My Small Part in the `Ōhi`a Family
Honoring the late Lisa Matsumoto and her stories
Back in 2010, I was in The Princess and the Iso Peanut at Hawai`i Theatre. This was the last musical I performed in, and the last show I did back home in Hawai`i. It holds a special place in my theatre journey for many reasons.
Recently, Mānoa Valley Theatre closed their run of Iso Peanut, which got me thinking about our 2010 show and what an amazing experience that was.
The Brilliant Lisa Matsumoto
If you’re from Hawai`i, and grew up on O`ahu during the 90s and 2000s, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a play or musical by the late Lisa Matsumoto. She and her cousin founded `Ōhi`a Productions, a local theatre company that produced plays and musicals.
`Ōhi`a became known for their local takes on classic Western fairy tales and characters, written in Pidgin. 🤙🏽
Some of her most familiar and award-winning shows include “Once Upon One Time,” “Once Upon On Noddah Time,” and “Happily Eva Afta.”
All of Lisa’s shows are incredibly family-friendly—enjoyed by kids and adults. The local takes on classic Western fairy tale characters are spot on, plus the infusion of Pidgin in the dialogue enhances the storytelling.
Every show incorporates fun physical comedy, is smartly written, and the music and lyrics by Roz Catracchia are so wholesome and catchy. The foundation of Lisa’s plays and musicals, in my opinion, lies in how much love and heart was put into the creation of each story.
Decades later, we’re still taking our cues from Lisa and leading with love and heart with every iteration of her shows.
Joining the `Ōhi`a `Ohana
Iso Peanut is actually the second Lisa Matsumoto show I’ve done. In my junior year of high school, I was cast as a Narrator when we did Legends of the Pacific, a children’s show about Hawaiian legends and demigods.
This show was my induction into the drama family at Kamehameha, and I feel so fortunate to have been part of that world.
A big part of why so many drama kids fall in love with theatre at Kamehameha is thanks to Fuj, our fearless leader, teacher, director, and original cast member of many `Ōhi`a shows. So when I heard that Fuj would be directing Iso Peanut, I had to audition. As did so many other Kamehameha students who knew Fuj.
Going even further back . . . I have such a distinct memory of sitting on the floor in the cafeteria of Manana Elementary School, watching plays with a local Pidgin spin to them.
I’d only realize when I was cast in Iso Peanut, that I probably watched some of my Iso Peanut castmates singing and dancing in my elementary school cafeteria all those years before. How cool!
So, to be part of an `Ōhi`a Productions show more than a decade later, felt like a full-circle moment.
Continuing Lisa’s Legacy
I found this article from our 2010 run of Iso Peanut. Roz, our musical director and Lisa’s creative partner at `Ōhi`a Productions, shared wonderful and touching insight about working with Lisa, creating these shows, and continuing to share the joy and love that were and still are the backbone of Lisa’s stories.
My involvement with `Ōhi`a lasted only a few short months, but it’s one of the theatre experiences I’m most fond of.
A huge part of me longs to be home, to have the opportunity to be involved with `Ōhi`a again—maybe not as a performer, but in some other capacity. Not only that, I wish I could watch their shows and support their productions. Because Lisa’s shows are truly one of a kind, unlike anything else out there.
👀 Looking Ahead
More Writing and New Story Ideas
The theme of my summer has obviously been revising my manuscript, which has unfortunately been pretty slow-going. I haven’t hit my stride or been hit with a burst of inspiration. But I’m still chipping away at it.
However, last week, I was watching a YouTube video (of a former editor of a Big Five publishing house) and suddenly three new plot ideas came to me—specifically for a character I know I have to flesh out and develop a bit more during this revision.
That in itself was pretty exciting! Often I feel my secondary characters are good at serving their purpose in relation to the protagonist, but I typically need to work on giving them their own goals or motivation unrelated to the main character.
Hopefully these new ideas help fill in some of those gaps. 🤞🏽
✨ Finding Inspiration
Feeling Called Out About My Laziness
I consider myself a pretty creative individual, but I’m also lazy as hell. This video exposes one of the roadblocks I create (pun intended) for myself.
Despite having so many projects on my mind, and knowing these are long-term endeavors, I’m incredibly skilled at wasting a lot of time. Time that could clearly be spent on actually working on a project.
Do you ever experience similar situations:
Feeling overwhelmed about tackling your projects? Any new project, or even separate phases of a project, can feel daunting at the beginning.
Having an empty creative well? Being creative takes a lot of energy and focus.
Hesitant to move forward without a clear path or solution in mind?
In the end, though, we’re the only ones who can control how, when, and why we do what we do. If we want to start that new project, we need to prioritize it and carve out time in our schedule for that.
To make a long story not-so-short, we need to get out of our own damn way.
👌🏽 Zaida’s Recommendations
🎧 Artist: Sail North
→ Irish/Celtic Sea Shanty Pop
I have no idea how or why I started listening to Sail North, but I’m glad this group entered the sound waves of my Spotify, because I thoroughly enjoy their music!
It’s a blend of Celtic sea shanty roots, with a pop sound, and gritty vocals. There’s also a bit of mystery behind the band. Not much is known about the singer or musicians, and the only photos of the lead vocalist are of a masked or hidden face, so you can’t identify him, à la Sia or Orville Peck.
Anyone who is a fan of swashbuckling pirates, epic voyaging fantasy tales, mermaids or sirens, and good ‘ole narrative storytelling through song, definitely check out Sail North.
Some of my favorite songs:
“Tale of the Shadow” (the song that put me on this group)
“Bones”
“Against The Tide”
🎬 Rez Ball
→ Film Based on a True Story
→ Netflix
→ Drama, Inspirational, Sports, Indigenous
Based on a true story, Rez Ball follows a group of Indigenous high school basketball players from Chuska, New Mexico throughout their season after the loss of their star player.
Slowly but surely, more Indigenous stories are being written and made into shows and films, but they’re still few and far between. What’s more is that unless they’re immediate breakout hits like Reservation Dogs on FX on Hulu or Killers of the Flower Moon, with big industry names behind it, there’s not a lot of promotion behind these projects. Which is why I’ll always highlight them if and when I can.
I’ll admit that the pace is a little slow, which is probably intentional. This movie portrays the day-in-and-day-out of what life is like on the reservation. But I enjoyed the leads’ performances in the movie, plus any production that includes native languages in the script automatically gets two thumbs up from me.
🎨 Creativity Tip of the Week
Start With What You Have
I’m guilty of wanting all the things bought, ordered, and in my possession before beginning a new hobby or project. Because what if I need that one thing right now, you know?
But in reality, we can get by with a whole lot less than we think.
You don’t need all the fancy gear or equipment, all the tools and color swatches, or editing software to get started. You just need to start, however you can, with whatever you have.
I’m also guilty of putting things off because I don’t feel like I’m ready or prepared or “have the right things” to “be successful.” Notice my excessive use of quotation marks in that last sentence? Because having the right things and being successful is A) unnecessary, 2) subjective and Lastly) kind of bullshit.
If you wait until you master video editing or build your perfect art studio or buy that expensive camera, you’ve wasted so much time you could have spent actually creating something.
I love this Z! Mahalo for the shoutout. Most definitely some of those we were blessed to work with helped fuel our performer fires as kids. Truly full circle.