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Jordan Cho
The Tempest
Jordan Cho

Jordan has performed in several productions with HSF (as Jordan Clara Ihilani Sasaki), appearing as Lysander in the invented-language version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lafew in last year’s musical All’s Well That Ends Well. She was the assistant director for Chekhov’s Seagull and recently directed Lifeboat for Hawaii Opera Theatre where she also serves as their Production Manager. This is her first time directing for HSF.

“HSF has been my summer home and most cherished creative outlet for the past five years. Having enjoyed numerous rewarding experiences as an actor in the festival, I am beyond excited to direct a production with HSF for the first time. The Tempest has always been one of my favorites (as it is for many I’m sure) and it just felt fitting to open the 2019 season with this widely revered and well known work. As someone who believes that theatre and magic are inextricable, I am deeply honored by this opportunity to direct Shakespeare’s enchanting final masterpiece.”

Read Brooke Jones's profile on Jordan, Staging Magic.


Jason Kanda
Much Ado
About Nothing
Jason Kanda

Jason has been seen performing on many Hawaii stages. He previously directed Edward III and Twelfth Night for HSF.

“For this third go round as a director for HSF, I’m looking to embrace the collaborative aspect of the contemporary theatre by fostering this notion of improvised lyrical movement in dramatic performance. Can we make a dance that is also a play? The goal here is to capitalize on the musicality of the language by discovering the ways in which it moves us.”



Taurie Kinoshita

Taurie is an award-winning director and has produced and directed shows in Hawaii, New York, and England. She has performed many times for HSF and has directed As You Like It, Henry VIII, and The Witch of Edmonton. She also serves as the Education Director of HSF.

“Few things in life are as pure fun and rewarding as participating in the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival. As countless people have done for centuries across oceans, we invoke these timeless characters, are mesmerized by the storm of their thoughts, like stars they cast a seemingly eternal light. For Shakespeare’s audience, Macbeth was a singularly unsettling story--chalk full of horror and the terrifying reality of the supernatural.”