Antonio Rocha

MEDIA RELEASE

Antonio Rocha, an internationally acclaimed and award-winning storyteller, mime, and actor from Brazil, will be a featured performer for the 2012 HSPLS Children’s Summer Reading Program at 17 selected public libraries statewide from June 27 – July 7.

Admission is free.

Rocha, winner of the 2008 Parents’ Choice Gold Award for his “Under African Skies” DVD, is a master storyteller and mime whose career in the performing arts has spanned more than 25 years. In 1988, Rocha received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the United States to refine and perfect his mime skills with the late Tony Montanaro, one of the great mime artists of the 20th century.

Rocha also studied with the late Marcel Marceau, universally considered the world’s greatest contemporary mime artist.

Rocha’s unique solo performances of stories and mime have been presented from Singapore to Hawaii and in many places in between including 14 countries on six continents including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, the National Storytelling Festival, National Geographic, the Tales of Graz in Austria, the Dunya Festival in Holland, and the Singapore Festival.

His repertoire of animal tales with an ecological theme and a myriad of fantastic sound effects will not only entertain but also educate.

Experience Rocha’s “Jungle Tales,” a wild trip into the jungles of Africa and Brazil, at these libraries:

Big Island

* June 27, 10 a.m. – Mountain View Public & School Library (18-1235 Volcano Highway; phone: 968-2322)

* June 27, 5 p.m. – Hilo Public Library (300 Waianuenue Ave.; 933-8888)

* June 28, 9;30 a.m. – Laupahoehoe Public & School Library (35-2065 Old Mamalahoa Highway; 962-2229)

* June 28, 2 p.m. – Honokaa Public Library (45-3380 Mamane St.,
Bldg. #3; 775-8881)

* July 2, 9:30 a.m. – Naalehu Public Library (95-5669 Mamalahoa Highway; 939-2442)

* July 2, noon – Pahala Public & School Library (96-3150 Pikake St.; 928-2015)

Maui

* June 29, 2 p.m. – Hana Public & School Library (4111 Hana Highway; 248-4848 )

* June 30, 10 a.m. – Makawao Public Library (1159 Makawao Ave.; 573-8785)

Oahu

* July 1, 3 p.m. – Kaneohe Public Library (45-829 Kamehameha Highway; 233-5676)

* July 3, 1 p.m. – Aiea Public Library (99-143 Moanalua Rd.; 483-7333)

* July 3, 6 p.m. – Kailua Public Library (239 Kuulei Rd.; 266-9911)

* July 7, 10 a.m. – Waialua Public Library (67-068 Kealohanui St.; 637-8286)

* July 7, 2 p.m. – Aina Haina Public Library (5246 Kalanianaole Hwy.; 377-2456)

Kauai

* July 5, 10 a.m. – Princeville Public Library (4343 Emmalani Dr.; 826-4310)

* July 5, 3 p.m. – Koloa Public & School Library (3451 Poipu Rd.; 742-8455)

* July 6, 10:30 a.m. – Waimea Public Library (9750 Kaumualii Highway; 338-6848)

* July 6, 3 p.m. – Kapaa Public Library (1464 Kuhio Highway; 821-4422)

The program schedule is subject to change. This 45-minute performance is recommended for ages 5 and older. All children must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver.

Performances by Rocha and other featured artists from the Statewide Cultural Extension Program (SCEP) are jointly-sponsored by the University of Hawaii’s Outreach College, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The 2012 HSPLS Summer Reading Programs are sponsored through a grant from the Friends of the Library of Hawaii, Marriott Resorts Hawaii, Ko Olina Hawaii, Meadow Gold Dairies, HMS Host, Hansen Distribution Group, Armstrong Produce, Bowman Connectivity Solutions, Toshiba Business Solutions, Girard’s Dressing, Roberts Hawaii, The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, National Football League Charities, and Aloha United Way.

Corporate sponsors include McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii, Hawaii Pizza Hut, Frito-Lay of Hawaii, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, The Islander Group, American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, Candlewick Press, Diamond Bakery Co., Ltd., Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and local Friends Chapters. The State Department of Education is providing printing support.