{"id":10346,"date":"2012-10-04T13:33:25","date_gmt":"2012-10-04T23:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=10346"},"modified":"2021-02-19T14:38:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-20T00:38:56","slug":"aki-recognized-for-hair-and-makeup-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2012\/10\/04\/aki-recognized-for-hair-and-makeup-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Aki recognized for hair and makeup design"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Jess Aki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Honolulu Community College<\/a> Cosmetology Professor Jess Aki<\/strong> has two more Poʻokela<\/span> Awards to add to her growing wall of honor.<\/p>\n

She was recently recognized for best hair, makeup and wig design for two Diamond Head Theatre productions, Cinderella<\/em> and Sunset Boulevard<\/em>, at the 2012 Poʻokela<\/span> Awards.<\/p>\n

The annual awards ceremony celebrates excellence in local theater and is sponsored by the Hawaiʻi<\/span> State Theatre Council.<\/p>\n

“A labor of love”<\/h2>\n

Working in the theater is her way of giving back to the community. She started out at Hawaiʻi<\/span> Opera Theatre doing makeup for the chorus, and then she moved to Mānoa Valley Theatre where she worked first as a dresser and then as a wig designer. In the summer of 2005, she started to work on shows at Diamond Head Theatre.<\/p>\n

She has since worked at Palikū Theatre at Windward Community College, most recently on Phantom of the Opera<\/em>, doing the wigs and helping with makeup. Just this past summer, Aki had the unique opportunity to work on a movie set for an independent film entitled, Man Up<\/em>, a comedy that will be released this fall.<\/p>\n

For Aki, it is a labor of love.<\/p>\n

“My grandfather and grandmother met each other on the stage. So it is in my blood. Granddad would have Melbourne Stone from Gun Smoke<\/em> over to play cards. Actors on stage or TV<\/abbr> and movies are just ordinary people with a job to do,” shares Aki.<\/p>\n

A University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> 2010 Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching Award recipient<\/a>, Aki has found a creative outlet in theater since leaving the salon seven years ago.<\/p>\n

“I love teaching. It is the fundamentals of a skill that cannot be changed, so I need that creative outlet to stay energized. I get to transform people, turning witches into beautiful goddesses and young men into princes, genies, and werewolves. How much fun is that! I have a hobby that entertains people and helps them enjoy life a little more,” says Aki.<\/p>\n

—By Billie Lueder, executive assistant to the chancellor and director of communications and external affairs, Honolulu Community College<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Honolulu CC<\/abbr> Cosmetology Professor Jess Aki is honored for her local theater work in hair, makeup and wig design with two 2012 Poʻokela<\/span> Awards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-10346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-honolulu-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t