Announcing CAATA ConFest 2020:
Ku’u ‘Āina, Ku’u Piko, Ku’u Kahua – Return to the Source
August 7 – 16, 2020 in Hawai’i
The contributions of theater practitioners from Hawai’i have largely gone unrecognized by American Theater. From being founders and original cast members of every established Asian American Theater or play on the continent, to any broadway play featuring Asian American actors, artists from Hawai’i have been there. It is time to come back to Ku’u ‘Āina (land), Ku’u Piko (center), and Ku’u Kahua (stage).
This year’s ConFest will center the voices of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander theater practitioners. Attendees will be exposed to the idea of what is like to create theater in a state where Asian Americans are in the majority. And be introduced to the thriving theater community of Hawai’i, where Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander faces on stage is the NORM not the exception.
Our conference theme, “Ku‘u ‘Āina, Ku‘u Piko, Ku‘u Kahua,” is a call to all theatre artists to reconnect with their foundations and their sources of knowledge, which may be their land, their family, their center. Performing our stories on the stage is a means to ground ourselves, our cultural knowledge, and our many identities in the works that we bring to our communities. We invite our national colleagues to return to the Piko (the source), witness Hawaiian theater and participate in growing our collective impact.
Festival productions: August 7 – 16, 2020
Conference presentations: August 11 – 15, 2020
Hosted by Hana Keaka, Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, and TeAda Productions.
Mahalo to our generous sponsors and partners including:
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Inamona Theatre Company
Lili`uokalani Trust
T-Shirt Theatre
Theatre Communications Group
