The Hawaii Academy of Performing Arts will go live, then virtual , for its 44th annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards event.
It’s set for Sept. 11 as a “live” event filmed for telecast Oct. 7 via KFVE.
There will be an array of entertainment and entertainers, clad in finery like the customary awards evening, with a bento part of the Hawaii Theatre proceedings.
“Ho‘ala Hou — A New Awakening” is the theme for the proceedings.
The idea is to enable nominees and the retinue of performers the chance to celebrate in person – social distancing has not been factored in, at this time – to maintain the aura of an awards celebration, considering the nearly two years of lockdowns and the rebirth of live entertainment around town, with HARA carrying the banner to uplift the musical community with –what else — music.
Though 40 awards categories are at stake, attendees will have to wait for the announcement of winners in a prime-time show from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 7 on KFVE, with an encore presentation in the same time slot on KGMB.
HARA members will have first dibs at tickets, so if you’re an industry participant, you should receive details and protocols via a link provided in an email.
At the Hawaii Theatre, doors will open at 4 p.m. for no-host refreshments outside of the theater, fronting the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park. Tickets include boxed bentos from Kuhio Avenue Food Halls, available from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Pre-show festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m., with footage filmed for Facebook and aired prior to the show. The broadcast at 7 p.m. will include presenters and performances, with possible pauses for re-takes, if necessary. The experience will be akin to be being in a studio where a show is being taped.
Tickets are $65 to $110 (plus $9.50 for ticketing fee, benefitting the Hawaii Theatre). HARA members will be first to sign up; public sales will begin next week, and members are asked not to share the HARA link with non-members.
COVID-19 mandates will be in place, with attendance requiring a valid vaccination card or a FDA-EAU negative test result 48 hours prior to the event. …
No Po‘okela Awards this year
The Hawaii State Theatre Council is shelving its Po‘okela Awards this season, largely due to the pandemic but also because it is reexamining and bolstering its awards evening, celebrating excellence in theater.
‘Play/Write’ competition under way
Kumu Kahua Theatre and BambooRidge are partnering to launch “Go Try Play/Write,” a monthly playwriting competition.
Entrants must write/create a five-page monologue or a 10-page scene, based on a monthly prompt.
Every month, Kumu Kahua’s artistic director Harry Wong II will provide a prompt to define a scene.
The contest starts at the first of the month and concludes the last day of the month.
The August prompt is a monologue or scene depicting a confrontation between a person and a cockroach. A monthly winner will be selected and receive $20 and a subscription to Bamboo Ridge Press. There is no cost to enter; for details, call 536-4441 or visit kumukahua.org
Entries must be submitted at https://www.kumukahua.org/gotryplaywrite
And that’s “Show Biz.”
Can’t wait! Hope I can watch it online. Aloha Dolores