Magic means different things to different people. For Susan Soon He Stanton, magic is created when the written word comes alive on stage. "I love the energy of theater and its intimacy; theater is about the whole experience," she says.

This spring, Stanton shared some of her own magic when Kumu Kahua Theatre produced two of her plays. "Whatever Happened to John Boy Kihano?" deals with the mysterious disappearance of a child and the effects it has on his family. The play won the 2006 Kumu Kahua Theatre/University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Theatre Department playwriting contest. "The Art of Preservation" is a one-act play about two estranged childhood friends trapped together in a library basement during a storm; when the threat of a flood becomes imminent, they must decide together what's worth saving. "The Art of Preservation" was published by Broadway Play Publishing in 2008 and was produced last summer by Kumu Kahua Theatre. Both plays are in pidgin and the characters often walk a fine line between reality and the unexplained, making the writing a unique blend of "ancient customs, Hawaiian mythology and current events," says the Honolulu native. Stanton is deeply committed to telling her stories her way. "I am passionate about storytelling," she says. "I'm interested in writing about Hawai‘i and its melting-pot culture."

During her years at Punahou, Stanton was busy with art, theater and the track and swim teams. She began writing plays in high school during a young playwright class offered by Honolulu Theatre for Youth. By her senior year, most of her time was spent in the art room or on the Dillingham Hall stage. It wasn't until graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dramatic writing that she solidified her decision to be a playwright. By then, Stanton already had shown signs of a promising playwright career, including a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation naming "Rosalind's Helix" the best screenplay in 2003 and awarding her a feature film grant to aid its production.

Stanton's commitment led her to Yale's School of Drama, where she is obtaining a Master of Fine Arts in playwriting. She also writes features for Audrey, an Asian American women's magazine. Stanton's plays have been performed in London, New York, California, Connecticut and Hawai‘i.

Even with her successes, Stanton recognizes that making a living as a writer is a constant challenge - but one that she is up for. "Wanting to do something and supporting yourself doing it are two very different things. You have to make sacrifices and work hard to make things happen, and I still have a long way to go."

By Melissa A. Torres