LIHUE — The moment Larissa MacKnight walked on stage on Thursday, she forgot her lines. It was also the first time she had done theater. “I feel like it’s going to be much easier tomorrow and less likely that I
LIHUE — The moment Larissa MacKnight walked on stage on Thursday, she forgot her lines.
It was also the first time she had done theater.
“I feel like it’s going to be much easier tomorrow and less likely that I forget my lines again,” said MacKnight, a student at Kapaa Middle School.
MacKnight, along with the rest of the cast and crew, will have a couple opportunities to showcase what Kauai Performing Arts Center has been working on since September.
Kapaa, Chiefess Kamakahelei and Waimea Canyon middle schools are each performing their own independent plays tonight at 7 and again 2 p.m. Sunday.
KPAC is an islandwide program to teach kids about theater.
“We come to together to do one performance,” said Sarah Tochiki, play director at Chiefess Kamakahelei.
“It’s great, it’s special here on Kauai that the kids get to see each other and support each other and gain confidence.”
Chiefess Kamakahelei will be performing “Frankenstein vs. The Horrendous Goo.”
Kapaa will be performing “A Little Jam in the Middle,” directed by Rene Relacion.
Waimea Canyon will put on “Gran’s Guide to Stop an Ogre,” directed by Penny Shimomura.
“Our play is about bullying and lets children understand what to do in a bullying situation,” Shimomura said.
“We’ve been doing practice and drills and to watch them to enjoy and have that moment of true pleasure when they’re on stage, that’s the best part.”
For Relacion, it is his first time writing and directing a play.
“It’s a performance in a performance,” Relacion said.
“There’s a dream sequence about a new teacher who tries to learn how to manage a classroom and learn. In this play, the kids are teaching her.”
MacKnight’s favorite part of “A Little Jam in the Middle” is that she gets to boss everyone else on stage around while her classmate, Sophia Nicole Ibanez, is looking forward to seeing her friends and family while she performs.
“I forgot a couple lines, but I was surprised that I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be when performing publicly,” she said.
The plays will take place at Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.
Each play is about 30 minutes and tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students.
The purchase of one ticket allows the ticket holder to watch all three plays.
