October is LGBTQ+ Pride History Month and audiences are invited to Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for a transformative journey celebrating the diversity of non-binary identities. The UH Mānoa Department of Theatre and Dance presents Are We There Yet, Baby?, a provocative production that delves into an array of artistic expressions, such as monologues, contemporary dance, ritual, voguing, movement and acting improvisation.
- Related UH News story: UH Mānoa queer dance course among 1st in nation, October 11, 2022
The 27-member student cast is led by director and creator Pei-Ling Kao, an associate professor of dance. Kao’s intent is to creatively showcase the challenges that stem from conventional binary assumptions within society and education.
“Being a queer artist and educator of color, I question how the binary assumptions in society and linear education unconsciously impact our way of thinking and how we value ourselves and others,” said Kao. “I wanted to create an imaginary non-binary world on stage using aspects of contemporary dance, house ballroom, Indigenous dance and ritual, together with theatrical elements such as monologue, dialogue and chant.”
Special guests
Kao invited four queer/trans artists who brought in different aspects from their expertise to the production, such as multi-disciplinary artist and māhū (identity with male and female characteristics) Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu; Cuauhtémoc Peranda, a Mexika-Chichimeca/Cano (Indigenous people of Mexico) and cihuaiolo (women’s heart) drag queen; faʻafatama (non-binary) and activist Kiki Rivera and transgender, queer composer Ariel Wessendorf.
Markus Wessendorf, UH Mānoa Theatre and Dance chair, also played a vital role in the conceptual development of the project and provided extensive dramaturgical research.
“I hope the audiences take away the sense of community we built in the performance, the power of body and the movement, the beauty of each individual, whatever their particular gender pronouns or sexual identities, and the visceral felt moments in the show that possibly lead to question binary assumptions,” Kao explained.
Ticket prices range from $8–$25 for the mainstage production set to continue on October 27 at 7:30 p.m. and October 29 at 2 p.m.
A thriving force
In 2019, Kao debuted her production of Integral Bodies on Kennedy Theatre’s mainstage, which centered on inclusive dance making and critical thinking about what it means to inhabit a human body.
The Taiwan native is classically trained in European-American trajectory and Asian dance forms. In 2022, Kao received the UH Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching Award. She is also the recipient of the UH Endowment for the Humanities Award (2023 and 2018) and Junior Faculty Research Award (2018).
