Manoa Valley Theatre Features Ku'ulei Shafee and Nick Amador On This Week's MVT LIVE

This week's episode of Manoa Valley Theatre's new live streaming video series called MVT Live, features two dynamic and creative entertainers. Viewers will have a front row seat and an exclusive behind the scenes look at the glamorous world of live theatre and performance. The stream will be posted on @manoavalleytheatre's Live Facebook stream. The host, Dylan Chace Lee, will chat with actor/screenwriter Ku'ulei Shafee and actor Nick Amador. They'll talk about everything from their background in performing, favorite acting experiences and even a live performance by Amador.

Each live episode feature chats with favorite actors and directors from current and past productions at MVT in a casual, from-home streaming video format. Executive Director Kip Wilborn will join in with news from the theatre and talk about the exciting new season beginning in September, including six Hawaii premieres.

Ku'ulei Shafee is an actor, screenwriter, and content editor from the island of Maui. While residing in Los Angeles, she graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 2016, Ku'ulei was selected to portray Olivia Robello in the short play called Shipment Day, written and directed by Lorenzo DeStefano. The play won Best Play and Ku'ulei won Best Actress at the PlayBuilders of Hawaii New Works Festival. In 2018, she was asked to reprise her role as Olivia in the full-length play and finished off with what John Berger from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser called a "commanding performance" at the Manoa Valley Theatre. The play was extended due to the overwhelming success, which resulted in Ku'ulei securing the services of a top local Hawaii talent agency, The Kathy Muller Agency. As a graduate of the 2019/2020 Creative Lab Hawaii Screenwriting Fellowship program, she and her writing partner, Jessica Hayes, were able to complete their second co-written pilot - an original fantasy-drama limited series set in the 19th century. While writing scripts and treatments, she is also the Lead Content Editor for Polished Service Inc and a Reiki Master Teacher for her company Voijour, whose mission is to help individuals heal generational and inner child trauma through Reiki.

Nick Amador recently performed at Harvard University's The Goat Exchange in Othello and with Hasty Pudding Theatricals in France France Revolution. With Harvard-Radcliffe's Dramatic Club, Nick appeared in Romeo and Juliet, A Very Potter Musical, Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play and in Hamlet. He received a Po'okela award for his turn as Jack Kelly in Disney's Newsies at DHT, where he also performed in Shrek the Musical, 42nd Street, Mary Poppins and Show Boat. Nick appeared in MVT's The Rocky Horror Show and Fun Home, HSF's The Seagull, KKT's One Minute Play Festival, and at TAG's Young Playwright's Festival. Nick appeared in numerous productions at Punahou, including Little Shop of Horrors, Les Misérables, Merrily We Roll Along, The Sleeping Beauty, Oliver!, Little Women, The Pajama Game, The Last Five Years, Honk Jr., You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Fiddler on the Roof. Nick was a Harvard First Year Creativity Award finalist.

Amid COVID-19 concerns, Manoa Valley Theatre has rescheduled the opening of the Wild West musical comedy Desperate Measures, originally scheduled to open March 19. We will now open our 2020-2021 season on September 3, 2020. Moving forward, MVT will continue to follow the lead of our city, state and federal elected officials as it implements strategies recommended by public health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will be in touch with ticket holders with any performance changes. MVT will also post updates on its website at manoavalleytheatre.com/alerts.

Manoa Valley Theatre recognizes Season Benefactor Sponsors Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., Cades Schutte and the Cades Foundation, and D. Suehiro Electric, Inc. The Season Presenter Sponsors are the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and 'Iolani School. Season Sponsors are Bob & Corrine Taylor on behalf of Maui Divers Jewelry, the George Mason Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation and Jeffrey S. Portnoy in memory of Sandi Portnoy. The Season Supporting Sponsor is First Hawaiian Bank. Desperate Measures Play Sponsor is Aon Risk Services, Inc. of Hawaii.

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