A Room With A View

Everyone wants a room/house with a view. Local playwright/teacher, Diane Aoki's play, Ka ’Ikena (The View) explores the idea of what defines the "value" of a place. In the play, characters with different backgrounds grapple with how their identities tie them to certain ideas and expectations of themselves and their home. Where do we set our priorities in our relationships and our values? I had the honor of being part of the first reading with Aloha Performing Arts Company Original Play Festival. It was an interesting experience playing a character who I did not identify with on any level—except for the fact that we are both "malihini", outsiders to Hawaiian culture. However, the character I played was a whiny, "trophy" wife who was literally using her husband to climb higher (maybe for a better view?). This illustration was done for an article about development by Kathryn Drury Wagner for Honolulu magazine.