Making Waves For Our Ocean
It’s no longer Save Our Whales, but Save Our Oceans. While the sea might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Canada, that North American country initiated World Oceans Day some years ago, and it has grown into an annual celebration of awareness about the great bodies of water that surround our global land masses. Hawaii is joining in the international effort, thanks to the efforts of environmental nonprofit PangeaSeed and Honolulu Museum of Art.
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A full week of activities at the museum will feature art, films and keiki activities — all themed to bring attention to what our lovely Pacific does for us and what the community can do to keep her environmentally prosperous. On tap are renowned husband-and-wife team Kozyndan (kozyndan.com), a pair of artists who tackle modern conservation issues with their digitally painted pencil drawings, and Olek (oleknyc.com), whose famous yarn art is out of this world ― her work here will feature a water world, of course. Both sets of contemporary artists are creating site-specific installations that will remain on view through August.
Oceans Day Film Fest will run June 7-8, with screenings about deep-water freediving; the threat of oil spills to a sustainable, community-based oyster fishing industry; the free-diving women of a South Korean island who collect seafood without scuba equipment; sushi and its demand for the ocean’s depleting fish stock. And that’s only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Feature films screened during the twoday fest will be followed by related short films, as well as Q&A sessions and panel discussions with experts in the various fields. Keiki day is June 8, where games, films and more will help get kids caring about Hawaii’s liquid blue yonder.
the TICKET stub
WORLD OCEANS DAY
When: June 6-12
Where: Honolulu Museum of Art
Cost: Varies by activity
More Info: 430-1755, worldoceansdayhawaii.org
ALSO SHOWING
‘Catch Me’ … Oh, Do
A young guy goes on a white-collar crime spree and gets a movie made about him. Now, Catch Me If You Can has been turned into a musical as well? Yes, and though you might feel a twinge of consternation rooting for the “bad guy,” the show at Diamond Head Theatre (through June 8, diamondheadtheatre.com) addresses the situation. Aleks Pevec — former DHT Shooting Star who also performed in Catch Me on Broadway in 2011 — plays Frank who has an absent mom and a dad who steers him toward sly dealings at every turn. Charismatic cop, Zack Oldham as Carl, is a worthy adversary. The two actually have a lot in common, presented in a scene where, lonely on a holiday, they share a duet about their parallel rough childhoods. It’s just that, one became a cop, the other a criminal.
The Strong family, whose daughter has a romance with Frank, are a lively trio, and the ensemble zips from one attractive change of clothes to the next while pumping out energetic dance numbers. The changing sets create instant emotional atmospheres, while inspired theatrical design has the band playing on stage. This is one of DHT’s great ones.
‘Clybourne’ Turns Stereotypes On Their Head
Clybourne Park at Manoa Valley Theatre (through June 8, manoavalleytheatre.com) leaves its audience thinking … lots. We follow a set of characters in 1959 when a black family is about to move into an upper-class white neighborhood. In Act II we pick up on the scene 50 years later with the same actors, but a different set of characters. Right when we think they’re going one way with the race issue, they suddenly spin it around and pretty soon we’re listening to honky jokes, black jokes and stereotypes all mixed together, but in a refreshingly non-stereotypical manner.
The theatrical microcosm is a little globe unto itself, referencing humanity’s ways of building walls rather than connections — a dangerous pastime that can only end in violence and death. Using land as a bargaining chip, deft acting all around addresses the myopia that plagues society, not just in regard to race, but all oblique segments of society, be it those who are deaf, gay, autistic or mentally challenged. Fittingly, the deaf character is the one most aloof from the swirling chaos. Would that we were all deaf to discriminatory consciousness.
Clybourne‘s is a simple message eloquently prosecuted, and with a couple of combustive moments that highlight the necessary outcome of holier-than-thou provincialism, pettiness and the ignorance of professing to be rightly situated while inadvertently propagating harm. MVT has a smart little production on its hands.
