About 100 people enjoyed an evening of poetry, drama and prose at the Get Lit! Festival last Thursday at the American Samoa Community College Multi-Purpose Center.
Hosted by the Language and Literature Department the evening was opened with a choral reading of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s, “The World is a Beautiful Place,” by 13 students of the ASCC Fine Arts Department.
Next, a total of twelve group and individual performances lit up the stage with powerful renditions of both published and original literary pieces. The artistic talent and range displayed by the student performers was impressive; from comedy, drama and spoken word to even horror with immersive performances that explored the psychological complexities of characters grappling with mental challenges.
These were showcased by Moemamao Taua’s monologue reenactment of the character Elizabeth’s confessions from “Cold Blooded Murderer” by Elisa Thompson and Donna Talaeai’s interpretation of the lonely and confused “Medusa” by Agha Shali.
The other three performances that were published pieces included: the dramedy “Three Wise Cousins” (Stallone
Vaiaoga-Ioasa) performed by Fuatai Iosefo, Mariajosaphine Mapu, and Emanuel Lilo; the poem “Phenomenal Woman” (Maya Angelou) performed by Salene Sili; and the character of Rose from the play “Fences” (August Wilson) performed by Miracle Vailoaloa. Each of these published pieces introduced the themes of resilience, cultural identity and the challenges of being a modern woman.
The final seven performances were original pieces written and performed by the literary artists themselves.
For the first time, performances included an original script for a group dramatic performance (“Four Sisters” original
script by Ronnie Mageo) and two original group spoken word pieces. The first explored diverse roles and challenges faced by the modern Samoan woman (“A Woman’s Cry” by Vanessa Covarrubias, Hadassah Mageo-Umi, Christology Taofi, and Matalena Hunt) and the second one (“Dear Parents, Dear Child” by Rylanio Urahono), the relationship between parents and their children in traditional homes.
Three original poems featured in the individual performance category explored culture and identity, “Samoan Way of Life,” by Athena Pulu and “Beauty is Coppered Skin,” by Shanany Gaopoa, as well as a poem in memory of a loved one “My Treasure,” by Shauna Malagamaalii. Finally, an original spoken word performance “Rock Bottom” by Eberdong Daeganshjon explored resilience in the face of adversity especially as a young person in today’s rapidly changing world.
According to Literature instructor and the night’s Emcee, Jayleen Chun, “Students demonstrated not just their
abilities to perform complex pieces on stage, but it was the original prose that I think surprised our captive
audience… with this event and others like them…we hope to be planting seeds that inspire a future author from
American Samoa.”
