Noa Gardner (Playwright). I grew up on 22nd Ave in Kaimuki with my mom and dad and three sisters. My mom is from Maui, but grew up in Hilo, went to Hilo High. My dad is from Compton, California, grew up on Kalsman Street, but went to Gardena High School. When I graduated from Kamehameha in 2012, I went to Loyola Marymount University—not for any particular reason, just thought I’d go there because my sister had gone there. I had a professor named Kelly Younger who taught a Ten-Minute Playwriting course in the Fall and a Full-Length Playwriting course in the Spring. I took both classes. Liked both of them. He pulled me aside after class one day. Told me I should look into graduate schools, said he would help me apply. So I did. I got into the MFA Dramatic Writing program at USC, where I studied under Velina Hasu Houston, Oliver J. Mayer, Paula Cizmar, Luis Alfaro and Boni Alvarez. All of them helped me to figure out how to write and encouraged me, through my plays, to speak to the deep interior lives of Hawaiian people through the only way we know how—through culture, language, story, song and myth. Thank you all for coming. I am extremely proud to present my first production here at South Coast Repertory.

Ben Cain* (Father) is grateful to have been a part of the workshops for this play over the past two years and is very happy to have been asked to join the SCR family for the run of this incredible piece. He is from Flint, MI, and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. His theatre credits include A Raisin in the Sun (A Noise Within), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Mark Taper Forum), King Hedley II (August Wilson African American Cultural Center) and The Exonerated (The Actors’ Gang). Film and television credits include “FBI: Most Wanted” (CBS), “Bel-Air” (Peacock), “Cruel Summer” (Freeform), “Buried in Barstow” (Lifetime), “American Rust” season 2 (Amazon), “Beacon 23” season 2 (MGM+) and “That’s Funny” (Amazon and Apple). IG: @iambencain

Nara Cardenas* (Sweetheart) is making her SCR debut. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from Yale College, and then returned home to perform as a company actor at Honolulu Theatre for Youth. Memorable roles there included Lily in Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, Sara Kate in Afternoon of the Elves, Desdemona in Y York’s Othello and Rell in Queen of Makaha: Rell Sunn by Bryan Wake. She participated in the New Visions, New Voices workshop/festival at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as Bobi in Nothing is the Same by Y York and as part of the ensemble in Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka. In recent years, Cardenas worked with WitzEnd Productions on the new musical The Epic Tale of Hiiaka, developing the role of Wahineomao. She is the narrator for the Audible book Heads by Harry by Lois Ann Yamanaka.

Wil Kahele* (Son) has been a vibrant presence in Honolulu’s theatre and film scene for more than three decades. His journey began with local television commercials and independent films, eventually leading to memorable performances at venues like Diamond Head Theatre, Manoa Valley Theatre, and Kumu Kahua Theatre. At Kumu Kahua, he expanded his creative horizons by directing several productions and venturing into playwriting. Notably, he portrayed Michael Mahekona in Kumu Kahua Theatre’s 2024 production of The Kamau Trilogy by Alani Apio, a series of plays exploring themes of intergenerational trauma and cultural identity. This appearance at South Coast Repertory marks his debut with the company. (Photo by Brandon Miyagi.)

Ehulani Hope Kane* (Mother) is a Kanaka Maoli artist, educator and activist with more than 50 years of experience in the performing arts. A mother and grandmother, she has performed and taught across Hawai‘i and the West Coast, including roles in Ulalena on Maui, The Lili’u Project at Leeward Community College and the Bay Area Playwright’s Festival in San Francisco. Her theatrical work includes portraying Queen Lili’uokalani and the goddess Pele. She has collaborated on voice and film projects with organizations such as PBS Kids, Kumau Productions, Quazifilms and Disney. Her teaching experience spans over a decade at the University of Hawai‘i’s Molokai campus, where she was an instructor for Theatre Arts. Kane’s diverse portfolio includes recent roles in Lovey Lee (2024) and Moana Live Action (2024), as well as short films like Hawaiian Soul (2019) and Mauka to Makai (2018). She believes that art and beauty are central to the well-being of the human spirit and continues to approach her work with humility and grace, honoring her craft with creativity, imagination and a joyful reverence. Kane is delighted to be working with the collective that is The Staircase here at South Coast Repertory.

Kainui Blaze Whiting* (Musician) (they/them) is thrilled to be back on the Argyros Stage. Since their last appearance in SCR’s annual A Christmas Carol (a truly life-changing experience!), they have appeared in various productions, including the Emmy Award-winning It’s Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown. They are currently studying cultural anthropology of language and dance. And as haumana at Hālau Hula Lani Ola, they are studying traditional hula and Hawaiian cultural arts. Whiting wishes fond mahalo to all who have supported them on this journey to The Staircase—including Kumu Mehana Hind and most especially to Kumu Hula Puanani Jung. Whiting dedicates this performance to Masters Kumu Hula Puanani Alama and Leilani Alama.

