NOTHING MICRO about micronesia
Created by TeAda Productions, and members of the Micronesian community in Honolulu.
The second nationally touring play about MICRONESIANs in the U.S.
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*Shows scheduled for March 22nd, March 30th, and April 7th 2024.
NOTHING MICRO ABOUT MICRONESIA
Nothing Micro about Micronesia is a coming of age story about two Micronesian boys who encounter an unlikely place after a series of conflicts between them. They must navigate between the directions from elders and the government systems who have had an impact on their current lives and states of being/belonging. Join these friends as they take us through their lenses of island life in Micronesia while facing the rising tides of their transitioning ages, complicated family matters, new findings about the world and themselves, and uncertain futures.
Nothing Micro about Micronesia is an expansion of TeAda’s current touring show Masters of the Currents, created by Leilani Chan & Ova Saopeng, with Cultural Navigator Innocenta Sound-Kikku and contributions from numerous multi-generational Micronesian community members in Hawai’i. Nothing Micro came about as a result of Masters of Currents’ successful international tours and community engagement activities. As a result, community leaders have requested that TeAda Productions create new work that focuses on the continued discrimination and resilience of Micronesians. Like Masters of Currents, this new work combines community based story collection and social justice practices with devised ensemble techniques to create a theatrical performance built with the involvement of the Micronesian community.
PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
TeAda is committed to ensuring that the performers on stage come from the community the play is about. This means that the extensive, multi-year community workshops and devised ensemble process is key to both the development of the play and training for the actors. Over the last decade, Artistic Directors Leilani & Ova and the ensemble have conducted workshops with members of the Micronesian Community throughout Hawai’i, Guam, and the U.S. continent. Most recently, they traveled to Micronesia and had the honor of conducting workshops in schools in the Marshall Islands, Pohnpei, and Chuuk. Stories shared during these workshops have served as inspiration for Nothing Micro About Micronesia.
Many of the ensemble members performing in the touring production began as participants in these workshops. The core of the ensemble will be made up primarily of Micronesian, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiian actors. Our artistic process starts and ends with conscious listening, community building, and creative courage.
Nothing Micro about Micronesia is bolstered by TeAda’s previous work, Masters of the Currents, by diving deeper into narratives of Micronesians in Hawai’i. The extensive community engagement prior to each show and Q&A’s after each show of Masters provide invaluable feedback, insights and inspiration. As a result of these successful residencies, community leaders have requested that TeAda create a new work that expands on the foundations laid by Masters of the Currents.
Nothing Micro is set to premiere at the Honolulu Theatre for Youth in March 2024 and will be presented at the 7th National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival at UH Mānoa in May 2024.
As a pioneer in social justice theater, TeAda prides itself in developing shows with communities of color.
TeAda’s community engagement workshops, residencies, and intentional community building convenes our target audiences through a process that makes them feel seen, heard, and be an actual part of the continued development of the stories uplifted in current and future productions.
On Tour, TeAda includes community engagement and outreach activities. We are very proud to announce that our Spring 2024 shows are in partnership with, and will be presented by Honolulu Theater for Youth.
FROM OUR MOST RECENTLY TOURED PLAY
MASTERS OF THE CURRENTS
Innocenta Sound-Kikku, Jayceleen Ifenuk, Emeraldrose Hadik, in 'Masters of the Currents' presented by Pangea World Theatre & TeAda Productions in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Joan Osato.
The Micronesian community is incredibly diverse with various languages, ethnicities, islands, states and countries listed under this one geographic region and category– a region and category that has been imposed and not chosen by the people. This community can't be represented through a single story or play. We hope Nothing Micro About Micronesia will add to the legacy of Micronesian artistic works.
Email camba@teada.org to expand our Continental Tour in 2024 & beyond!
photos + media from masters of the currents
Hawai'i Partners + Presenters
Honolulu Theatre for Youth is a performing arts venue that offers theatre and drama education for young people and families throughout the state of Hawai'i. They produce children's plays, offer education programs & professional workshops.
MAHALO TO OUR FUNDERS
This project was made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Masters of the Currents is a National Performance Network / Visual Artists Network (NPN) Creation Fund co-commissioned by Maui Arts & Cultural Center , TeAda Productions , Brava! for Women in the Arts, Pangea World Theater, and NPN. For more information: www.npnweb.org
Additional support provided by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts , Network of Ensemble Theaters’ Travel & Exchange Network (NET/TEN), and Hawai’i People’s Fund and Kim Coco Fund for Justice of the Iwamoto Family Foundation.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Grant Program; California Arts Council The Local Impact (LI) program, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission’s Organizational Grant Program (OGP).
