The Waipahu Project
PlayBuilders of Hawai’i Theater Company, in collaboration with The Leeward Theatre, presented The Waipahu Project written by Leeward Community College student and PlayBuilders’ 2015 Playwright-in-Residence, Kirstyn Trombetta, under the tutelage of award winning playwright, Kemuel DeMoville. Directed by Leeward Community College theatre instructor and professional director, Ashley DeMoville, The Waipahu Project was based on stories shared with us by Waipahu residents with the help of PlayBuilders community organizer, Terri Madden, between April of 2014 and February 2015.
Methods for collection included a series of story circles hosted by community organizations such as Hawai’i’s Plantation Village, Waipahu Community Coalition, Leeward Community College and Waipahu High School Early College program. In addition, the play continued in the tradition of community-collaborative work as we feature a large number of Waipahu residents as performers in the piece.
The Waipahu Project reflected on the evolution of this sometimes-marginalized community displaying moments throughout history when Waipahu was a leader in what would become island-wide change. From the days when fresh water burst forth from the Waipahu artisan spring and was considered by Hawaiians the capital of O’ahu, to the O’ahu Sugar Company days when immigrants from all over the world worked the fields, to the arrival of other immigrant groups and the challenges of today’s Honolulu Rail Transit Project.
Methods for collection included a series of story circles hosted by community organizations such as Hawai’i’s Plantation Village, Waipahu Community Coalition, Leeward Community College and Waipahu High School Early College program. In addition, the play continued in the tradition of community-collaborative work as we feature a large number of Waipahu residents as performers in the piece.
The Waipahu Project reflected on the evolution of this sometimes-marginalized community displaying moments throughout history when Waipahu was a leader in what would become island-wide change. From the days when fresh water burst forth from the Waipahu artisan spring and was considered by Hawaiians the capital of O’ahu, to the O’ahu Sugar Company days when immigrants from all over the world worked the fields, to the arrival of other immigrant groups and the challenges of today’s Honolulu Rail Transit Project.
