Jamee Humberstone

April 22, 2017

ITE 329

Ulalena

I decided to watch the theatrical performance called, Ulalena, on April 6, 2017 at the

Maui Theatre in Lahaina. I was fortunate enough to attend the show without cost. This

performance is based on the birth of Hawaii and the interactions between the people. The myths

of ancient Hawaii are displayed through the power of movement, voice, and dance. Ulalena is

the word that describes a type of rain specific to Maui. There are 10 scenes throughout the show

that display the mana (power) of the people and the mythical gods who were known to bring

different forms of blessings to the people.

Scene one, began with the Kumulipo (Hawaiian creation) chant and the birth of the

islands. Over the course of the performance, the show shared many stories of ancient Hawaiian

gods such as the volcano goddess Pele, the demigod Maui, the goddess Moo (Lizard), Hina, the

goddess of the moon, and Lono, the god of agriculture. Each of these gods played a part in the

strength that is instilled in the people of Hawaii. At the climax of the performance, Captain

Cook arrives and there is a drastic change in the lives of the Hawaiian people. As the years went

on Hawaii became flooded with immigrants.

As a person with ancestors who were immigrants, I believe Maui is still my home. As a

member of the audience I felt a personal connection to this performance because I believe that I

am a part of the new generation. The people who occupy the islands of Hawaii, whether their

ethnicity is Hawaiian or not, we are the people who will uphold the traditions and values passed

down from generation to generation. As I think back to the performance I remember how
powerful each scene was and how connected I felt when seeing the emotions, the actors

displayed and their ability to put forth such a realistic performance. As an audience, we were able

to participate in the sequence of the show. The actors included the audience in the performance

by asking us to rub our hands together to represent fire, while they moved a large red cloth over

the entire audience, representing the birth of the islands.

Ulalena was full of excellent performing artists. The performing arts course has taught me about

the importance of dance, music, and drama, and using elements such as movement, space, time,

voice, expression, rhythm, and sound. The performance included these elements and more. Each

scene displayed multiple performing arts with such perfection. The combination of dance, music,

and drama was breath taking. My favorite part is when the goddess Pele is in human form and

then becomes the volcano and finally erupts. The sound effects were in sync with the way she

was moving her body under the large red cloth used to represent the volcano.

Everything they did on that stage involved the use of music, dance, and drama. Before

taking this class, I wouldnt have noticed these different elements that made up the performance.

I came to the realization that drama, music, and dance can be effectively taught through theatrical

performances. I can see that drama and dance are used to display emotions and the meaning

throughout the sequence of the stories. The music is used to enhance the mood and feeling of the

whole performance.
 Scoring Rubric for Self Assessment for Theatrical Performance

Check your work!

Needs Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations

Improvement
(M) (E)
(N)

__ Candidate needs __ Proofread for spelling and In addition to Meets

reminder to submit grammar. Expectations
their work to
__ Name included in .doc file __Provide written
assignments
evidence below of how
__ Title, Location, Date and
__ Candidate needs you think you exceed the
Cost of the Performance
reminder to include expectations listed to
all components of the __Brief description of the create a high quality
assignment performance product.

__Candidate needs __Description of your

reminder to proofread personal involvement with
the performance as a I feel that I have
writing for spelling
member of the audience exceeded the
and grammar
expectations because I
__ Candidate needs __Description of how you can
clearly described the
reminder to assess connect this experience to
events of the show. I was
their own work using something that you have
able to provide efficient
this rubric learned in our class or
and well thought out
understand about this art
answers when writing my
form.
essay. I have also gone
back a reread my essay
to be sure that I have
fixed all grammar and
spelling errors.