John Kneubuhl
Encyclopedia
John Kneubuhl was an American Samoa
n screenwriter
, playwright
and Polynesian historian. He wrote for American television series such as The Fugitive
, Gunsmoke
, The Wild Wild West
, Star Trek
, The Invaders
and Hawaii Five-O
. The son of a Samoan
mother and an American father, Kneubuhl's multicultural heritage produced a distinctive artistic vision that formed the basis of his most powerful dramatic work. An accomplished playwright, Kneubuhl was a bicultural Polynesian who used the medium of theatre to explore identity, loneliness and the craft required to bring them to the stage.
, Kneubuhl was known as 'Sione Nupo' to his countrymen. His mother was a talented pianist, singer and painter. His father was a navy surveyor from Iowa who settled in Samoa. At the age of 13, he went to school at Punahou School
, Hawaii. He later studied under Thornton Wilder
at Yale
. Returning to Hawai'i in the mid-1940s, Kneubuhl won acclaim as a playwright with the Honolulu Community Theater, then moved on to Los Angeles to write for television.
Twenty years later he was back in Samoa, lecturing on Polynesian history and culture and writing plays, including the trilogy Think of a Garden: and other plays published by University of Hawaii Press
. The other plays in the published trilogy were Mele Kanikau: A Pageant and the comedy A Play: A Play.
Kneubuhl died in the United States in 1992.
John Kneubuhl is the uncle of Samoan Hawai'ian writer Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl and Lemanatele Mark Kneubuhl who lives in American Samoa.
and This City Is Haunted (1947). He also wrote Mele Kanikau: A Pageant and the comedy A Play: A Play.
Think of a Garden, the last play Kneubuhl wrote before his death in 1992, has been called the most Samoan of Kneubuhl's plays-a candid look at the writer's bicultural upbringing that artfully weaves together family memory, history, and mysticism.
. The play centres around the Kreber family; a matriachal Samoan wife Luisa, her American husband Frank, and their only son David. Events unfold to a dramatic climax with the shooting in Apia of Samoa's leader, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III
, a distant relative of Luisa, by the New Zealand constabulary. The play is partly autobiographical. Kneubuhl's play is a devastating critique of the New Zealand administration's mismanagement of Samoa during these events.
Think of a Garden premiered in Samoa on the day Kneubuhl died. It has since been performed in Hawaii and New Zealand
. The New Zealand production was directed by Nathaniel Lees
and produced by Cath Cardiff. It was staged in Auckland and Taki Rua Theatre, Wellington
in 1995. At the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards
1995 in Wellington, the 'Oscars' of New Zealand theatre, Think of a Garden won Production of the Year, Director of the Year, Taki Rua Production of the Year and Female in a Supporting Role award to Sima Urale
who played the role of Luisa. The cast included acclaimed New Zealand actor Martyn Sanderson
, the director of the film Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree based on the novel by Samoan writer Albert Wendt
.
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
n screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and Polynesian historian. He wrote for American television series such as The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
, Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, The Invaders
The Invaders
The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
and Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
. The son of a Samoan
Samoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...
mother and an American father, Kneubuhl's multicultural heritage produced a distinctive artistic vision that formed the basis of his most powerful dramatic work. An accomplished playwright, Kneubuhl was a bicultural Polynesian who used the medium of theatre to explore identity, loneliness and the craft required to bring them to the stage.
History
Born and raised in American SamoaAmerican Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
, Kneubuhl was known as 'Sione Nupo' to his countrymen. His mother was a talented pianist, singer and painter. His father was a navy surveyor from Iowa who settled in Samoa. At the age of 13, he went to school at Punahou School
Punahou School
Punahou School, once known as Oahu College, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu in the U.S. State of Hawaii...
, Hawaii. He later studied under Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
. Returning to Hawai'i in the mid-1940s, Kneubuhl won acclaim as a playwright with the Honolulu Community Theater, then moved on to Los Angeles to write for television.
