News
Actor, Director
Remounted the show from the 2023 Hawaii Shakespeare Festival, co-produced as Kamamo House and presented by Kahilu Theatre. Played the roles of Paka and Pila.
March 2024
Volunteer Workshop Leader, Hawaii Thespian Fest 2024
I Want To Write A Play But Don't Know Where To Start And/Or I Don't Know What The Heck I'm Doing
Instructor: Sean-Joseph Choo
This workshop, led by theater artist, Sean Choo, will give participants some tools (and hopefully some confidence) to take the steps towards writing a play. Bring something to write on/with, some ideas, and a willingness to create.
January 2024
World Premiere of Super Aunty by Lee Cataluna, Music and Songs by me
Composed music and wrote songs for Honolulu Theatre's production of Super Aunty as part of the BIPOC TYA Superhero Project
December 2023
Kamamo House Playreading Fundraiser for Lahaina
Hosted a pā'ina and playreading to raise funds for families affected by the fires in Lahaina. Directed a reading of Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl's Emmalehua.
November 26, 2023
Graphic by Leimomi Bong
Sound Designer, CRY IT OUT by Molly Smith Metzler
Significant Productions, The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol
Fall 2023
One of sixteen artists featured in Shangri La's 8x8: Source show. This fourth installment of 8x8 brings together eight visual artists and eight performing artists based in Hawaiʻi to create new work inspired by their encounters with Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture, & Design. Sparking a generative force to this year’s exhibition, the theme “source,” has been interpreted by these sixteen artists to produce commentaries on topics ranging from sustainability and ancestry to rising and return.
Developed Fall 2023, exhibition from January to June 2024
Weaving a Narrative, commissioned artist
I was one of three Pasifika commissioned artists as part of Weaving a Narrative, a workshop series created in collaboration with the Übersee Museum (Germany) and the Pacific Virtual Museum Project (New Zealand) connecting the topics of meta-data, storytelling and community engagement.
Fall 2023
Played "The Trickster" character at a one-night immersive event
May 2023
Workshop and reading of my play the isle is full of noises as part of The Playwrights Realm's Native American Artist Lab
May 2023
Attended Kumu Kahua Theatre's STAGES educational course for directors led by Harry Wong III
Spring/Summer 2023
Hawaii Thespian Festival Workshop Leader
January 2023
Offered two workshops:
Generating Soundscapes for the Theatre
Synopsis:
How does sound amplify or distract in storytelling? Workshop facilitator Sean-Joseph Choo will share his experiences, philosophies, and insights exploring this question, talking story about his compositions and sound designs made for productions here at home and in the continent. No musical background needed to take this workshop.
Playwriting Basics
Synopsis:
It’s said the writer creates jobs. That’s powerful. But as Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Workshop facilitator Sean-Joseph Choo will guide students thru core ideas surrounding writing for the theatre, with a local and global audience in mind, exploring what it means to use this writing power with wisdom.
Consultant for Center for Tomorrow's Leaders
Gave public speaking pointers with dramatic exercises and skills for staff to utilize with students.
December 2022
Works in Progress Kamamo House Gathering
Featuring works by Tsuyuno Amos, 'Imipono Kalai Kane, Christina Leilani Campbell, and myself.
December 2022
Commissioned to write a musical with Lee Cataluna for Honolulu Theatre for Youth
November 2022
Musician for dance concert for company 24-VII Danceforce
December 2022
The Experience of Being Local As An Artist / Lumpia Love Song / Are You Filipino?
Published in November 2023
Hapchang Immersive Art Experience
Created and performed an original movement piece inspired by traditional Korean dance and clowning, featuring art work by Lauren Hana Chai and Miryo and music by Dae Han.
October 2022
Sound Designer, HEARTSTRINGS by Lee Cataluna
Directed by Kat Yen, produced by Atlantic for Kids
Fall 2022
Kamamo House Works in Progress meeting
Offerings from Tsuyuno Amos, 'Imipono Kalai Kane, and myself.
First public reading of my play the folly of icarus.
August 2022
The Playwrights Realm 2022-2023 Native American Artist Lab inagural playwright
Developed full-length play the isle is full of noises with mentorship by Rhiana Yazzie and Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl.
August 2022 - May 2023
Featured writer, premiere of short play, "tourist shell shock"
June 2022
Featured artist in Pan Asian Rep's NuWorks 2022 program, world premiere of one-person show, "i love my AAPI grandparents!"
