{"id":65711,"date":"2017-09-20T09:29:16","date_gmt":"2017-09-20T19:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=65711"},"modified":"2020-03-13T12:56:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T22:56:39","slug":"performance-art-addresses-rising-sea-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2017\/09\/20\/performance-art-addresses-rising-sea-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo student’s performance art addresses rising sea levels in his homeland"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Marshall Islands, Micronesia: aerial view of Majuro Atoll and Lagoon; Delap, Uliga and Darrit areas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Randon Jack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> Professor Jackie Johnson’s<\/a><\/strong> theatre class last spring, she shared with her students a performance piece called Undesirable Elements<\/em> by Ping Chong and Company. Student Randon Jack<\/strong> was moved by the performance and felt inspired to create a work in the spirit of Ping Chong’s work when he prepared for the course’s final exam. Jack, who was born and raised in Majuro, Marshall Islands, created a work is called Ta in “Marshall Islands?”<\/em><\/p>\n

“Randon used the style and spirit of that (Ping Chong) effort to create his own version, reflecting on life in his atoll,” explains Johnson. “While very serious in nature, it begins with a true look at life on Randon’s atoll, sketches the lifestyle and traditions he holds dear, then reflects on the fragility of it all if\/when sea level rise destroys his land.”<\/p>\n

Johnson says the powerful final performance was the highlight of the semester.<\/p>\n

“I believe that Ta<\/em> encapsulates the range of pride and concern Randon feels about his home,” says Johnson. “Within the piece, he crafted images that led us through daily life, then shifted our attention to what would be lost because of the rising sea dilemma. Full of poignancy, Randon delivered the work with sensitivity, smiling at the memories and allowing the weight of the inevitable to wash over us at the end of the performance. There were gasps among his classmates and I was moved to tears.”<\/p>\n

An excerpt from Jack’s work regarding sea level rise and the impact on his home.<\/p>\n

What do I think of,
\nWhen I hear the words,
\nSea level rise?
\nKing tides
\nBecoming bigger and more frequent
\nNothing our parents or grandparents
\nHave seen before
\nWaves crashing along the coasts
\nWhere the graves face the sea
\nThese tombs broken
\nExposing coffins
\nDecomposed bodies
\nAre the deceased at peace now?
\nHomes broken down by the waves
\nForcing families to move
\nBut where else can they go?
\nWhere else can we go?
\nWe\u2019ve no mountains to move to
\nWe fight
\nProtest
\nPlead
\nFor bigger nations to help us
\nPrevent sea level rise
\nStop burning fossil fuels
\nBut no one listens
\nThey don\u2019t care
\nAs they did not care for us
\nWhen they first “discovered” us<\/p>\n

(For Jack’s full piece, Ta in “Marshall Islands?”<\/em>, go to 东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

“He took an issue that affects him personally and used the performance medium to bring it to a new level of understanding,” says Johnson. “The more people who hear this message, the better.”<\/p>\n

For the full story, go the 东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

—From 东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em><\/p>\n

This article is part of a series on curriculum and projects at 东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo focusing on sustainability. Read the previous stories:<\/em><\/p>\n