UH Hawaiian language production invited to global stage

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiian Theatre program is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a major milestone. Its latest Hawaiian language production, Puana, was invited to perform this June at the Kia Mau Festival, an international Indigenously-led performing arts festival in Aotearoa (New Zealand). The festival is a premier showcase of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous performing arts. 

“Kia Mau is a call to hold steadfast. In a way, it’s like our [Hawaiian] word hoʻomau, to perpetuate, and in this circumstance it’s about perpetuating our storytelling,” said Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, director and founder of the UH Mānoa Hawaiian Theatre program. “Having Puana invited to this festival, elevates the work that we’re doing here, and it also puts us on an international stage speaking to the quality of the work that we’re creating, as well.”

Bringing Hawaiian moʻolelo to the world

Puana, which debuted at Kennedy Theatre in September 2024, explores the deep spiritual connections between Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and their kūpuna (ancestors) through the power of song. The production is  performed primarily in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language). 

Two of the lead actors, Ka‘iukapu Baker and Ikaika Mendez, will travel with the production to perform. Mendez, who is from Maui, earned an undergraduate degree in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and musicat UH Mānoa and is now pursuing a graduate degree in Hawaiian theatre. He sees this opportunity as a way to share Native Hawaiian traditions with a global audience.

“A lot of times, our moʻolelo (stories) are seen as childhood tales, little songs. ‘Oh, that’s the hula,” Mendez said. “But when you dig deep into moʻolelo and hana keaka (Hawaiian theatre), it’s really education at its highest form.”

For Kaʻiukapu Baker, performing at Kia Mau is more than just an opportunity—it’s an honor.

“I’m definitely bringing a little bit of nerves but I’m mostly bringing excitement with me to Aotearoa because I love being in their ‘āina (land) and to see the similarities of their land and their language to ours…it is a privilege,” she said 

The 20-member cast and crew need community support to raise $70,000 to cover travel expenses.

Donations can be made to the Hawaiian Theatre Fund through the UH Foundation.

Since its founding in 2014, UH Mānoa’s Hawaiian Theatre program has produced eight original hana keaka, all performed mainly in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. The program is dedicated to revitalizing the Hawaiian language and strengthening cultural identity through theatre.

Its work has earned both local and national recognition. In 2022, Baker was honored with the Kennedy Center Medallion of Excellence, a top award in theatre education, for her leadership in Indigenous arts.