Storytelling promotes empathy which leads to emerging forms of activism and expression—allowing people to tell stories that challenge the status quo. UW students participated in a global partnership with the University of Hawaii-Manoa in Spring 2019 during their enrollment in the course Theatre 4600: Teaching Theatre Artists. Students had the opportunity to study storytelling with Polynesian Elder Keola Ryan, including techniques such as oli (chant), hula (dance), mele (song) and mo’olelo (oral storytelling tradition). The students learned about Indigenous storytelling in order to educate themselves and others concerning issues of inequalities, disparities, social justice, and how to develop and present potential solutions to social problems.
