The University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center is preparing for a scaled-down fall season of music, dancing and theater performances.
The Performing Arts Center, or PAC, has not held live performances since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, although there have been virtual shows for audiences interested in watching from home.
“We’re super excited that we’re actually going to be able to have what we are thinking is close to real, full audiences,” said PAC manager Lee Dombroski. “We’re still waiting for a couple pieces of the puzzle that need to be confirmed, but we have great performances scheduled for this fall.”
The fall season will be considerably smaller than past seasons because of difficulties scheduling and confirming artists in the wake of the pandemic.
“That has been the biggest challenge — scheduling performances,” Dombroski said. “There is trepidation that anything may happen, because COVID keeps throwing curve balls at us, so we want to ease our way into the season again.”
The first event this fall will be the annual Dance Collective performance at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16.
The Dance Collective brings together dancers of all types from around the Big Island to Hilo for a showcase of their skills.
“This show is a great way to build bridges and join the dance communities from across the island to help create a strong, vibrant dance community where everybody can participate,” Dombroski said. “The special event will not be part of the usual season ticket package, but it’s a great in-house production that will be a great way to start the season.”
The next event was originally scheduled for 2020 and has been rescheduled three times due to the ever-changing pandemic. But, finally, “Actors from the London Stage,” will be performing Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at 7:30 on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
Five actors will spend several days talking with students in college- and high-school-level drama and theater classes before performing “Macbeth” at the PAC.
“We’re very excited about this,” Dombroski said. “They were here in 2009, and it was a fabulous residency and performance, and was very-well received.”
The next event will be the kid-friendly, English language production of “Wordsworth,” a musical version of a children’s book about a poetic mouse that helps people see the world in a different light.
Local performer Jackie Pualani Johnson adapted the book into the stage performance, award-winning musician Wendall Ing wrote the music, and UH-Hilo professor Justina Mattos will direct the play.
Last year, the Performing Arts Center presented the Hawaiian language version of the play in a virtual format to audiences during the Hawaiian Language Festival.
PAC will be doing a series of performances for schools, followed by public performances for families and other audiences at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, and Friday, Nov. 4, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6.
Auditions for the musical will be 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 23, and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 24 at the PAC.
The last performance this season will be the PAC showcase, which will be a presentation of all performing arts classwork from UH-Hilo students on Saturday, Dec. 10.
“This is going to be great to see, because our students have done virtual work and work on the stage, but the audience energy has been missing,” Dombroski said. “We’re not going to have a holiday show, but this will have holiday themes and give students a chance to perform live.”
PAC will have an indoor masking requirement for its patrons because UH-Hilo is requiring masks until at least Monday, Sept. 19. The PAC will seat at full capacity, but will encourage pods of family and friend to sit away from other groups.
“We hope people feel comfortable coming, because we have truly missed having an audience for our live performances,” Dombroski said. “The energy audiences give off help performers with their own energy, which is something they don’t get with a virtual event. It means a lot to us that audiences have a great time and performers have a great time sharing their work and their message.”
PAC will not be distributing its usual paper brochure of events, but it will be available online and as a PDF.
PAC also will be emailing audiences about upcoming shows. Those interested in signing up for email blasts can email artsctr@hawaii.edu.
Tickets and season passes are not yet available, but will be soon at https://artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu/.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.