Gaye Taylor Upchurch (Director) is happy to be back at SCR with Noa’s play. She has directed several world premieres including Sanaz Toossi’s Wish You Were Here (Playwrights Horizons); Danny Tejera’s Toros (Second Stage Theater); Clare Lizzimore’s Animal (Atlantic Theater Company and Studio Theatre); Lauren Gunderson’s Half-Life of Marie Curie (Audible at Minetta Lane Theatre); Anna Ziegler’s The Last Match (The Old Globe and Roundabout Theatre); Melissa Ross’s Of Good Stock (South Coast Repertory); Laura Marks’s Bethany (Women’s Project Theater). Other Off-Broadway includes Simon Stephens’ Harper Regan and Bluebird (Atlantic Theater Company); and Lucy Thurber’s Stay (Rattlestick Theater). Regional: Member of the Wedding (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo & Juliet, An Iliad (toured to West Point) and As You Like It (International Falstaff Award for Best Production, toured to The Folger Theatre in DC); and the musical Songbird (Two River Theater). Upchurch has developed new work at NY Stage & Film, Page 73, New Dramatists and others and is a Drama League alum and a graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Rachel Hauck (Scenic Design) is very happy to be returning to SCR where previously she designed the scenery for The Mad Woman In The Volvo, Mr. Marmalade, The Clean House and Sidney Bechet Killed A Man. Recent design work includes the Broadway productions of Swept Away, Hadestown, Good Night Oscar, How I Learned To Drive, What the Constitution Means to Me and Latin History for Morons. She also recently designed CATS: The Jellicle Ball, for the Perelman Performing Arts Center, Galileo: A Rock Musical for Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Is It Thursday Yet? for La Jolla Playhouse and PAC, and Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s The Song of Rome for the Spoleto Festival. Hauck is a graduate from University High School in Irvine and UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. She is the recipient of Princess Grace and Lily Awards, Drama Desk, Lortel, and Helen Hayes nominations, UCLA’s Distinguished Alumni Award, an OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence, a Jeff Award, a Tony nomination for Good Night Oscar, and a Tony Award for the design of Hadestown.

Sara Ryung Clement (Costume Design) returns to SCR, where her past projects include costumes for Coleman ‘72, A Shot Rang Out; Cambodian Rock Band; Little Black Shadows; A Doll’s House, Part 2; 4000 Miles; Completeness; and Becky Shaw; sets and costumes for How the World Began; and the set design for Absurd Person Singular. This spring, her design work includes the world premieres of Fake It Until You Make It by Larissa FastHorse (set design for Mark Taper Forum and Arena Stage) and The Reservoir by Jake Brasch (costumes for Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Alliance Theatre, and the Geffen Playhouse), and the repertory production of Julius Caesar (costumes for Oregon Shakespeare Festival in association with upstart crow collective.) Her work has been seen Off-Broadway at Second Stage Uptown, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Ma-Yi Theater Company, and regionally at the Guthrie Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, Boston Lyric Opera, Folger Theatre, Seattle Repertory, Alley Theatre, East West Players, Dallas Theater Center, and others. Recently, Clement joined the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities faculty as an assistant professor (set design). She earned a MFA at Yale School of Drama and an AB from Princeton University. sararyungclement.com

Josh Epstein (Lighting Design) returns to SCR, where his credits include Galilee, 34; The Canadians; and M. Butterfly. Other notable local productions include Noises Off, The Inheritance, The Legend of Georgia McBride (Geffen Playhouse), Cyrano de Bergerac, Little Shop of Horrors (Pasadena Playhouse) and November (Mark Taper Forum). Additionally, his work has been seen in theatres across the country, including the Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Arena Stage, Goodman Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, Cincinnati Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, and Alliance Theatre. In addition, Epstein is an ensemble member at the IAMA Theatre Company and is on the faculty at Chapman University. He is an LA Ovation and Knight of Illumination Award winner and a Helen Hayes Award nominee. He was a recipient of the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers and served as an Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference Artistic Council member for many years. Epstein received his MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three daughters. joshepsteindesign.com

Noel Nichols, UptownWorks (Sound Design) is a dynamic team of designers that creates collaboratively for theatre, film, podcasts, music production and other media. Select sound design highlights include avaaz (South Coast Repertory); Tiny Father (Geffen Playhouse); The Sandwich Ministry (Skylight Theatre); Antikoni (Native Voices); I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Becoming Eve (New York Theatre Workshop); Which Way To The Stage (Signature Theatre DC); the ripple, the wave... (Berkeley Repertory/Goodman Theatre); The Scenarios and Problems Between Sisters (Studio Theatre DC); Blues Clues & You! (Round Room Live); Queen (Long Wharf Theatre/A.R.T.NY); Choir Boy and Today is my Birthday (Yale Repertory); Fires in the Mirror (Baltimore Center Stage); and First Down (59E59). This design was led by Noel Nichols (noelnicholsdesign.com) with co-design by Bailey Trierweiler (btsounddesign.com) and Daniela Hart (uptownworksnyc.com). Hart, Nichols and Trierweiler received their MFAs in Sound Design from the Yale School of Drama.

Mehanaokala Hind (Dramaturg/Music Director) is a Kumu Hula (hula master) skilled in hula (dance) and oli (chant). She descends from the hula lineage of Kumu Hula Leina‘ala Kalama Heine and earned the rank of Kumu Hula in 2009 when she completed the ‘ūniki rites set forth by her Kumu. She has been trained in mele oli (Hawaiian chant forms) from some of Hawai‘i’s master chanters and earned a M.A. degree in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawai‘i. Hind was the Creative Director for the hula drama Keaomelemele, which was the featured theater showcase at the 2009 World Conference on Hula. Hind brings a breadth and depth of relationships with Native Hawaiian communities, leaders, schools and organizations that is hard to match. She is the Senior Advisor to the CEO at the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

Darlene Miyakawa (Production Stage Manager) has enjoyed working in both theater and opera, focusing on new works and adaptations. At SCR: Wish You Were Here; Galilee, 34; A Raisin in the Sun (replacement SM); Coleman ’72; Sheepdog; and Ella Enchanted. Recent regional theatre credits include Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, East West Players, Geffen Playhouse, Getty Villa, Geva Theatre Center, Playwrights’ Arena and The Old Globe. Past Opera and Symphony credits include California Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, LA Opera, LA Philharmonic, Long Beach Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Maine, OPERA San Antonio, Opera San Jose, Opera Santa Barbara, Piedmont Opera and Tri-Cities Opera.