SUMMARYThe Storybook Theatre of Hawai‘i was founded 25 years ago as a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to addressing an important need for young children: to hear good stories told in creative ways. The building of our community’s future begins with our children, and we are dedicated to the propagation of culture through creative education and exploration.
We are at the beginning of an exciting new project that will exceed any previous potential to reach out to our young people while honoring one of Hawai‘i’s most visionary hero’s – Spark Masayuki Matsunaga. The Storybook Theatre will build a monumental garden in Hanapepe, on the beautiful island of Kaua‘i, with a generous grant from the State Legislature. The garden will celebrate this inspirational leader and his message of international harmony and inclusion.
Sparky’s garden of peace will be a place where social and cultural boundaries dissolve and students will be encouraged to look below, above, behind and within to find their own unique story, so valuable to preserve. It will give a safe and inspirational space for the outdoor classroom, for the public, and for the creation of new culture.
Throughout Sparky’s involvement in his hometown of Hanapepe, his service in the State Legislature, and the U.S. Senate, he remained dedicated to the expansive ideology of world peace based on commonalities rather than divisions – to look beyond opposites. By telling his story in the garden, we can show how Sparky’s philosophy is not only relevant today but greatly needed in creating a hopeful future for our youth.
THE STORY
The building of our garden begins at the ground breaking ceremony in February 2007. The year ahead will transform our simple backyard into a dynamic and beautiful sanctuary – the song of birds from our aviary, whispers from a naturalistic waterfall, grass and benches for resting and thinking, and an arbor of flowers and vines at the ornamental entrance gate. Kim Duffet has been commissioned to create an original ten-foot bronze sculpture of Sparky to anchor the entire interpretive garden. With the addition of an outdoor stage and amphitheater, the conversion of our backyard will indeed be quite extraordinary.
We propose to document this creative process in a film. Not only as a witness to this important moment of our growth, but an opportunity to tell Spark Matsunaga’s amazing story and vision, both as a local hero and an international leader.
We have begun shooting each stage of building the garden; including the creation and production of Hawai‘i’s first full statue of Sparky – from maquette, to casting, to installation. The crew will film and engage the artists and craftspeople involved. For historical context, the crew will also retrieve archival material and interview Sparky’s contemporaries and colleagues on Kaua’i, the state of Hawai‘i, U.S. mainland, and throughout the world.
OUR MISSION
This film would be a tribute to Sparky’s legacy as well as a tool to gain further support for The Storybook Theatre’s endeavors in creating a nationally recognized center for cultural preservation and propagation by providing creative educational experiences for children, youth, and their families.
The film would be used as a cross-cultural educational tool for partners on the mainland and in Japan, through touring and broadcast.
The film could be used for future grant-writing proposals and be shown at community fundraising events; copies could be given as gifts to donors, or purchased by donors to give to The Kaua‘i Museum, the State Foundation on Culture & the Arts, the state or county archives.
This educational film will serve as an interpretive media exhibit for local student programs and island visitors at the Storybook Theatre.
Our hope is that this film communicates an national and international message, told through the story of a local, small town hero. We aim to make this a compelling story for audiences in America, Japan and Hawai‘i and the Pacific .
PRODUCT
A 50-minute color DVD, full sound. To be produced at The Storybook Theatre and Media Center. The footage would be shot on mini-DV by various contracted professional camera people and edited by the producers of the film.
THE PRJECT TEAM
Mark Jeffers - Executive Producer
Mark is Storybook Theatre‘s Executive Director. He has produced ten years of educational television programming in Hawai‘i, including several award winning documentaries on Hawaiian history, ecological tourism, waste management and environmental interpretation. In 2003 the State Legislature named Mark as Hawaii’s Outstanding Children’s Advocate.
“The world is filled with good stories. Stories teach and entertain but more importantly they show us all what it is like to be a human being. The storyteller must find and discern which are the best stories to hold and remember. Which are the best to instruct and inform the young. The story of Sparky M. Matsunaga a boy from Kaua‘i is such a story.”
“Sparky’s story is one of a hero in our own life and times. It should therefore, be told through images and voices of his family and those who knew and admired him. It is pono (righteous & correct) to craft his story from his earliest days in Kukui‘ula and Hanapepe to his senior years in Washington D.C. as the story of a small town boy who through the course of this life employs his works and ideas in both local and international arenas successfully. Help us deliver on our promise to tell his story to all who will listen; a story of the value of peace throughout the world in our time.” - Mark Jeffers
Keya Keita - Director
Keya’s career in writing and filmmaking has been recognized with Awards from the Martin Luther King Foundation, The Gentry Memorial Fund, GAFFERS International Film Festival, USC school of Cinema and Television, The Reader’s Digest Scholastic Foundation, and The Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles. She is currently the Lifestyle editor for the Garden Island News.
Kim Duffett - Sculptor & Garden Designer
Kim is a Hawai‘i based artist, whose work is collected internationally. His three times life-size hula kahiko dancers fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village, in Waikiki received the Kahili Award for Visual Arts in the 2003. Working with renowned architect Kevin Ngut Pung Chun, of Watanabe, Chun, Iopa, & Takaki, an extraordinary garden design has been created.
Matt Matsunaga - Family Consultant
A former State Senator, Matt, Sparky’s son, will lend his memory, experience and guidance throughout the production of the film. Matt is pleased to support the telling of his father’s legacy that will inspire young people of Hawai’i Nei and beyond.
FINANCIAL PROSPECTUSStorybook Theatre is proposing a budget to empower a documentary that conveys our inspirational story to a national audience, and promote understanding of Hawai‘i’s visionary peacemaker, Sparky Matsunaga.
TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY $140,000
INTERACTIVE ONLINE PRESENTATION $49,000
DVD WITH SPECIAL FEATURES $16,000
TOTAL $205,000 `
*Detailed budget, upon request
Contact: Mark Jeffers - Executive Director
The Storybook Theatre,, 3814 Hanapepe Road, Hanapepe, HI 96716
email:
markjeffers@hawaii.rr.comweb: www.storybook.org
phone: (808) 335-0712
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