Fountain show planned tonight in Kona
After a successful 18-month tour of art shows on the mainland, Jon E. Hasper has returned to reopen his gallery/shop showcasing his one-of-a-kind custom fountains. Hasper will show his creations during a show slated from 5 to 10 p.m. tonight at his gallery in Kailua-Kona.
Hasper, who has been building the unique, self-contained fountains that feature beautiful lighting for about 10 years, says his pieces are designed to last many years, and easy are to maintain. The fountains are made of natural rock, copper and other organic components.
The gallery is located at The Brewery Block, Bay 8, just down the stairs from the Kona Brewing Co.
For more information, visit www.waterplacesbyJonE.com or call 895-7543.
Traditional Music of Nepal, India to be featured
A benefit concert featuring Parashuram Bhandari, a sarangi master from Kathmandu, Nepal, Daniel Paul, an India Fulbright Award-winning tabla drummer and Babette Ackin on tanpura will be offered July 10 at Kahilu Theatre in Waimea.
The “Help Nepal Rebuilt” concert featuring the traditional music of Nepal and India gets underway at 7 p.m. Though a free event, a $20 donation is suggested. All proceeds go to the 501(c)(3) The Nepal Foundation and Society of Nepalese in Hawaii.
Nepal suffered earthquakes on April 25 and May 12 with continuing and frequent aftershocks resulting in more than 8,000 deaths. In the earthquake epicenters, as well as rural areas, the majority of homes, schools and buildings were destroyed and massive help is need to rebuild Nepal.
Bhandari, who hails from the former kingdom of Nepal, is a master of the sarangi, an instrument whose name means “hundred colors,” with a cello-like timbre, bowed on three melody strings with 36 sympathetic strings underneath, giving it a haunting cello-like resonance and bright reverberating echo. His music ranges from the wildly exuberant to hauntingly delicate, presented with the rhythmic power that is his signature.
Paul is a graduate of the Ali Akbar College of Music, a Fullbright India Scholar and longtime tabla accompanist to Grammy nominee Jai Uttal.
APAC seeks actors/readers for 22nd annual Original Play Festival
The Aloha Performing Arts Company will hold open auditions on July 10 and 11 for volunteer actors/readers for its 22nd annual Original Play Festival at the APAC Loft.
Sixteen male roles and 20 female roles are available in the six plays which will be presented as staged readings Aug. 19 through 22. Auditions are slated for 6 p.m. July 10 and 3 p.m. July 11 at the loft, which is located across the street from Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu.
The festival kicks off Aug. 19, with “Bats,” a comedy by Edward Pickard of Honolulu. This play, set in Los Angeles in 1928, features four men and one woman, and will be directed by Felicity Johnson.
On Aug. 20, “The Past Tense of Hurt” will be presented. This is a sophisticated comedy by J. Jackson, of Colorado, with a cast consisting of two women: one white, one black. The director will be announced at a later date.
Aug. 21’s offering is “Somebody Has to Die,” a classic “who dunnit” by Kona playwright Kitty Powell, who will also direct the play. She needs four men and six women for her cast.
The festival closes on Aug. 22 with a triple bill. First up is “The Recommendation,” an otherworldly comedy by local playwright Tom Johnson, directed by Paula Cornwell. The cast, consisting of five men and three women, includes several saints, Lucifer, God, and Jesus.
Second on the Aug. 22 bill is “The Unsalable Thing” by Mark Tjarks, of Oahu. This is a contemporary comic morality tale, addressing society’s treatment of the homeless and the elderly. Director Robin O’Hara will be casting four men and one woman for this piece.
O’Hara is also directing the final play of the festival, “Ma’s Last Request,” by veteran playwright Gloria Blum. Six characters, three men and three women, are needed for this fact-based comedy about experiences with a Jewish grandmother originally from Poland.
All directors will be present at the auditions, and will take turns having actors read from their scripts. Those auditioning are asked to arrive on time and plan to stay approximately two hours. Attendance at both audition sessions is ideal, but not required. Each play will have five rehearsals, usually on the