Humanities Guåhan is proud to present the Guam premiere of Masters of the Currents, created by TeAda Productions and co-produced by Breaking Wave Theatre Company. Masters of the Currents is a powerful theatrical journey written and produced by Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng with Innocenta Sound-Kikku and members of Micronesian communities in the U.S. The play is based on the experiences of Micronesians who have left their island nations due to environmental and economic pressures, and must overcome conflicts of identity and belonging in their new home of Hawai’i. 
 

The Masters of the Currents Guam tour took place from September 26 through October 9, 2022, and included a weeklong series of performance excerpts and humanities-based conversations with the island’s public high schools, community theatrical workshops with story circles, and four performances at the University of Guam Fine Arts Theatre beginning on October 6 through October 8, followed by post-show discussions as well as Q&A with the play’s creators and cast members. 

Masters of the Currents Live Theatrical Performance Dates
University of Guam Fine Arts Theatre 

Thursday, October 6, 2022 | 7:00 pm* 
Friday, October 7, 2022 | 7:00 pm
Saturday, October 8, 2022 | 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm 

*The show on October 6 was followed by the post-show discussion panel
Telling Our Stories: Micronesia Diaspora, Identity and Belonging in Guåhan

  

“Presenting ‘Masters of the Currents’ in Guam feels like a ‘return’ since it will be the first time the play will be performed in Micronesia. We hope that Masters of the Currents can be a catalyst for dialogue toward understanding, compassion, and connection within the Pacific Islander community.”
— Leilani Chan, Masters of the Currents Creator/Director and Founding Artistic Director, TeAda Productions   

“It is significant that our project, ‘Sångåni i Taotao ni Estoriå-ta, Telling Our Stories,’ focuses on the craft of storytelling within poetry, music, and in this case, theatrical performance, as Guam shares in a rich oral tradition found throughout Pacific Islander communities. We hope the ‘Masters of the Currents’ tour with the play’s wonderful creators, actors and local producers will inspire our diverse Guåhan communities to share their stories through various forms of creative and artistic expression to ensure that voices and experiences from Guam and wider Micronesia are heard.”
— Kimberlee Kihleng, Executive Director, Humanities Guåhan
 

This tour is part of the nationwide "Democracy and the Informed Citizen" initiative funded by a grant awarded to Humanities Guåhan from the Mellon Foundation in partnership with the Federation of State Humanities Councils.

Acknowledgements:

TeAda Productions is a Los Angeles based non-profit theater of color rooted in the stories of immigrants and refugees. We are committed to healing and honoring the lives of the displaced, exploited and overlooked. Our artistic process starts and ends with conscious listening, community building, and creative courage. Through theater workshops and performances, TeAda offers acts of service that are transformative and impactful. For more information please visit www.teada.org

Breaking Wave Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based on Guam that aims to use theatre and the arts to nurture individuals and build communities.

Masters of the Currents development and community partners include: Alliance for Drama Education’s T-shirt Theater, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Innocenta Sound-Kikku, Micronesian Health Advisory Coalition/All Mike, and Pacific Voices/Kokua Kalihi Valley.

This tour is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and Hawai’i People’s Fund and with lead funding from Humanities Guåhan through a Mellon Foundation grant and a Guam CAHA sponsorship.

Special thanks to our sponsors - AltrXEgo Entertainment, T-Factory, Bank of Guam, Future Smiles Orthodontics, Coast 360, the University of Guam, the University of Guam College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the University of Guam Theatre, Agana Shopping Center, and Bank of Guam. 

Read the Masters of the Currents Guam Tour full press release here.