Fall 2025 Update

PlayBuilders of Hawai‘i Theater Company – Fall 2025 Update

A message from Terri Madden, Founder & Executive Director
Recent HighlightsHanafuda with Grandma

​This summer, we presented Diane Aoki’s Hanafuda with Grandma — part reading, part community celebration — at Mission Memorial Auditorium. Act I invited the audience to play hanafuda together, and Act II featured a one-hour staged reading directed by Denise Aiko Chinen. It was our first time being granted both rehearsal and performance space at Mission Memorial Auditorium — a milestone in our partnership with the City and County of Honolulu. Over 200 people attended (about 80% capacity), and the event raised $564 in community donations. Though not part of a formal series, Hanafuda with Grandma connected naturally to our upcoming Okinawan project.






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Okinawan Project: Our Okinawan OhanaOur upcoming production, Our Okinawan Ohana: Stories from Hawai‘i’s Okinawan Community, has been a true labor of love — and this year, we have so much to celebrate. Over the past months, we’ve conducted numerous story circles and individual interviews with community members, capturing memories, humor, struggles, and pride that span generations. Playwright Lee A. Tonouchi has already written 65 beautiful pages weaving these voices together into a play that reflects the heart and soul of Hawai‘i’s Okinawan community.
A reading of the first draft will take place on January 8, 2026, at Jikoen Hongwanji. In January or February 2026, I will travel to Hawai‘i Island and Maui to conduct additional story circles and build new relationships. We are grateful for in-kind support from Mission Memorial Auditorium, Okinawan Cultural Center, and Jikoen Hongwanji. Rehearsals will run from mid-August through late September 2026, with performances on September 26, 2026, at the Okinawan Ballroom. We are now raising funds for stipends for community participants and travel to the neighbor islands.
[Insert Photo: Participants share stories during the Paranku Ladies Story Circle.]
Forum Theatre: Building Community Through ActionIn February 2026, we’ll begin community Forum Theatre training sessions at Mission Memorial Auditorium. Forum Theatre transforms audience members into active participants — exploring real issues, rehearsing solutions, and discovering empathy through performance. I’m especially interested in working with people who have never done theatre before but who care deeply about community. Sessions will begin with open community nights, then expand to targeted group partnerships, and later to empowerment projects with underrepresented groups.
This work is inspired by my studies with David Diamond and will include a “First Joker Toolkit” to guide safe, inclusive facilitation. Forum Theatre will also play a central role in our NEA GAP proposal, Chinatown O‘ahu Rising.
Community Forum Theatre sessions begin February 2026 — photos coming soon.
Grant Writing & PartnershipsThis year, we submitted our National Endowment for the Arts GAP proposal for Chinatown O‘ahu Rising, designed as a two-phase project: Phase One focuses on story circles, interviews, recording, transcription, and Forum Theatre training; Phase Two includes quarterly Forum Theatre events, playwriting, and development of a full community production. We expect to hear back from the NEA in May 2026. In the meantime, I’m preparing two additional applications — one for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and another for the City and County of Honolulu’s Grants in Aid program.
Our ongoing partnership with the City and County, especially in-kind support of Mission Memorial Auditorium, continues to be essential to our growth.
Board & Organizational GrowthI recently created a Board Recruitment Brochure to invite new members who share our values and commitment to community-based theatre. We’re seeking individuals with experience in fundraising, finance, and community engagement to help strengthen PlayBuilders’ next chapter. Our goal is to add two to three new Board members in 2026 to support sustainability, share leadership, and expand our reach.
With aloha,
Terri Madden
Founder & Executive Director
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​PROFESSOR CHAE LEE DESIGN WORKSHOP HELPS CREATE NEW IDENTITY LOGO FOR PLAYBUILDERS!

Last year, the PlayBuilders Board of Directors decided that it would be a good idea to mark our 10th anniversary by having a fresh new logo created. Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak contacted ​Professor Chae Ho Lee, Chair of the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoaʻs Department of Art and Art History, for help. Chae told us about a design worship he runs in the spring where the senior design students work on projects for non-profits, and after some vetting on his part, he chose PlayBuilders to be part of it.  He said, "Non-profits often do not have the money to pay for good design, but they deserve good design."  He chose us because he believed our mission would be meaningful to his students. We were thrilled when offered us the opportunity to have them design the logo for us.

The process was an amazing experience for us. The workshop was set up as a competitive experience for the students. Each had to interview the client. In this case, Terri Madden of PlayBuilders. They had to research our history, what we do, design the logos, and then present the logos in a business like manner with the goal of obtaining the commission. About 30 students competed against each other.  Just like real life.   Terri Madden says, "Being on the receiving end of those presentation was overwhelming. Each student understood our history and mission on a very deep level. It was like they were becoming an important part of who we are.  The passion, thought and talent that went into each design was beautiful and affirming."  Finally, each student did a final presentation of their finished logo to several board, and soon after, the class was notified of the selection.

It was not an easy decision to make. All of the logos were excellent, and we could have proudly chosen several of them, but it was Abbey Drew's that drew us in because although it is modern, it has so much aloha. Each component of the design can be used as a teaching tool to help explain our methodology in community-based playmaking. We appreciate Professor Chae Ho Lee and all the students who put so much into the creation of amazing designs. Thank you for helping us and for  serving hardworking non-profits of Hawaiʻi in this way. Mahalo nui to everyone and congratulations to Abbey Drew for being selected.