Twenty years later he was back in Samoa, lecturing on Polynesian history and culture and writing plays, including the trilogy Think of a Garden: and other plays published by University of Hawaii Press
University of Hawaii Press
The University of Hawaii Press is a university press that is part of the University of Hawaii.The University of Hawaii Press was founded in 1947, with the mission of advancing and disseminating scholarship by publishing current research in all disciplines of the humanities and natural and social...
. The other plays in the published trilogy were Mele Kanikau: A Pageant and the comedy A Play: A Play.
Kneubuhl died in the United States in 1992.
John Kneubuhl is the uncle of Samoan Hawai'ian writer Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl and Lemanatele Mark Kneubuhl who lives in American Samoa.
Playwright
Kneubuhl's plays explore his Samoan heritage, culture and identity. In 1946, Kneubuhl wrote the play The Harp in the Willows based on the life of Lorenzo LyonsLorenzo Lyons
Lorenzo Lyons or "Makua Laiana" was born in Colrain, Franklin County, Massachusetts, April 18, 1807. He graduated from Union College in 1827. Ordained as a Congregationalist minister at Auburn Theological Seminary, September 20, 1831, he embarked from Boston, Massachusetts on November 26, 1831, on...
and This City Is Haunted (1947). He also wrote Mele Kanikau: A Pageant and the comedy A Play: A Play.
Think of a Garden, the last play Kneubuhl wrote before his death in 1992, has been called the most Samoan of Kneubuhl's plays-a candid look at the writer's bicultural upbringing that artfully weaves together family memory, history, and mysticism.
Think of a Garden notes
Think of a Garden opens in American Samoa in 1929 during the tumultuous colonial era of Samoa's struggle for political independence during the non-violent Mau movementMau movement
The Mau was a non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule during the early 1900s. The word 'Mau' means 'opinion' or 'testimony' denoting 'firm strength' in Samoan...
. The play centres around the Kreber family; a matriachal Samoan wife Luisa, her American husband Frank, and their only son David. Events unfold to a dramatic climax with the shooting in Apia of Samoa's leader, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III
Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III
Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was a high chief of Samoa who was a leader of the country's pro-independent Mau movement during the early 1900s...
, a distant relative of Luisa, by the New Zealand constabulary. The play is partly autobiographical. Kneubuhl's play is a devastating critique of the New Zealand administration's mismanagement of Samoa during these events.
The Samoan view of family, deference for the dead, behaviour in times of mourning, even concepts of time - all are deftly etched beside the story of Samoa's early move toward independence. The effect is a story as textured as a fine mat.
Think of a Garden premiered in Samoa on the day Kneubuhl died. It has since been performed in Hawaii and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The New Zealand production was directed by Nathaniel Lees
Nathaniel Lees
Nathaniel Lees is a New Zealand born actor and theatre director of Samoan descent. He is known for his role as Captain Mifune in The Matrix trilogy and his role as "Uglúk" in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. He has also had roles on the TV series Young Hercules, Hercules: The Legendary...
and produced by Cath Cardiff. It was staged in Auckland and Taki Rua Theatre, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in 1995. At the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards
Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards
The Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards are the theatre "Oscars" in New Zealand and honour the best stage talent and productions in the capital Wellington....
1995 in Wellington, the 'Oscars' of New Zealand theatre, Think of a Garden won Production of the Year, Director of the Year, Taki Rua Production of the Year and Female in a Supporting Role award to Sima Urale
Sima Urale
Sima Urale is a New Zealand filmmaker who has won national and international awards. Her films explore social and political issues and have been screened worldwide. She is one of the few Polynesian film directors in the world with more than 15 years in the industry...
who played the role of Luisa. The cast included acclaimed New Zealand actor Martyn Sanderson
Martyn Sanderson
Martyn Sanderson was a New Zealand actor, filmmaker and poet.Sanderson was one of the founders of Downstage Theatre in 1964 in Wellington, with a vision of a small professional company performing challenging works in an intimate venue...
, the director of the film Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree based on the novel by Samoan writer Albert Wendt
Albert Wendt
Albert Wendt, CNZM is a Samoan poet and writer who also lives in New Zealand. Among his works is Leaves of the Banyan Tree .-Biography:...
.