Production Staff
Production Manager: Daniel Sakimura
Stage Manager: Maria L.S.L. Liu
Faculty Design Advisors: Joseph D. Dodd, David A Griffith
Running Crew: Zac Fong, Kekai Garcia, Kristina Ranoa,
Daniel Sakimura, and Students from THEA 221 and 240
Properties Coordinator: Amy Schrag
Properties Construction: Hitoshi Hamatani, Amy Schrag
Scenic Artist: David Gerke
Faculty Technical Director: David A Griffith
Staff Techinical Director: Gerald Kawaoka
Production Electrician: Asuka Endo
Master Electrician: Donald Quiliquin
Electricians: Lavour Addison, Trevor Henry Craighead, David Gerke,
Brittany Paller, Reinhold Schmid, Philip Tumbaga, and Students from
THEA 221
Rigger: David A Griffith
Set Construction Crew: Chesley Cannon, David Gerke, Donald Quilinquin,
Lavour Addison, Philip Tumbaga, Trevor Craighead, Lia Nakao,
Reinhold Schmid, Brittany Paller, Wednesday Harter, and Students from
THEA 240 and 221
Staff Costume Shop Manager: Hannah Schauer Galli
Costume Construction Crew: Jenilea Heath, Evelyn Leung,
Kale`a Raymond, Amy Schrag, Meg Thiel
Painter/Dyer: Cheri Vasek
Wardrobe Supervisor: Sharon Garcia Doyle
Dressers: Nicholas Atiburcio, Chatrice Barnes, Hannah Burgess,
Trevor Craighead, Erin Chung, Aisha Goshi-Otaguro, Marion Kanemori,
Seth N. Lilley, Shirley Miyamoto, Kale`a Raymond, Philip Tumbaga
Makeup Coordinators: Kuanoni Kaniaupi, Michelle Chibana,
Evelyn Leung
Tenugui Art: Alvin Chan
Tenugui Design: Yvette Z Vandermolen
Tenugui Printing: Carlos Alcivar, Amano Screen Printing & Embroidery
Chirashi Design: Elisa Diehl
Information Technology Support: Thomas D. Vandermolen
Front of House Staff
M A I N S TA G E
2010-2011 SEASON
Staff Theatre Manager: Marty Myers
Box Office Staff: Cindy Hartigan, Jordan Hensley, Nick Murray Husted,
Alana Kleven, Stefannye Slaughter
Publicity Director: Tracy Robinson
Publicity Assistants: Rashida Vennie, Matthew Pescador
Web Assistant: Erin Sim
Graphic Designer: Brett T. Botbyl
Photographer: Reese Moriyama
Program Editor and Lobby Display: Kristina Tannenbaum
Kennedy Theatre House Manager: Sarah Rohde
Assistant House Managers: Garrett Ornellas, Amber Spaulding
Department Office Staff: Tana Marin, Lori Ann Chun
Director of Dance: Gregg Lizenbery
Department Chair: W. Dennis Carroll
Front of House Information
For lost and found, large print programs, Assistive Listening Devices
or any other accessibility requests, please contact the House
Manager or call the Kennedy Theatre Box Office at 956-7655.
To arrange a Campus Security Escort from any two points on campus
please see a House Manager.
Please silence all pagers, phones and digital watches.
No photography, video recording, or text messaging is permitted.
Please refrain from eating, drinking or smoking in the theatre.
Visit us on the web at http://www.hawaii.edu/kennedy
Acknowledgements:
The UHM ticket program is supported in part by a grant from the Student
Activities and Program Fee Board.
The Kennedy Theatre production program is generously supported by grants
from the John Chin Young Foundation and the Hung Wo Ching Foundation.
(Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba)
by Chikamatsu Tokusô, Tatsuoka Mansaku
and Namiki Shôzô II
Translated and adapted by Julie A. Iezzi
Apr 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, at 8pm
Apr 17, 24 at 2pm
Apr 10 (Alpha Delta Kappa Benefit Performance)
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
College of Arts and Humanities
Department of Theatre and Dance
and the Music Department
Artistic Staff
Project Director: Julie A. Iezzi
Choreographer: Onoe Kikunobu
Music Director: Howard Asao
Guest Nagauta Shamisen Advisor: Kineya Wakichi
Guest Percussion Advisor: Kashiwa Senjirô
Guest Scenic and Properties Advisor: Hamatani Hitoshi
Wig Specialist: George Wago
Scenic Designer: Chesley Cannon †
Lighting Designer: David Gerke †
Costume Coordinator: Hannah Schauer Galli
Assistant Director: Yvette Z Vandermolen •
Assistant Scenic Designer: Amy Schrag
Dramaturg: Travis Seifman
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Act 1
Scene 1 The Chase—on a country road in Ise Province
Scene 2 Futami Bay
Act 2
Scene 1 The Abura Teahouse in the town of Furuichi, in Ise Province
Scene 2 An inner room of the Abura Teahouse
The show will be performed without an intermission
Proceeds from the purchase of tenugui and chirashi will be donated to the
Japanese Red Cross in support of the continuing relief efforts in Japan.
Additional donations are graciously accepted and appreciated.
Join us for free pre-show chats on the mainstage at 7pm:
Sat Apr 9: Dr. James Brandon, Professor Emeritus of Theatre & Dance,
"English-Language Kabuki at UH Mānoa"
Sat Apr 23: Travis Seifman, dramaturg, “The Real Story Behind the Play”
Audience Hawkers...........E. Danielle Belvin (Sadako)*, Matthew Lopaka Pescador (Sunao),
Elise Diehl (Takao)*, Daniel Sakimura (Tanehide)*
Tsuke Player.....................Daniel Sakimura*
Joshirô...............................Kristina ‘Matsu’ Tannenbaum
Daizô.................................Maseeh Ganjali
Rinpei...............................Luke Cheng
Fukuoka Mitsugi..............James Schirmer
Imada Manjirô.................Nick Ishimaru
Teahouse maid 1..............E. Danielle Belvin*
Teahouse maid 2..............Adeline Kasey
Teahouse maid 3..............Jasmine Yep
Aidamaya Kitaroku.........Nicholas Murray Husted*
Okishi..............................Ma Yan
Senno................................Yining Lin
Manno..............................Meg Thiel*
Kisuke...............................Tyler Nichols
Oshika..............................Jillian Blakkan-Strauss*
Tokushima Iwaji..............Christopher McGahan
Okon.................................Evelyn Leung*
Taiko mochi......................Travis Seifman
Jirosuke............................Elisa Diehl*
Ise Dancers.......................Adeline Kasey, E. Danielle Belvin*, Jasmine Yep, Hikari Tsuno
Lori Admiral, Carlos Alcivar, Howard Asao, Thomas Bingham, Joshua Barnes, Lori Chun,
Brandon Goda, Bryson Goda, Kineya Wahatsu, Kenny Endo, Eloise Hamatani, Robert Huey,
Tana Marin, Byron Moon, Yusuke Ozawa, Gay Satsuma, Alvin Shiraishi, Ricardo Trimillos,
Colleen Young; George Toyama and CarpetsPlus Hawai‘i, Onoe Kikunobu Dance Company,
Japan-America Society of Hawai‘i, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science, San Francisco
Note: During most of the play, two characters have switched identities with each other. So as
not to spoil the reveal, each has been listed above as the character he is pretending to be.
