LDS School's Drama Wins Awards at Teuila Festival

LDS Church College Pesega’s musical drama, based on an old Samoan legend, was awarded 2^nd place in the Traditional Category of the Dream Show competition at this year’s Samoa Teuila Festival. They were also picked by the judges for Most Original, Best Soundtrack, and Best Stage Crew awards.

Their presentation tells the story of the Tui Manu’a (the paramount chief of the Manu’a Islands) whose young son and heir has no legs. He sails with his son to the island of Savai’i seeking an answer.

The story reaches its dramatic climax when, because of their friendship and chiefly relationship, Folasaitu of Savai’i offers the legs of his only son and heir, Tapuna.

The musical score and the anguished cries of his mother, Mailei’a, accentuated this sacrifice to great effect. The audience noticeably fell silent when the decision was made and one son lost his legs and life so that another might walk.

“I felt proud because all the people felt the spirit of the story,” said 15-year-old Sharon Leala Iali, one of the performers.

The father’s sacrifice was one of the reasons the LDS school chose to dramatize this legend. Samoa is a strongly Christian nation, and the audience easily saw parallels between Folasaitu’s act and God’s decision to sacrifice his only son, Jesus Christ.

LDS Church College Pesega, located on the island of Upolu in the nation of Samoa, is sponsored and administered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was one of ten schools that competed in a preliminary round the previous week at Samoa College. There they were chosen as one of three finalists to compete in the Traditional Category at the festival.

The church has great respect for Polynesian culture. Fifty years ago it started the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) in Laie, Hawaii to preserve the culture of Polynesia, and to provide jobs and scholarships for students attending the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University.

A large crowd, including the Deputy Head of State, gathered in front of the outdoor festival stage in Apia’s Government Center Plaza to see the 6 finalists perform (3 each in the Traditional and the Contemporary Categories). The performance was also broadcast live on television.

“The production was to be all original, so all the songs and words had to be original,” said Uili Lafaele, music teacher at Pesega. Science teacher Asueru Iafeta wrote the original script. Lafaele then wrote music for the words and phrases he selected from it that best communicated the story and its emotions. “Frequently I would still be up at 3am, working on it.”

“Because we had to write new music, and because we were trying to fit music to the mood we desired, it took us to a higher level,” Lafaele said. “This was a very rewarding experience.”

Joyce Manuleleua, a school secretary, helped choreograph the show and taught some dances to the students. The student performers also created many dance actions, too. “They knew the story and decided how to tell it, using traditional dance forms,” commented Lupe Fuimaono, an English teacher and one of the directors of the production. “Sometimes they (the students) don’t know they can do it -- but they can. They learn to be creative.”

“It was difficult to learn the dance and figure out the positions to be in on the stage,” said Tyrus Pauga, age 15, a warrior dancer. “But doing a perfect performance was rewarding. I’m so proud. We did our best.”

Several days before the performance the teachers decided to change the original cloth-only costumes to include traditional materials such as coconut, banana and ti leaves, and red, white and yellow flowers. Volunteers traveled to forests to gather, cut, and clean the needed materials.

Tapuna’s shirt and Mailei’a’s cape were dramatically covered in ted Teuila flowers, drawing the audience’s attention to them and foreshadowing the depth of their shared sacrifice.

Students were required to make their own costumes. Girls learned how to sew leaves and flowers onto their clothes following the given patterns. Many of them struggled, but they persevered and produced a colorful and traditional look. Students made props and painted the large cloth backdrops of village and seashore scenes.

Colleges (high schools) were invited to participate in this first ever “Dream Show” competition by telling a traditional Samoan story or legend in 15 minutes or less (including stage set up and take down) and with a cast of 50. They would be judged on music, dance, script, set design, execution and use of traditional cultural proverbs and expressions.

“We chose to participate and honor the government’s invitation, allowing our students to gain a new experience and share their talents,” said Fuimaono. Ten teachers helped with the play’s production, and ten more students worked as the backstage crew.

The awards won by the college’s production included cash prizes in the amount of $5,500 WST.

“Time limitations were difficult with only two and a half weeks to prepare,” said teacher Urshla Adams. “It was rewarding to see the students who showed up wanting to participate. They were easy to work with, willing to stay late, and upbeat. Teachers were good to assist and to contribute fabric and other materials. Many parents collected leaves (and flowers) and helped their children with costumes.”

The Pesega students also went the extra mile and helped clean up the stage areas after the preliminary shows at Samoa College and the final competition at the Government Center Plaza.