Arts Education at Kahilu Theatre - Nurturing HI Creativity

Education

Kahilu holds education as our heart and our priority...

Kahilu holds education as our heart and our priority, and we are privileged to partner with artists, educators, and organizations that share our commitment to strengthen the role the arts play in creating whole, healthy human beings. We invest in arts education because we want our children to know themselves well, discover their passion and their purpose, learn responsibility, move and dance and sing, and feel safe to tell their stories, whatever they might be.

Kahilu manages three primary educational programs at Kahilu: Performances for Young Audiences, Kahilu Performing Arts Classes (KPAC), and Kahilu Partnerships.

Performances for Young Audiences, formerly Youth Shows, are special matinee performances built into our annual presenting season for students ages 5-18 from public and private schools, as well as homeschoolers. On this rural island in the middle of the Pacific, these shows are often the only exposure to professional art that these students have access to and these performances are a rare and delightful experience of live music, dance, and theatre of very high quality.

Performances for Young Audiences are often different from the Season stage performance. The artists add to their craft their personal stories, demonstrations, and engaging interactions with their young audiences, bringing the entire Theatre reveling in joy.

Kahilu Performing Arts Classes (KPAC) offer acting and musical theatre each fall and spring. Our programs also include master classes with Season artists, summer camps, and the Kahilu Performing Arts Workshop (KPAW), led by KPAC alumni. Scholarships for classes and camps are available to make these opportunities accessible to all. Our annual Kahilu Youth Troupe musical, rehearsing and performing each June on the main stage of the theatre, is an exciting performance opportunity for the youth of our community, and part of the KPAC training program.

Kahilu Partnerships leverage our relationships with local schools to make the arts accessible and meaningful. Kahilu’s annual “Ukulele and Slack Key Guitar Festival” brings Hawaiian legends of this traditional art form into schools to inspire the next generation, and many of our gallery exhibits include a docent program.

Interns and volunteers of all ages and interests also participate in year-round opportunities in Theatre workforce development.