LEE CATALUNA - Playwright
LEE CATALUNA
What is your heritage?
I am of Native Hawaiian descent.
Where will you be watching the play from?
I'll be watching from my house on Oahu.
Is this your first time at Native Voices?
I was so grateful to be part of Native Voices 2019 Playwrights Retreat and 25th annual Festival of New Plays with my script FLOWERS OF HAWAII. It was a deeply affecting, extremely rewarding learning experience.
What compels you to write?
When I was born, my grandmother wrote a story for me as a gift. She didn't just make up a story, she put it down on paper. My grandmother had only an 8th grade education, but she didn't think that meant she couldn't be a writer. She had a story to tell and she told it. She set a strong example for me. I still have the pages written in her hand.
Do your characters have lives outside of the slice you are showing here?
The theme of the short play festival really resonated with me, and when I was asked by another theater company to write a play for them for their virtual season this fall, I turned to the idea of traditional clothing. That play is called ALOHA ATTIRE, which is a term that appears on invitations to indicate that the event isn't formal but is still dressy. The brothers in this piece appear in that play, though they have different names, are much younger and are fighting over the affections of the same girl.
How does listening to a stage reading of your play help?
Plays come alive in the hands of the actors and in the minds of the audience members. When a play is just an idea in the playwright's head or a bunch of pages in a file, it's hard to know it's true potential. A staged reading is often the first time a writer understands what they have (good or bad!)
Where can people find you on Social Media?
Instagram leecat808