June 2022
Co-producer, QASI Fest 2022
Celebrating queer art and community in Hawaiʻi with exhibits, installations, performances, a drag show, and more 🏳️🌈
Host, Kamamo House Short Playreading Festival
Funded by an American Rescue Plan Individual Grant and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the festival featured three short plays by queer/māhū identifying playwrights Tsuyuno Amos, ʻImipono Kalai Kane, and Sean Choo. The plays were developed from January 2022 until June 2022, when the plays got a reading, with mentorship from Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl.
Photos by Mar Mizunaka
June 2022
Assitant Director, Blue
Opened May 26th, 2022 Kumu Kahua Theatre
Featured actor in Hawai‘i Nō Ka ‘Oi: A Sakamoto Celebration
as part of the Prime Time Series of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kennedy Theatre
Playing the role of Toshio (Tosh) Kamiya in Ed Sakamoto's The Taste of Kona Coffee and Mānoa Valley.
Earle Ernst Lab Theatre at Kennedy Theatre
February 24-27, 2022
Musician and facilitator for the Hawai'i Lullaby Project 2022
Spring 2022
Sean participated in "These Sceptered Isles" hosted by NY Shakespeare Exchange as an actor and interviewee. The event was an exchange stories and views on identity, heritage, and mana (spirit), and explore how these stories intersect with the works and characters of Shakespeare's canon.
January 23, 2022
Original cast member, Polynesian AF, Honolulu-based Pasifika sketch and comedy group
October 2021
Mentor to Candice Sarangay, first Playwright in Residence at UH Mānoa's Late Night Theatre Company
Fall/Winter 2021
Sean premiered their show co-written with puppeteer Bonnie Kim: "Waves of Generations" , incorporating singing, traditional Korean dance, martial arts, puppetry and crankie box storytelling about their Korean grandparents and family members.
Photos courtesy of O'ahu Fringe Festival.
Oahu miniFRINGE Fall 2021
Sean's ten-minute play, "kanpai kindness" (originally "dad & son") was featured in
Reset Theatre Coalition July 17th, Episode 3
July 17 2021
Sean's new dark comedy, "tourist shell shock" was accepted to be a part of The Skeleton Rep(resents) Salon Series.
Spring/Summer 2021
A dark, abstract, twist on the Japanese fairy tale Urashima Tarō, "tourist shell shock" is a short play that reimagines the tale as a frame for the relationship of tourists and residents in Hawai'i.
A few developmental meetings, notes, and finally a live reading were a part of this process.
Commissioned by TheaterWorksUSA, Sean contributed his storycrafting and music-making skills to TWUSA's Who Tells Your Story? series, featuring BIPOC songwriters creating new songs about BIPOC historymakers. Currently streaming on TWUSA.TV, "Think Mink!" is an HTY Digital Production, created in association with Making Waves Films.
Additionally, Sean also moderated a panel for TWUSA with Kimberlee Bassford (documentary filmmaker, Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority) and Calvin Taumra (a puppeteer and artist who is also Patsy Mink’s cousin), and a few young kid friends of HTY.
Spring 2021
Assistant Directing the world premiere of Susan Soon He Stanton's Untitled TMT Project at Kumu Kahua Theatre
Spring/Summer 2021
Sean is excited to help take on interpreting this play of this timely topic, with director Harry Wong III, artistic director of Kumu Kahua Theatre. Opening June 10th, 2021.
Just finished the inaugural
CREATIVE LAB HAWAI'I Playwrights Immersive
April 26th to April 30th, 2021
Sean was one of three playwrights selected to participate in this immersive, getting valuable one-on-one coaching from Chay Yew, Susan Stanton, and more.
Co-produced the CREATIVE LAB Short-Plays Reading Festival, premiere of For Duque
April 24th, 2021
Sean co-produced this online festival with playwrights from across the state of Hawai'i, including actors and directors from across the archipelago. He premiered his play, For Duque, written in honor of his uncle, Douglas Paul "Sean Duque" Maligro.
Wrote a new one-act for 24-hour play fest
April 18th, 2021
Presented by Nothing Without a Company and Kumu Kahua Theatre, Sean wrote BAD TRIP BISHES for a twenty-four hour play fest, produced on Zoom, collaborating with artists from Hawai`i and Chicago.
Composed music for filmed theatre piece.
April 15, 2021
Sean joyfully set words to music and made underscoring for Hawai`i Pacific University Theatre's production of Finegan Kruckeymer's fantastic play Where Words Once Were, directed by Alex Munro, with video production support by Brodie Kinder.