HTY Receives Grant for Marshall Islands Theatre Collaboration

Honolulu Theatre for Youth has been awarded a $5000 ON the ROAD grant from the Theatre Communications Group's Global Connections program, supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

HTY is one of six national recipients each awarded up to $5,000 for unrestricted travel support to foster new relationships with international colleagues and inspire future collaborations.

Dedicated to telling stories of Pacific life and cultures, HTY will collaborate with spoken-word poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to foster writing by Pacific Nation writers. HTY drama education director and playwright Daniel A. Kelin, II, will travel to the Marshall Islands to participate in discourse and workshops with Jetnil-Kijiner and writers about the displacement of islanders from their homes due to impending climate threats such as the rising of the Pacific Ocean. They will develop a site-responsive theatre event to be presented in the Marshall Islands and Hawaii.

"The richness of stories and storytelling in the Pacific is unbounded," said Kelin, who has been working extensively with the Marshallese and other international cultures on behalf of HTY for 25 years. "HTY and I are excited to collaborate on another story from our nearest island neighbor."

"As a rising xenophobia besets our political discourse, the power of theatre to heal, humanize, and bridge cultural differences is critically important," said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. In addition to HTY's work with the Marshall Islands, she said, "These Global Connections participants are connecting with a diverse set of practitioners and communities, including projects set in Rwanda, and Syrian refugee camps in Turkey."

Honolulu Theatre for Youth is Hawaii's non-profit professional theatre company providing theatre and drama education programs that make a difference in the lives of Hawaii's young people and families. Founded in 1955, HTY is recognized the world over as one of America's most honored theatres. Explore HTY on the web at www.htyweb.org.

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