Honolulu Theatre For Youth
Our History:
Every year Honolulu Theatre for Youth's professional company presents a full season of plays for children from pre-school through high school. All plays are performed at our home theatre space, Tenney Theatre at St. Andrew's Cathedral, on O‘ahu. At least one play per age level tours to Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, Lana‘i, Maui and Hawai‘i. These same plays can be seen by children and their families on Saturdays at Tenney Theatre from late August through May.
Most of HTY's audience sees our plays with their classmates; a few also see plays with their families. This context defines a certain kind of work, as children respond differently in groups of their peers than they do in mixed audiences. HTY produces plays based on children's literature, adaptations of classics, and work that draws from or reflects on the cultures that make up modern Hawai‘i— history, folklore, or issues that impact local children. We recognize that Hawai`i shares many cultural references and concerns with the mainland, but that many are also very different. Therefore, we present a lot of new plays and put a lot of resources into supporting and developing local writers. Because so many plays are new works of dramatic literature, HTY often publishes these scripts in simple, inexpensive editions. These can be purchased by teachers for use in the classroom before or after the production.
