ABSTRACT
Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker is a Hawaiian Language perpetuator via the medium of the stage as an ultimate metaphor for traditional culture’s transcendence into the fast-evolving western world. Her works have been produced locally and toured internationally, the most recent being Lāʻieikawai, the inaugural Hawaiian theatre production at Kennedy Theatre at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). She has been consistently recognized as Hawai‘i’s most culturally progressive playwright, nearly sweeping the Hawai‘i State Theatre Council’s Po‘okela Awards in 2015 and selling out Kennedy and Hawai‘i Theatre at record rates. As an associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at UHM, Baker is the director of Hana Keaka, the new Hawaiian Theatre program, focused on perpetuating traditional mo‘olelo (stories, history) via modern theatre. Her work centers on the development of an indigenous Hawaiian theatre aesthetic and form, Hawaiian language revitalization, and the empowerment of cultural identity through stage performance. In addition to advocating for the elevation of Hawaiian performance practices, she also teaches courses in Pacific and Indigenous theatre and playwriting. Baker is the artistic director of Ka Hālau Hanakeaka, a Hawaiian medium theatre troupe. Originally from Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i, she now resides in Kahalu‘u, Ko‘olaupoko, O‘ahu.
