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Our History
In 1969, a group of graduate students in the University of Hawaii
Theatre Department founded Hawaii Performing Arts Company (HPAC).
Their desire was to create Hawaii's first professional resident
adult theatre organization. Their presentations in the first
two seasons were staged in cubby-hole spaces in downtown Honolulu.
Support for the new company grew quickly and larger performance
space was needed. Kawaiahao Church's Manoa Valley Chapel, with
a seating capacity of 100, became the new home of HPAC in 1971.
The theatre continued to flourish, with sold-out performances
and enthusiastic audiences.
By 1983 the Board of Directors recognized that the aging chapel
facility that had served as home for 12 years would have to be
replaced. Nearly
$1 million was raised locally by the Board of Directors resulting
in the new 150-seat Manoa Valley Theatre facility which was dedicated
in 1987. The organization began operating under its registered trade
name, Manoa Valley Theatre.
Now in its 39th consecutive season, Manoa Valley Theatre has evolved
into one of Hawaii’s most celebrated and exciting producing
theatres. Its focus on contemporary, mainstream Broadway and Off-Broadway
entertainment results in previously unseen shows being presented
in their Hawaii premieres.
Manoa Valley Theatre Board of Directors and Staff
MVT's Board of Directors is comprised of 35 volunteers representing
Oahu's business and professional community. All members are required
to actively participate on a standing committee. Day to day management
of the theatre is accomplished by a full-time professional staff
of 6, part-time professional staff of 5, and 2 professional consultants.
MVT’s Producing Director is responsible for all business and
artistic operations of the theatre.
Volunteer and Community Impact
Manoa Valley Theatre's constituency is broad-based. Season ticket
holders, the single-largest source of the theatre's earned income,
live in communities island-wide. The volunteers who participate
in MVT's program activities as actors, directors, musicians,
stagehands,
ushers, and designers also live throughout Oahu.
MVT serves as a community workplace for theatre arts students
from public and private schools, the University of Hawaii, Chaminade
University, and Leeward Community College among others. Opportunities
to get involved in all areas of live stage production are available
to all community members who have that interest. Auditions for performing
roles are open to all. Guest directors, designers, musicians, and
stage crew are recruited on a play-by-play basis from the abundance
of talent available in the local community. Audition notices are
sent to an email list approximately two weeks prior to each audition.
Manoa Valley Theatre's Annual Performing Season
Theatre annually produces a mainstage season of six or
more productions, each selected from recent Broadway or off-Broadway
offerings, with a two-fold purpose: to entertain island audiences
and to offer stimulating and educational opportunities in theatre
arts production to our community's ever-growing population of actors
and craftsmen. The annual season runs from September through August.
Occasional special projects are produced in other community venues.
MVT's Studio Series offers special attractions from time to time
on dark nights during the mainstage run.
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The MVT Bell Tower
Our Mission
Manoa Valley Theatre was established as a community workplace which
would benefit local performing artists and audiences. At a special
Board of Directors planning retreat held in October 2004, MVT’s
mission statement was discussed and restated as follows:
To entertain and enrich Hawaii’s
audiences and artists through the production and promotion of live
theatre .
The principles which guide fulfillment of this mission are:
• Striving to consistently provide quality entertainment
• A commitment to develop Hawaii theatre artists
• Producing challenging, thought-provoking, educational experiences
• Acceptance of artistic risks
• An expectation of professionalism at all levels
• Fiscal responsibility
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