Drama paints vivid picture of people changed forever

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

We write down their words, so that they can't be lost.

And then we find ways to make sure people remember.

Gussie Ornellas lost 4 family members to friendly fire.

"I said, 'Where's Tiny?' " Ornellas said, referring to her young daughter by her nickname. "Nobody knew where Tiny was. That was their bedroom. When I went in there, I saw her flat on the floor. One of the shrapnels went right through her temple."

Another daughter also died when anti-aircraft fire struck the family's Kalihi Valley home. And a nephew. And a brother.

And yet Ornellas' account, searing as it was, might have been printed, bound and filed forever, if not for Nyla Fujii-Babb, a librarian who loves words and an actress who knows there are ways to bring them to life.

"Her life was changed forever," Fujii-Babb said. "She was such a terrific character."

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"Pearl Harbor Remembered," under the direction of Tim Slaughter, will feature performances by actors Nyla Fujii-Babb, Lauren Kepa'a, Joseph T. Miller and Dann Seki; dancers Jennifer and Matthew Wong; and musicians Chris Planas, James Ganeko, Milan Bertosa and Aaron Aranita. Here is the schedule of free performances: • Dec. 5: Salt Lake-Moanalua Public Library, 6 p.m. • Jan. 16: Moloka'i Public Library, 6 p.m. • Jan. 19: Kona Public Library at Kailua, 10 a.m. • Jan. 24: UH-Hilo Theater, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, 10 a.m. • Jan. 25: Kaunoa Senior Center, Wailuku, Maui, 10 a.m. • Jan. 26: Hanapepe Hongwanji, Kaua'i, 10 a.m.

It's one of the ways Hawai'i has turned a historic moment into a memory painting.

The reality-based drama is financed by a grant Fujii-Babb secured from the Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, and the "Live@Your Library," program, which promotes the performing arts at libraries.

Fujii-Babb is playing Ornellas in the program, but she can draw on her own family history for wartime memories. Discussions at home helped inspire this project, she said.

"My dad and my mom were talking about what they were doing Dec. 7. My dad, a cook in the Army at the time, was under a truck shooting at a plane. My mom's nisei, and because of Dec. 7 and the fact she had an uncle in the Japanese army, she was so frightened about things going on, she burned all the things from home. That was a loss to our family history."

Fujii-Babb took her idea to UH — specifically, to Craig Howes of the Center for Biographical Research and Warren Nishimoto of the oral history center. Together, they sifted through various documents.

Tim Slaughter, scriptwriter and director of this production, selected 11 vignettes that illustrated how Dec. 7 became a turning point in so many lives.

Some recollections add a touch of wry humor, Slaughter said.

"Agnes Chun was a junior in high school," he said. "They were recruiting local people to help in things associated with martial law, and she was asked to help get people their identification cards.

"A lot of people were indicating they were 'entertainers.' It turned out they were prostitutes. At that point she was still naive enough to not put those things together."

Nishimoto said that dramatic interpretations of oral history have been an effective tool for bringing the extraordinary words of ordinary people to a broader audience. He cited the play "Getting Somewheres," which about six years ago used oral history to create a theatrical piece for Women's History Month here.

Although he applauded the use of some dramatic license in rendering the characters, he insisted that the words remain unchanged.

And these words unforgettably drive home the central theme, Slaughter said.

"The overriding message throughout was the resilience of people, especially Nyla's character, who opens and closes the show," he said. "Though you can hear the sorrow and regret and anguish she feels, it's not hatred. She in turn helps her neighbors and friends to deal with what happened. 'We stick together like bread and jelly.'

"Although it was life changing, and there were horrible things the government did to its own people, most people bounced back from it."