When a Hawaiian family faces a devastating loss in , the Kumulipo, a Hawaiian creation chant, connects the living with those who came before them. The new play makes its world premiere November 18–22 at ’s Earle Ernst Lab Theatre at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补.
For playwright Sheila Miles, the story grew out of a search that began in her own family. Her late mother had been tracing their genealogy and died before she could finish. A conversation with her playwriting adviser, Kumu 贬补颈濒颈ʻō辫耻补 Baker, prompted Miles to take a closer look at the Kumulipo and what it could teach her about her Hawaiian identity. Miles is pursuing a master of fine arts in playwriting at 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补.
“I have always and will always be interested in indigenous creation stories and how they inform our present day lives,” said Miles. “This is my endeavor to understand this creation story and make connections with present day reality,” Miles said.
The production is directed by Ed Refuerzo, an MFA candidate studying directing, and is part of 2026–2027 Primetime Series.
Told in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), Hawaiʻi Creole English (Pidgin) and English, the story begins when Haumea receives a hōʻailona—an omen—that she desperately tries to prevent. As generations of one family navigate grief, love and change, the Kumulipo, a Hawaiian origin chant, becomes a thread connecting ancestors and descendants.
“The Storyteller asks us to remember that stories are not simply told—they are lived. They carry our histories, shape our futures, and help us understand who we are in relation to one another and to the world around us,” said Refuerzo.
Stories across generations
The play presents moʻolelo, or stories, as an active part of life. It explores how stories can guide us through loss, celebrate resilience and shape our understanding of who we are through relationships, place and memory.
Those connections also reflect the theatre’s season theme, Finding Home in the Extraordinary. In The Storyteller, home takes shape through language, ancestry, family and the stories passed between generations.
The production is presented by 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补’s .
Ticket information
Tickets are $9 for 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补 students and $18 for general admission.
