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Performing Arts

In Real Life

December 2, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

Live performances return to the stage at Vi and Paul Loo Theatre

When Things Could Go Wrong play

Luckily, nothing went awry with the recent production of “Things Go Wrong” at the Vi and Paul Loo Theatre. Written by second-year communications major Garrett Hill, the play was flawlessly staged by 13 students and a 2021 alumnus, who is now a full-time surgical intensive care unit nurse. While this may not have been the first student-driven production at Chaminade, it is the first one in a decade, according to Performing Arts assistant professor Christopher Patrinos.

“It was a full house every night,” says Patrinos, who is also the program’s disciplinarian coordinator. Gesturing towards different parts of the “Black Box Theatre,” Patrinos describes the stage layout for the limited five-show performance, with the hotel bar in one corner and the front lobby in another, and a hotel room toward the back.

“We started in a tennis-court-style stage layout (the stage in the middle, flanked by audience members on each side), but as we workshopped the play, we discovered that it would be better as a proscenium stage, which is perhaps the most readily recognizable.”

When Things Could Go Wrong play

With the success of “Things Go Wrong,” Patrinos has ambitions to encourage more student-driven plays, explaining that the production process empowers students to make creative and artistic decisions, from stage design and lights to sound and architecture.

“This is what would make Chaminade a unique stagecraft program,” asserts Patrinos, a Silversword alumnus who went on to attain his MFA at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “I’ve worked with some great playwrights and directors, but they’ve all been graduate students; our productions would be led by undergraduates.”

Since assuming the role as assistant professor three years ago, Patrinos has bolstered the program and received the support of colleagues Claire Paul (Performing Arts Professor/Technical Director), Tim Carney (Music Professor) and Allison Francis (English Professor). Together, they have fostered a cohesive student theatre community that includes majors from every discipline, whether it be from nursing and business to English and forensics.

“I drive a lot of these projects but I want it to be a collective decision,” Patrinos says. “We’re ambitious and we have a lot of goals.”

One of them is to bring back the summer theatre program, which was initiated in the Spring of 2015 by David Coleman, Ph.D., former Dean of Arts and Humanities. “It has been a project of mine for the past four years,” Patrinos says. “Chaminade definitely needs some type of performing arts curriculum during the summer.”

Patrinos also realizes that students truly have an appetite for the performing arts, as proven by the sold-out shows of “Things Go Wrong.”

“It’s been almost two years since our last in-person production,” Patrinos says. “Seventy-five percent of the audience members were students and of that number, 75 percent were first-time theatergoers. There was a lot of enthusiasm surrounding this production and there were also a lot of nerves since only three of the cast members had any theatre experience.”

Filed Under: Campus and Community, Featured Story, Humanities, Arts & Design Tagged With: Performing Arts

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

February 16, 2021 by University Communications & Marketing

Like many of us, Blaze Mancillas’ 2020 didn’t go quite as he had planned.

The pandemic meant that the actor and comedian, a 2009 graduate of Chaminade, wasn’t able to audition as much as he had hoped, couldn’t do many comedy shows or other events and had to spend more time than he ever has in his (somewhat cramped) New York apartment.

But lockdowns and COVID precautions didn’t keep Mancillas from staying busy.

In fact, his work as a host on app-based music trivia game show “SongPop Live” earned him a 2020 Webby Award, which honors the “best of the internet” in everything from websites to apps. He also launched a podcast, called “Let’s Get Lit” that combines two of his loves—comedy and literature. 

Mancillas’ Webby Award

Reached on recent day, Mancillas was hopeful about 2021 would bring.

As the number of COVID infections in New York declined, auditions have slowly resumed—and he’s looking forward to new opportunities. He said that after a very difficult year for everyone, he’s grateful for what he has and is charged up to seek out new ways to hone his acting chops and share his comedy.

