A new theater production in Honolulu is designed for children who experience the world differently because of learning or physical disorders.
"Forest Flutters: A Bird-Day Party at Capitol Modern" celebrates Hawaiʻi's native forest birds and is a collaboration between the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
The 30-minute interactive performance opened last Saturday at Capitol Modern, formerly the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum, in an exhibit space affectionately called The Pod.
"If someone doesn't have the capacity or doesn't want to sit for a certain amount of time facing front to see a show, or feels the inclination to touch elements of a museum, this is a space where they can actually do that," said the foundation’s Arts Program Specialist Danica "Nikki" Rosengren.
"They play with the puppets and engage with the space, alongside certain props that they themselves are invited to touch and manipulate," she added.
Public performances on March 9 are free, but spaces are limited to 10 children and their caregivers. Through June, the forest space will also be open to explore every first and third Friday of the month.
After its Capitol Modern stint, the show will transform into a traveling preschool performance that will tour the islands and then land at the Honolulu Theatre for Youth's Tenney Theatre.
This interview aired on <i>The Conversation</i> on Feb. 26, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
