Waiahole school's Snow White has 70 dwarfs
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
WAIAHOLE — When tiny Waiahole Elementary School decides to put on a play, everybody in this close-knit farming community gets involved.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
With preparations under way for this year's production, dozens of parents, aunties and uncles are helping by building sets, sewing costumes, volunteering for backstage duties and helping students practice their lines.
Waiahole Elementary School students rehearse the finale of "Snow White and the 70 Dwarfs." The entire student body has roles, and the production has brought together teachers, parents and others.
Every child in the school of 120 students from preschool to sixth grade has a part in the play, a cast so large that it prompted a tongue-in-cheek change in the name of the classic children's tale they have adapted.
"Snow White and the 70 Dwarfs" will debut this week at Windward Community College's new Paliku Theatre.
Schoolwide productions are rare. Richard MacPherson, a performing arts teacher for the Castle Complex who is directing the play, said it's the only one he knows of. But Waiahole Elementary, a school with a long history of emphasis on the arts, has been staging one every other year for about 18 years.
"This is the only school I'd consider doing it at," MacPherson said, adding that a play is very much like a small community working together to succeed. "They have this infrastructure of teachers and community members who come and help."
The production is also part of the Learning to Read Through the Arts program.
And it works, said special education teacher Lani Ann Chang. With about 25 percent of Waiahole's students in special-education classes, the program offers another tool for teaching.
• What: "Snow White and the 70 Dwarfs" • When: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for invited guests, 7 p.m. Thursday for the public • Where: Windward Community College's new Paliku Theatre • Cost: Free
"It gives children of every ability a chance to shine," said Chang, who also coordinates costumes and paints scenery. "It brings (all students) together, and it neutralizes their disabilities."
At a glance
Waiahole Elementary is the smallest public school on O'ahu and, having opened in 1883, the oldest on the Windward side. Everyone here knows everyone else's name, and students call staff members "auntie" and "uncle."
The campus is surrounded by farm lots and sits about a half-mile inland from Kamehameha Highway on Waiahole Valley Road.
It's an insular community proud of its agricultural heritage. Local farmers help students grow their own garden, which yields corn, taro, cabbage and leafy greens. The children eat what they grow.
It's also a community mindful of its children's needs.
"Our valley children are closed in," said Dolly Galeng, coordinator for the school's parent-teacher network. "Here is a safe haven and they are not exposed to a lot. This play boosts their self-esteem. They really enjoy acting."
Teachers and students were involved in writing the script. But first the students learned two versions of the tale, the original by the Grimm brothers and the newer Disney version. They collaborated, added songs and created the adaptation.
The play has 16 main characters. Each grade level will perform a musical number, which includes pieces such as "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow," "You're So Vain," "This Magic Moment" and "Love Potion No. 9."
Every child will have a costume, and parents and teachers are busy sewing, decorating T-shirts or accessorizing garments purchased at second-hand clothing stores. The results are glittering velvet-trimmed gowns, period-style costumes and details that lend the production a special touch.
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Chang said she just slaps things together, but her eye for detail reveals a keen appreciation for art. Parents and community volunteers also put in time, she said.
Kindergartner Tiana Kim-Davis practices her part in "Snow White and the 70 Dwarfs."
One recent weekend, they were touching up scenery and building props such as the mine entrance for the dwarfs, Snow White's coffin and the magic mirror.
"Not only are they doing props and scenery, they're in the classrooms helping with (the children's) parts," she said.
Dressed in costume for rehearsal last week, the children said acting is fun but hard work.
Several students said that they see acting in their future, including Angel Salas, a sixth-grader and narrator of the play; Hazel Fox, a fourth-grader playing the wicked stepmother; and Jalan Tangaro, a fifth-grader playing Sneezy.
Fox, poised in her black-and-red costume, said she worries about stage fright and staying in character, especially if the audience makes her laugh. But she said she will deal with the stress by using her imagination.
"I just imagine that everybody is a part of my family, then I can focus very well," Fox said.
Wearing costumes and pretending to be someone else is appealing, said Erik Owen-Watts, a fifth-grader playing Prince Charming.
"It's fun because you get to wear funny costumes and be rich, powerful," Owen-Watts said, adding that the greatest test of his ability is when he has to give Snow White a fake kiss and make it look real.
"Fake kisses are better than real kisses," he said, looking like he just sucked on a lemon.
It all comes back to fun and learning to act and read, said Tangaro, who said that he had trouble reading before participating in plays.
"When I had to read the script, I learned how to read," he said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