Wigs provided by Osakaya Wigs, Tokyo, Japan
Musicians
Shamisen..........................Howard Asao, principal;
Kineya Sakio, Brandon K. Goda, Nancy Marsden
Singers..............................Howard Asao, Brandon K. Goda
Narimono (percussion)..Elisa Diehl, Kirstin Pauka, Kristina Tannenbaum, Ju-Hua Wei
Takebue, Nohkan.............John Chow Seymour
* In partial fulfillment of Master of Fine Arts Degree requirements in Asian Performance
† In partial fulfillment of Master of Fine Arts Degree requirements in Design
• In partial fulfillment of Master Of Fine Arts Degree requirements in Directing
Major Support for the 2010-2011 Kabuki Training, Production,
and Outreach Program Provided By:
The Office of the Chancellor, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
The University of Hawai‘i Japanese Studies Endowment
Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
The National Resource Center East Asia, UHM
Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu
The Yamada Chie Ethnomusicology Fund
The University of Hawai‘i Foundation Japanese Theatre Fund
Thanks Go To the Following Individuals and Groups for Making the
Training Program, Production, Outreach and Fundraiser Possible:
Support for Backstage at the Kabuki
Department of Theatre and Dance Fundraiser Event Provided By:
Waikiki Parc Hotel, Hospitality Sponsor for the Arts at UHM
Ho‘okipa Catering
Silent Auction Donors:
Aloha Lomilomi, Hawaiian Island Therapy, Chamber Music Hawai‘i, Diamond Head
Theatre, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Manoa Valley Theatre, Kumu Kahua Theatre, Hawai‘i
Shakespeare Festival, Ballet Hawai‘i, Irifune Restaurant, Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, Julie Iezzi,
W. Dennis and Elsa Carroll, Kirstin Pauka, Annie Reynolds, Riley Yogi
Director’s Notes
Hawai‘i is, for many reasons, a unique place. One of note is that Hawai‘i can
boast the only ongoing kabuki tradition outside of Japan. Touring troupes first came
from Japan to entertain the new immigrant plantation workers here in 1893. Since 1924,
the University of Hawai‘i has been producing English language kabuki. From the very
beginning, these productions were a cooperative effort between the local community,
the university, and artists from Japan. This collaboration is still central to “Hawai‘i
Kabuki,” enabling UHM to bring the 31st full-scale kabuki, The Vengeful Sword, to the
stage.
When people work together, amazing things can be accomplished. In light of
the recent earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan, now is one of those pivotal times
that requires of us, as compassionate human beings and supporters of culture and the
arts, to come together in support of the people of Japan. We would like to dedicate these
kabuki performances to the victims of the disaster, and donate all proceeds from the
sales of tenugui (towels) and chirashi (broadsheets) to the Japan relief effort. We hope
all of you will support those in Japan, the mother country of this amazing Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity called kabuki.
--Julie A. Iezzi
Dramaturg’s Notes
The Vengeful Sword, or Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba, takes place in the bustling post
town of Furuichi, near the Grand Shrine of Ise, one of the two most ancient and sacred
Shinto shrines in all of Japan. Visitors to the shrine make offerings to the kami and gain
purification, but once that’s done, they demand entertainment and other pleasures. In 1796, the year in which our play is set, Furuichi is at its peak. The town boasts
three or four puppet theatres, and three kabuki theatres. There are also roughly seventy
teahouses, housing about one thousand courtesans. The Abura Teahouse, where much of
our story takes place, is perhaps the finest and most famous among them. Furuichi ranks
third among all the pleasure districts across Japan, after the famous Yoshiwara in Edo,
and the Shimabara district in Kyoto. As the curtain opens, an heirloom sword has been
pawned and lost, and two factions are searching for it. The outcome will have dramatic
political repercussions for a faraway province, and profound personal repercussions for
all involved. In Act II paths converge at the Abura Teahouse—and no one is aware that
the sword is cursed. The plot is based, as many kabuki plays are, on a genuine occurrence; in this
case, a most unfortunate incident that occurred at the teahouse on a summer night in
1796. A local doctor, 27-year-old Magofuku Itsuki (Fukuoka Mitsugi in the play), quite
possibly drunk, or at least drunk with jealous rage, pulled his sword in the teahouse,
killing three and injuring six. Terribly shamed by his violent crime, he committed suicide
two days later and was buried at the nearby Dairin Temple. His lover, the courtesan Okon
of the Abura Teahouse, 16 years old at the time, survived the incident and lived to be 49;
upon her death, she was buried alongside Itsuki at the temple. Within weeks of the tragic
events, a dramatization appeared at local theatres. Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba, composed by
some of the top playwrights in Osaka at the time, opened two and a half months later.
Today, little remains of the theatres and teahouses of Furuichi. Stone markers
identify the former locations of the various establishments, and a handful of Edo period
buildings still stand, serving as historical museums or tourist information centers. The
former site of the Abura Teahouse is now occupied by a Chinese restaurant. Dairin
Temple still stands, however, and kabuki actors preparing to play the roles of Mitsugi
and Okon often journey to Ise to pay their respects at the lovers’ grave.
--Travis Seifman