Stage set for debut of Windward theater
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
KANE'OHE — Actors at Windward Community College will no longer have to dress in a cramped office or run from stage right to stage left in the rain when the new theater opens on campus this school year.
In the old 80-seat facility, The Little Theatre, a crew often was assigned to carry umbrellas for the actors when it rained because they had to go outside to get to the other side of the stage, said Ben Moffat, assistant professor of drama at the college.
"The dressing room was my office, and my desk would become a prop table," Moffat said, adding that he's looking forward to the fully-equipped, mid-size facility, which has 300 seats.
The new theater, which needs finishing touches, will have stadium seating, a full scene shop, costume shop and dressing rooms as well as a drama/dance classroom. It can convert to three types of stages: standard, thrust — where the audience is on three sides — and in-the-round.
The second- and third-floor lobbies offer views of portions of the campus and Kane'ohe Bay.
The theater is in the Center for Visual and Performing Arts, which cost about $18 million to build. With the center's new gallery, music facility and art complex, Moffat said "there's a great potential for a thriving community cultural center" at the college.
The theater will also be open for community use by churches, halau and acting groups, he said, adding that Ron Bright, a well-known musical producer, wants to produce the first musical at the theater.
Bright, who has nurtured young actors and technicians from fifth through 12th grade for more than a decade at Castle High School, said the facility offers an opportunity for his students to continue in theater if they wish to stay in the community.
"It's the greatest excitement of my life," said Bright, who helped design the theater. "I'm so charged because a lot of the kids get a good foundation at Castle, then they have nowhere to go."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
