When real life follows the tragic path of 'Stars'
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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| Kevin Pacheco stars as Nicholas in "The Boy Who Stole the Stars," a play that has uncanny parallels to his own life. Whereas in the story, his grandfather is dying, in real life, his mom recently lost her battle with colon cancer. Pacheco said the play has helped him cope with his mother's death and has been a way to get his mind off things.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser 'The Boy Who Stole the Stars' A drama by Julian Wiles, produced by Kennedy Theatre 8 p.m. today and Saturday; repeating at 8 p.m. Sept. 28 and 2 p.m. Sept. 29 Kennedy Theatre $10 general, $9 seniors, military, faculty; $7 students and children; $3 UH students 956-7655 (Kennedy box office), 526-4400 (Ticket Plus) Notes: Several roles are double cast in this production, including that of the boy, who also is played by Jeremy Pippen. The show is geared for families, particularly youths 7 to 12. A free stargazing event, on the Kennedy lawn, follows tonight's opening performance. |
"After I read the script, I felt pretty connected with the character," said the 19-year-old drama student, a sophomore at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. The play begins tonight at Kennedy Theatre.
Talk about art imitating life — and vice versa. Through much of the rehearsal period, Pacheco was portraying a lad whose granddad was dying. At home, he was coping with an ailing mom, whose battle with cancer ended after a three-year struggle.
"It hasn't been easy," Pacheco said.
As he tells it:
"In the play, the boy goes over to his grandfather's house in the summer; he thinks it will be the same as all previous summers, but the grandfather seems distant, he doesn't want him around.
"Later, the boy finds out the grandfather is dying. The grandfather was a navigator, so knows about stars, and he helps the boy count the stars and tells a story about a star dragon.
"The boy can't understand why the grandfather can't help him finish counting the stars; the boy gets frustrated because the grandfather is dying. The story he's told is that if he battles the dragons and returns the stars to earth, there would be no death, no sadness. So the boy battles the dragon to keep his grandfather with him forever."
That's stage stuff.
In Pacheco's real life, his mom had been battling colon cancer that spread to her liver. Treatment here and in Washington state couldn't overcome the cancer. When Pacheco was cast to portray the boy, his mom already was in hospice. She died Sept. 3, and her funeral won't take place until Sept. 25 because of a crowded timetable.
Still, the show must go on.
"At first, it was difficult," said Pacheco, who has two brothers and a half-sister who share in his grief. "I had a hard time in school, dealing with things. After a while, I realized that this is the truth, it won't change. I can't change it, so I needed to spend my life in a positive way, spending as much time with my mom as possible.
"Her cancer count started at 1,200; throughout the years, she brought it down to about 80; in order to be in remission, she had to be at 3; in a matter of months, it jumped back back to 600. Chemo was making her sick, so she flew to Washington state to test new treatments. She was there for a couple of months, but the treatments weren't working, so she came home to spend her time with the family. That was last January, February. Then she died."
He was deep into rehearsals, and the cast has provided moral and emotional support. Being occupied, readying a role for a show, enabled Pacheco to connect the dots and find deeper meaning in both his stage life and his real life.
"I started reading things into the play — how nothing can live forever. The play was a way for me to let go, to keep my mind off things. When I was this kid, this boy, I could understand what was happening in the play a lot more than the rest of the cast, because of my mom. I knew death was coming, and it came, and in my real life, there were moments when I was sad, moments when I cried.
"But the play also made me understand that the best thing (about coping with death) was to be and think happy. To retain and remember the happy memories."
Indelible thoughts of the grandfather, named Matthew, in the play; cherished recollections of his mother, Cheryl Lynn Nakamura.
Tamara Hunt, who is directing "Stars," said the uncanny parallels to the character he plays have played a part in Pacheco's healing.
"Kevin's been very open about his situation; he's handled it all well, throughout the rehearsal period," Hunt said. "It has been therapeutic."
Besides the loss of a loved one, the play also struck another nerve in Pacheco's life — as a student of astronomy. The boy finds comfort in the stars and particularly of the story of mighty star dragon.
"I love looking at the skies," Pacheco said. "I would do this even before doing this play. The sky is a beautiful thing at night. So wonderful. So mesmerizing, with so much mystery we don't know."
His fascination with the heavens prompted him to enroll in a fall class in astronomy this semester, which also has helped him with the proper pronunciation of the heavenly bodies.
"In many ways, I've had good, positive experiences," he said.
Being on stage allows him to be someone else, capturing a moment of suspended fantasy and fun.
"I like the feeling that you can become another character and the more shows you do, the more people you become and the more you understand about different perspectives of life. Being different people is a way to get my mind off my own problems."
In an earlier play, "What Keeps Me Here," Pacheco portrayed a cancer patient. "That was another parallel to my personal life," he said.
"I felt then it was something I had to do, to try to know what a cancer patient is going through."
But "The Boy Who Stole the Stars" is emerging as the perfect role for the lesson he's learned and the message he's sharing: "Live your life to the fullest, enjoy every moment; life is too short, so don't hold grudges. The play kinda shows the grandfather, at first, to be filled with anger; but in the end, he learns it's not helping his cause. When he starts learning to enjoy life, he's happy again. Even with death, there are happy memories to cling to."
Pacheco said the cast and director have agreed to dedicate the play to his mother.
"It will be very meaningful to me," he said.
• • •
A star-gazing party is scheduled after tonight's opening performance of "The Boy Who Stole the Stars." It will be held on the Kennedy Theatre lawn.
First-nighters are welcome to participate; Stargazers Hawai'i is presenting the free activity as an off-shoot of the play, which is about a boy who counts the stars in the sky.
"I was taking a lay person's astronomy course and was totally enamored by the sky, with its popular clusters of stars," said Tamara Hunt, director of the fantasy. "The event will help viewers identify the constellations, and it's an opportunity to share our love of the sky and theater with the audience and to help turn on children to the study of the sky."