Mancillas scored a hosting role on “SongPop Live” before the pandemic started. When the city shut down, he was sent home with a lot of technical equipment and instructions on what to do next. He and the other three hosts finished out their work for the game show from the comfort of their living rooms.

It was a transition for Mancillas, who said before the pandemic he rarely spent much time at all in his apartment. Instead, he would always be out in the city—enjoying all that it has to offer. But he made the most of it and in October launched his new must-listen podcast, in which he reads from a classic book (the first season features “War of the Worlds”) and invites comedians on to offer commentary.

The podcast is already getting some buzz, including in Paste Magazine and on the Comedy Cake website. Mancillas describes it as a chance to actually read those books you were supposed to read in high school, with some great comedians to join you to keep things light and keep you laughing.

In a recent interview, Mancillas remembered his time at Chaminade fondly.

It was there that Mancillas discovered his love of acting. He scored leading roles in Chaminade productions of “The Elephant Man,” “Amadeus,” “Pippin” and “The Pirates of Penzance,” to name a few. From Chaminade, he headed to New York to study acting at Columbia University. He graduated with a Master’s in Fine Arts from Columbia in 2012, and has been building his career ever since.

In addition to doing stand-up comedy and hosting for “SongPop Live,” Mancillas has appeared on TV episodes, commercials and done motion capture acting for video games. He’s interested in doing more on-screen acting work but also wants to continue to build his chops as a game show host, he said.

Mancillas with Bro. Gary Morris

At Chaminade, Mancillas was a communication major with a minor in performing arts. He credits three mentors—Music Professor Tim Carney, Father Robert Bouffier and Brother Gary Morris—with recognizing his talent, helping him muster the courage it takes to get out in front of an audience, and then challenging him to apply for graduate school on the mainland.

“They left a profound impact on me,” he said. “They were really wonderful.”

Mancillas is also thankful to Chaminade for giving him the space to find his passions—and not just in acting. At the university, Mancillas was also on the cross country and golf team, and was an announcer for basketball games. “I was running all over the place,” he said, adding that Chaminade helped him grow as a person and an artist. “There are lots of opportunities to try different things.”

To learn more about Mancillas’ work, including his new podcast, head to his website.

Filed Under: Alumni, Business & Communication, Featured Story, Humanities, Arts & Design Tagged With: Communication, Performing Arts

Chaminade University Receives Grant from Arthur and Mae Orvis Foundation

December 2, 2020 by University Communications & Marketing

Chaminade University of Honolulu has received a $15,000 grant from the Arthur and Mae Orvis Foundation to support its Performing Arts Program. The grant will provide professional music training to Performing Arts students participating in Chaminade University’s annual Summer Theatre Festival.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Arthur and Mae Orvis Foundation for this generous donation,” said Chris Patrinos, the new director of Chaminade’s Performing Arts Program. “Though the future for performing arts is uncertain, we are still hoping to hold a festival in the summer of 2021. This gift will allow us to offer the best possible musical support for the student performers and help us to bring first-rate theatre performances to Hawai‘i audiences.”

Chaminade’s Summer Theatre Festival began four years ago to give college students from Hawaiʻi an opportunity to participate in performing arts during the summer. The 2020 festival was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The Arthur and Mae Orvis Foundation was founded in 1967 by talented opera singer, Mae Orvis. Mae created the foundation in memory of her husband, financier and philanthropist, Arthur. The two loved the arts very much, and were each great supporters of the arts in Hawai‘i. Their legacy of generosity lives on through their Foundation.

# # #

Chaminade University of Honolulu provides a collaborative and innovative learning environment that prepares graduate and undergraduate students for life, service and successful careers. Established in 1955, the university is guided by its Catholic, Marianist and liberal arts educational traditions, which include a commitment to serving the Native Hawaiian population. Chaminade offers an inclusive setting where students, faculty and staff collectively pursue a more just and peaceful society.

Filed Under: Featured Story, Humanities, Arts & Design, Press Release Tagged With: Grants, Performing Arts

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