next assignment. By the end of the first year, however, she was telling friends that they would have to drag her kicking and screaming onto a plane to leave. And so, the family stayed. In 1993, Donna began a 15-year career, first as faculty then as Chief Academic Officer, at TransPacific Hawaii College in Aina Haina. During that time, she received her MA in ESL from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Donna also has a Master’s Degree in Urban Studies from Old Dominion University. From 2008-2012, she served as the Executive Director of the Atherton YMCA, a Campus Y, adjacent to UH. Her last and only starring role was la Princesse de Navarre in the eponymous play by Jean-Philippe Rameau. Staged in French by the Department of Foreign Languages, the play was performed at the University of Louisville.

Deanna Espinas, Secretary
Deanna Espinas was born and raised in Honolulu and currently resides in Palolo Valley. She worked for the Department of Public Safety for over 31 years as a correctional librarian, and retired in January 2014.She serves on the board of directors for Hawaii's Plantation Village, the Filipino-American Historical Society of Hawaii, Friends of the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and Hawaii People's Fund. She enjoys participating in a variety of cultural activities which celebrate people's experiences growing up in Hawaii. She is a member of Keolumana United Methodist Church, Faith Action for Community Equity, and just began her term on the Hawaii District Board of United Methodist Women.

Espinas believes that stories of family and friends who were born in the Philippines and struggled to make a new home for themselves here and elsewhere are fascinating. All stories shared become movies for the mind. There is an opportunity to imagine the actors, hear their voices, see what they wore, ate, and feel their emotions; these are memories to be passed on to our children.

Laura Clark Greaver, Treasurer
Laura has an MFA in Theatre Directing from UH and a BA in Theatre with an emphasis in Acting and Directing from Cal State Northridge. She is a lecturer at UH and was an Acting and Improvisation teacher as well as producer and director with Teenage Drama Workshop at CSUN. She was also an assistant director and co-producer of the Chaminade Collegiate Theatre Festival. Aside from theatre, Laura has been owner of Clark-Greaver Bookkeeping since 2002. Her bookkeeping business services small businesses in both the Honolulu and Los Angeles areas. She has previously served as Treasurer on The Board of Directors of The Repertory East Playhouse and The TEAM Referral Network of SCV

Norma Combs
Norma was featured in PlayBuilders’ very first community based play, "Wahiawa, Remembah Wen…" and also participated in the Po’okela Award winning productions of "Houseless in Paradise" and "Dragonfly, The Story of a Young Local Girl's Journey Through Foster Care". She is a special education teacher and currently teaches drama at Aliamanu Middle School in Salt Lake. She has a Bachelors of Business degree from the University of Hawaii and a Masters in Special Education from the University of Phoenix. She served 10 years in the U.S. Army, Air Defense Artillery and was honorably discharged as a Captain. She and her husband, Robert E. Combs, have been married for 26 years and have a daughter, Leilani Lariing Combs, and a 2 year old Chihuahua terrier, Paco.

Robert Yokoyama
Robert Yokoyama, is a member of the PlayBuilders' Ensemble and was seen in "Wahiawa, Remembah Wen...", "Houseless in Paradise", "The Waipahu Project", and "Dragonfly, The Story of a Young Local Girlʻs Journey Through Foster Care." He studied English at the University of Hawaii, and has been employed at Abilities Unlimited as a direct support worker since 2010. Robert is one of the most active members of PlayBuilders Board of Directors.

Terri Madden, Founder, Executive Director, Acting Artistic Director
Terri founded PlayBuilders of Hawai'i Theater Company early in 2011 and has served as their managing director since. She holds a BA in Political Science and an MFA in Theatre from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Since founding PlayBuilders, she has spearheaded 12 original community-based plays that were written in collaboration with residential communities of Wahiawa, Waipahu, and Chinatown, as well as special interest groups such as Honolulu’s homeless, LGBTQ (Honolulu and Leeward), former foster youth, and sexual assault survivors. She is now currently working on a play under special agreement with Hawaiian Missionary Houses, as well as on a play with and for domestic violence survivors.

Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak, The PlayBuilders Ensemble Advisor
Elizabeth retired in July 2018 from her post as Professor of Theatre and Director of the Asian Theatre Program in the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Department of Theatre & Dance, where she received her Ph.D. in Asian Theatre in 1983. While carrying out the field research for her doctoral dissertation, she became the first non-Chinese to perform Jingju (Beijing/Peking “opera”) in the People’s Republic of China. Since that time she has written and published on the performance structure and aesthetics of Chinese theatre, and has translated and directed one modern, four “newly-written historical/mythological,” and five classical Jingju plays at the University of Hawai‘i; at Chinese invitation, three classical productions have been given performance tours of mainland China. Dr. Wichmann-Walczak is the first honorary (and first non-Chinese) member of the National Xiqu (“Chinese opera”) Institute and of the Chinese Theatre Artists Associations of Shanghai and of Jiangsu Province. She has been awarded the National Xiqu Music Association’s Kong Sanchuan award for excellence in research, creation, and performance, as well as the National Festival of Jingju’s Golden Chrysanthemum Award for outstanding achievements in promoting and developing Jingju. She was named a Founder of Asian Performance Study in North America by the professional Association for Asian Performance in 2014; received the 2018 Pierre Bowman Po‘okela Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Hawai‘i State Theatre Council; was awarded the 2018 international Dr. Shuang Xin Tsao Foundation Award for “outstanding, unique, and creative accomplishments” in the field of Jingju; and was one of ten people named “Person of the Year” at the “7th Annual Selection of Persons of the Year in the Transmission of and Propagation of Chinese Culture,” a ceremony taped by China Central Television in Beijing, 2019.

Kevin P. Henry

Kevin has worked for over 30 years as a diversity and equity trainer, facilitator, community advocate, and writer. After moving to Oahu in 2015, he worked as the Volunteer Engagement Manager for Child & Family Service, a nonprofit that serves Domestic Violence survivors and At-Risk and sexually abused children. His role there involved recruiting and managing volunteers and training staff in understanding diversity and equity and improving communication skills. His work there also included career coaching for D.V. survivors and producing an Anti-Bullying video. Kevin has appeared several times on radio and TV in Hawaii talking about the importance of supporting survivors of Domestic Violence and those who are affected by PTSD.

Kevin managed the City of Bellevue's Diversity Program (Bellevue, Washington) for 20 years, which involved producing events, panel discussions, seminars and forums that focused on a myriad of social, diversity and equity issues. In addition, Kevin was the host of the Voices of Diversity radio program for seven years on KBCS-FM, 91.3 (Bellevue-Seattle) and worked as an actor and voiceover artist, recording commercials for radio and TV stations, and narration for educational videos. As a journalist, Kevin has worked for the Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Times and Seattle Woman magazine. He is also a travel blogger and writes about the fun that can be had in Hawaii.

Kevin Bardsley-Marcial
Kevin has been a resident of Hawaii for over 30 years and has lived in both Kauaʻi and Oahu. The oldest of four children, with his dad being in the military, he was able to travel to various places while growing up around the world. He graduated from Kalaheo High School in 1995, and holds a BA in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and an MA in Education focusing in Special Education from the University of Phoenix. Kevin became the Community Liaison and Project Manager at BAYADA in 2019. His professional experience of working alongside individuals diagnosed with special needs from Early Intervention, the state Department of Education and Medicaid Waiver, began in September 2002. He has worked in various settings and contracts as either a 1:1 aide (Paraprofessional and Direct Support Worker), or in a consultant role (Behavioral Instructional Support Service and Service Supervisor), and has an extensive background in community integration activities. This has allowed him to gain insight into the needs of individuals participating in BAYADA programs, the realms of Special Education, Early Intervention Services and Applied Behavior Analysis. He also currently serves on various boards either as a representative, co-chair or an elective officer, such as: Hawai’i State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Hawai’i Waiver Provider Association, Best Buddies Oahu Chapter and West Honolulu Children’s Community Council.