{"id":18984,"date":"2026-03-19T15:21:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T01:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=18984"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:03:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:03:21","slug":"2026-students-make-a-splash-in-%ca%bbthe-little-mermaid-celebrating-35-years-of-nanakuli-high-intermediates-performing-arts-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/2026-students-make-a-splash-in-%ca%bbthe-little-mermaid-celebrating-35-years-of-nanakuli-high-intermediates-performing-arts-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Students make a splash in \u02bbThe Little Mermaid\u2019: Celebrating 35 years of N\u0101n\u0101kuli High & Intermediate\u2019s Performing Arts Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

N\u0100N\u0100KULI \u2014 The N\u0101n\u0101kuli High & Intermediate School Performing Arts Center (NPAC) has been part of students\u2019 worlds and the Wai\u02bbanae Coast community for 35 years. This spring, 33 students will perform in the cast of Disney\u2019s \u201cThe Little Mermaid,\u201d which opens March 27. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""The
“It’s a dinglehopper!”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Co-director Robin Kitsu founded NPAC in 1991 with a goal to change the perception of West O\u02bbahu and its students. Under Kitsu\u2019s tutelage, the after-school performing arts program has offered its students opportunities to travel and perform across the continent and in London. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always wanted to work in theater and the performing arts. So when I got placed here, that was one of my dreams,\u201d Kitsu said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t have a performing arts program, so I started a drama club, an after-school drama club, with six students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program now attracts more than 40 students from various public and charter schools across O\u02bbahu who act, sing, dance and create sets for two major musical productions and two showcases each year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve grown because the sense of this program is you have a place to belong. And it\u2019s not about this competition kind of thing, of being a star. Everyone\u2019s important. And I think we\u2019ve built that into our culture,\u201d Kitsu said. “It’s just a place for them to belong and develop performing arts skills, but more importantly, build up self-esteem and confidence for life. Not only during school, but post-high school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haley Sakakida, a junior at Mililani High who plays Ariel in the musical, said she found her place at NPAC in the fourth grade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone here is very welcoming, and they treat you as if you were family right from the start,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if you don\u2019t know anyone, they love and cherish you, and they will always treat you with kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""The
Ariel and Flounder under the sea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cast members are from various public and charter schools, including N\u0101n\u0101kuli Elementary, N\u0101n\u0101kuli High & Intermediate, Mililani High, \u02bbIlima Intermediate, N\u0101n\u0101ikapono Elementary, Makaha Elementary, Wai\u02bbanae Elementary, Wai\u2018anae Intermediate and Barbers Point Elementary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working collaboratively with cast members whose ages range from third to 12th grade is a joy for N\u0101n\u0101kuli High junior Haedyn Carba. \u201cIt\u2019s just so heartwarming to finally be able to do this with all of my castmates, who I\u2019ve known for so long, gotten to know, worked with, and got to see grow along with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carba, who plays Ursula, says she channels the character through tapping into the villain\u2019s history. \u201cUrsula, in my opinion, was very oppressed as a child because she wasn\u2019t the favorite, she was the ugly one,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd I\u2019m trying to figure out a way to embody that, like that frustration and anger. And to prepare for it, honestly, I just try to get angry. Because that\u2019s her main emotion. She wants to get revenge, and she kind of does get it in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""The
Carba channels her anger to play Ursula<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What can the audience expect from the show? \u201cThey\u2019re definitely going to like all the costumes,\u201d Carba said. \u201cAnd if they ever want to know the basis of the story, basically it\u2019s about finally finding the freedom to be who you want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing show to come out and watch, and I hope everyone who comes to watch it loves it just as much as we love putting it on,\u201d Sakakida said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Little Mermaid\u201d shows dates are March 27-29 and April 2-4. Pre-sale tickets<\/a> are $10 for adults, $5 for students 13 and older, and $3 for children 12 and under. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father-Daughter Duo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-directors Robin and Chloe Kitsu are a father-daughter duo who have worked together at NPAC for six years. Robin has taught at N\u0101n\u0101kuli High & Intermediate for 36 years, while Chloe is an English language arts teacher, Early College coordinator and class advisor for the school. They share the same vision for NPAC: to create a place where students can develop their theatre skills and find a sense of belonging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether they\u2019re from Mililani, or they\u2019re from N\u0101n\u0101kuli or Wai\u02bbanae Intermediate, they all get to share something in common, and work on something together to create this end product that\u2019s really special,\u201d said Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chloe, a Mililani High graduate, grew up as a student participant in the NPAC \u02bbohana. Her experience in the program inspired her to return to N\u0101n\u0101kuli as a teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven when I was younger, when I was still in high school, my dad gave me opportunities to teach and lead, which is why, I think, I kind of found my way back to teaching after going to college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""The
The cast of “The Little Mermaid”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A new home for NPAC <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of NPAC has garnered acclaim for West O\u02bbahu. The program is slated to receive a new performing arts center on the N\u0101n\u0101kuli High & Intermediate campus for the Wai\u02bbanae Coast to enjoy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhase I of the new facility will be our own. We call it the Dream Big Mini Theater. And it\u2019s a 75-seat black box theater slash rehearsal studio for us,\u201d Robin Kitsu said. \u201cWe will have our own place where we can dance, rehearse \u2014 with dance floors and mirrors. As you can tell, there are no mirrors right now. For students to actually have mirrors to see themselves in is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $10 million Phase I project is slated to break ground in early 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase II will be construction of a full-sized stage and auditorium that can seat up to 500 people. The cost of Phase II is approximately $40 million, pending funding approval by the legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only for NPAC, and it\u2019s not only for N\u0101n\u0101kuli, but it\u2019s for the whole Westside to hold hula and music festivals. What we\u2019re envisioning is that the students at the school can run the facility \u2014 from marketing to tech and all of that,\u201d Robin Kitsu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March marks HIDOE\u2019s 2nd annual Fine Arts In Our Schools Month, celebrating visual and performing arts in public schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NPAC\"
Phase I of the new NPAC buildling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
  • \""The<\/div>
    King Triton and his merdaughters<\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/li>
  • \""The<\/div>
    A smiling Ursula and Sebastian the crab<\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/li>
  • \""The<\/div>
    The cast waiting for the show to begin!<\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/li>
  • \""The<\/div>
    Chloe Kitsu assists with costuming<\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    N\u0100N\u0100KULI \u2014 The N\u0101n\u0101kuli High & Intermediate School Performing Arts Center (NPAC) has been part of students\u2019 worlds and the Wai\u02bbanae Coast community for 35 years. This spring, 33 students will perform in the cast of Disney\u2019s \u201cThe Little Mermaid,\u201d which opens March 27.  Co-director Robin Kitsu founded NPAC in 1991 with a goal to […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":18997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"856,888,893,1022,1619,1622","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":21,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-little-mermaid-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Kimi Takazawa","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/author\/kimi-takazawak12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":308,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":308,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 19:47:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18984"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18999,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18984\/revisions\/18999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}