PlayBuilders of Hawai'i Theater Company

About Us/

  (For more complete information please go to www. playbuilders.org)

PlayBuilders is what is known as a community-based, applied, or community-specific theatre. Our mission is to gather and share real stories that resonate with, empower, and connect the many culturally rich and diverse communities in Hawai'i.

To write our plays, we conduct several to a dozen story circles in which community members share their stories with us. We then shape those stories into a live production or screenplay and invite community members to perform alongside our professional actors, participating in the telling of their own stories.

Over the years, we have developed and produced productions for the residential communities of Wahiawa, Waipahu, and Chinatown, as well as special interest groups such as Honolulu's and Leeward Community College's LGBTQA+ communities, Oahu's houseless community, Hawaii's former foster youth, sexual assault survivors, and domestic violence survivors. The Hawaii State Theatre Council has recognized us several times with Poʻokela awards in categories such as playwriting, directing, ensemble, and overall production for our work.

It takes about years to create just one of these plays. They are created with love, passion, and concern for the people of our beloved Hawaiʻi. We consider what we do a way of giving back to this beautiful place we call home. Please feel free to contact Terri Madden at [email protected] should you have any questions or ideas.