A Candy for Kimo

Halloween becomes magical for a young, Hawaiian boy. When Kimo is granted 3 wishes instead of candy, he believes he has been shortchanged. But the wishes result in a life-altering experience. This play introduces the famed Hawaiian, Duke Kahanamoku – a world-class surfer, Olympic swimmer, and legendary lifesaver, to audiences.

This play is written as a story and has several performance possibilities. It could be performed as a monologue. Or, Kimo can narrate while other players act out the story through movement. Another option would be for several actors to take on the narration.

Robin Blasberg's plays often make connections in unanticipated ways. Aimed at carrying life lessons, her scripts are nonetheless focused on being entertaining and fun. Many of her plays have been either published by YouthPLAYS or licensed to Drama Notebook. This play was inspired by a trip Robin took to Hawaii where she first learned about the great Duke Kahanamoku. See her full profile here: https://www.scbwi.org/members-public/robin-blasberg

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS:

Kimo: A boy in his tween years

OTHER POSSIBLE CHARACTERS:

Kimo’s Friends
Kapuna Kamalani: Magical old woman who gives special treats on Halloween
Duke Kahanamoku: Famous Swimmer

SETTING: Hawaii, on the beach at Waikiki. Halloween time.

KIMO:
My friends and I had been talking about our costumes for over a month. I was going to be dressing up as a rooster. I’m not sure why I wanted to be a rooster for Halloween. Maybe it was because I always heard roosters cock-a-doodle-doing around me. You can never forget that they’re there. They’re one of the things that tourists always remember about our islands along with the beaches.

Anyway, my friends and I were really looking forward to trick or treating. We all loved candy. Who doesn’t? But the best part was that Halloween was the one night of the year when Kupuna Kamalani made her special treats. I first learned about them when I started cutting her grass a few years before. No one knew her secret recipe. Just thinking about her candy made me grin. Too bad she only made her sweets once a year. I would savor them in my mouth as long as I could because I knew it would be another 12 months before I got my next taste of it. The downside was that word of mouth kept spreading and the crowds kept growing.

I was so excited when October 31st finally rolled around. My friends and I met up at my house. I wanted to start at Kupuna Kamalani’s. But when we turned the corner, we saw kids lined up all the way down the road waiting to get to her door. My friends figured we’d be better off going to a bunch of other houses first. They didn’t want to spend all night waiting around for just a few pieces of candy. They could tell that I was disappointed. But they convinced me that if we came back later the queue would be a lot shorter. They added, “We’ll save the best for last.” I didn’t want to cause a stink, so I went along with them. It was pretty late when I finally piped up and said, “Let’s head back to Kupuna Kamalani’s. Everyone should be gone by now.” I was relieved when my friends agreed.