2014 PlayBuilders Festival

The Leeward Theatre presented PlayBuilders’ 3rd Annual Festival of Original Plays in May 2014. New, original works were written and submitted by outstanding local playwrights and were read by Honolulu’s best actors. Directors from Kumu Kahua, The Actors Group, The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and PlayBuilders of Hawaiʻi Theatre Company volunteered their time and talent to insure that the quality of each presentation will be outstanding. The 2014 selected playwrights were Cynthia Wicks, Richard Goodman, Mark Tjarks, Kirstyn Trombetta, Timothy Adams, Neil Milner, Kelsie K.A. Pualoa, Edward Pickard, Anthony Pignataro, Doug Ross, Kemuel DeMoville and David Penhallow Scott.

Play readings were one-act or full-length plays. Following each reading there was a discussion of the play with the Festival Panel (made up of local theatre professionals) and the attending audience. This was the first year that awards were given to individuals based on the quality of their work. The festival adjudicators awarded The Best Play Award and the results of audience voting awarded the Audience Appreciation Award. A Dance With Abandon by Kelsie K.A. Pualoa (directed by Craig Howes) was awarded the Best Play Award and War Stories by Anthony Pignataro (directed by Nicole Tessier) was adored by the audience and awarded the Audience Appreciation Award.

About the PlayBuilders Festival

Founded in 2011, PlayBuilders’ Festival provides an outlet for new plays and playwrights written by, with, and for the people of Hawai’i. Recent successes from the festival include Nancy Moss’ “Will the Real Charlie Chan Please Stand Up” and Jan Shiarella McGrath’s “Outage” which were produced in 2013 at Kumu Kahua Theatre and TAG respectively.