Local writers Lois-Ann Yamanaka and Nora Okja Keller told John Wat that when he adapted their works — Yamanaka's "Wild Meat and Bully Burgers" and Keller's "Comfort Woman" — the stage productions gave them a new way of seeing their own stories.

The same went for Kaua'i writer Frederick Wichman when he saw what Wat had done with his book, "Pele Ma: Legends of Pele From Kaua'i," bringing it from the printed page to the theater.

As Wat, who also directed the show, recalls: "He said he never knew there was so much humor in these stories."

Wichman, now in his late 70s, came from a long line of storytellers and had gone about collecting the Kaua'i tales into a book of short stories. A draft passed under the nose of Wat, who had worked with Wichman's publisher, Bamboo Ridge. When he read the short stories, Wat was struck by how full of heightened conflict and deep love they were.

"It's Pele," Wat said. "How exciting can you get? ... The second act, with its famous love triangle, has everything: love between the sisters, jealousy between them as well. It's just about the great things that make a story."

"Pele Ma" means Pele and her companions, or as the kumu at Mid-Pacific Institute (where Wat is on the drama faculty) puts it, "Pele Them."

It's the story of the goddess, her sisters, and the love triangle involving Pele and her sister Hi'iaka and the Kaua'i chief, Lohiau. (And yes, Pele stories are also connected with O'ahu, the Big Island, Maui and elsewhere.)

As a teacher, Wat also appreciates how "Pele Ma" also can serve many functions beyond simple entertainment:

"It's a geography lesson, a history lesson, a botany lesson — even ethics," he said. "It comes out of an oral culture, so everything you're trying to teach comes out of a story."

The adaptation for Kumu Kahua is by Wat and two of his former students at Mid-Pac, who wove the short stories into a longer narrative. The play was first staged at Mid-Pacific School of the Arts. It was later presented, with its cast of more than 25, at the American High School Festival as well the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

There it earned one major review, with the reviewer taking particular notice of a special dynamic: The production had Hawaiian chanting, but includes narrators and storytellers who are translating.

"It's like watching a movie with subtitles," Wat said. "One of the reviewers found that exciting, that you could have the Hawaiian but also understand it."

The young woman who in 2003 originated the role of Red Pele, or Pele during her young, fiery days, is Lindsey Shannon. She's returning after the premiere — now with a theater arts degree — to star in the Kumu Kahua production along with fashion designer Puamana Crabbe, in her community theater debut as the Black Pele.

While it's nice to already know the lines, Shannon is really excited about bringing more maturity to her role.

"Now I have a deeper perspective," she said. "In high school, I felt I put a lot into it, but not like now, when things make more sense to me. I definitely can look at it with much more perspective than from the superficial, high school level of love. It's pretty exciting, to get another chance to delve into a role that's fascinating." Shannon's also eager to tackle the tale of a goddess: "It's trying to teach you about everyday life through these larger figures. There's a lot of hidden wisdom, and I'm picking up more on it now."

While the story was written for about 28 characters, it has been trimmed to 15, to accommodate Kumu Kahua's space. The narration and storytelling are still there, an homage to those whose culture keeps the tales alive.

The slightly smaller space is a challenge, Wat admits: "These stories have kind of a big scale. Gods, volcanoes, traveling between islands."

After it leaves Kumu Kahua, the show will head to Maui, where Wat is eager to see how it plays in, among other places, the " 'Ulalena" space. But there are bigger artistic concerns, of course: "I hope we do justice to the book, but also to the people who originated these stories," he said.

Wat finds an affinity to the love story between the changeable, tempestuous Pele and her steadfast sister — but don't ask him to expound.

When he was at Northwestern University, he saw a TV show on the Big Island volcano eruptions. A spokeswoman from Volcanoes National Park was being interviewed about the eruptions when questions veered to what she thought about Pele.

"Well, a lot of people in Hawai'i have very strong feelings about Pele," he remembers the spokeswoman responding, "and that's all I'm going to say."

Recalls Wat with a laugh: "I thought, 'This is a very smart woman.' "

He'll follow her cue and leave it at that.

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