Pele-inspired show will be illuminating

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

•	'LUMA: Theatre of Light' An innovative theatrical experience full of light 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Dec. 21 and 4 p.m. Dec. 22; added show 2 p.m. Dec. 21 Hawai'i Theatre $18, $28, $36, $40, $46 528-0506

"The story goes that I was living in L.A., eager to getting into astronomy, but you had to drive five or six hours to far-off areas dark enough to see the stars," said the single-monikered Marlin, originator-director and performer in "LUMA."

Marlin was a gypsy those days, having run away from home to join a circus, and he hit the road from Atlanta to New York to Los Angeles. He was a comedian and a juggler. And he loved light, whether natural or artificial.

And then he happened to wind up on the Big Island, "down above Ka'ena Beach, Hilo side, Puna district," he said. "I was really off the grid, living in a tree house that extended over two 'ohi'a trees, and I went out to see the (lava) flow. All life was drawn to the light (of the eruption). It occurred to me that the whole world wanted to see a show like that, with lights."

He was familiar with the power of Pele.

"Pele is a great metaphor; she destroys and creates simultaneously," he said.

There's no Pele in "LUMA" — not yet, anyway — but there will be a burst of vivid hues, dancing and prancing to recorded music in a darkened theater. It's hard to explain, but call it illumination in motion. Or an eruption of imagination. Or a circus of lights.

Call it magical, even mystical, because it eases and expands the mind, appeals to adults as well as children, and is virtually wordless as it communicates with choreographed lights that are at once hypnotic and healing.

"LUMA," said Marlin, depicts light artistically.

"I created the work in three different types of light that people experience," he said.

"One is natural light, like a lava flow, fireflies, or a rainbow; then, artificial, like a computer screen-saver, a carnival ride, even fireworks; and third, the light in your eye.

"We've tried to evoke an emotional response in the audience, creating a show that feels good to watch, and really recalling earlier experiences with light, like the memory of playing with a flashlight under the covers. We take that basic fascination people have with light, and expand it to a full evening."

"LUMA" had its humble beginnings three years ago when Marlin was part of Honolulu's First Night celebration, doing what then was billed as "Laughing in the Light, Dancing in the Dark," a fusion of his interests in light, laughs and juggling.

The show also traveled the high seas, with Marlin doing the cruise-line circuit and tweaking his show.

"I didn't know it then, but I was busting open new fields, new ground," said Marlin. "I was getting some thumbs up, so I wasn't standing alone in the field."

His show deliberately is nonverbal and highly visual because it speaks to international audiences. "Without words, you don't have to worry about someone from India, Venezuela or Italy wondering about what might be going on; they can enjoy it all," said Marlin.

The true test came, he said, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, in the late '90s, when the show drew hearty response from kids and adults alike.

"LUMA" derives its title from light-related words such as luminary, luminescence and luminous.

"The name came after a lot of different trials," said Marlin. "The show even works during power failures; we can rock (in the dark)!"

"Since 1998, we've toured 35 states, and we're still growing," he said.

He won't say how many actor-performers are in his ensemble; "that's part of the mystery," he said.

Illumination and illusion may seem to suggest that one may be doing a particular stunt ... or are there two?

The show is affiliated with the International Dark Sky Association, to educate the public to the intelligent use of quality outdoor lighting.

"Beam it better, don't waste," he said. "And protect the heritage that is our night sky."

So what's Marlin favorite time of day?

"Sunrise and sunset, because that's when you get the most intense colors — nature's light show," he said.