Arts Enabler

12/13/2025

✨ Nutcracker Sweets opens today! ✨
Running this weekend and next — don’t miss this heart-warming Maui holiday tradition with !

Several weeks ago, I got a text from Kameron asking me to be his wife. Without hesitation (or understanding 😅) I texted back an emphatic YES!

Turns out… he meant on stage — as his party-parent wife in The Nutcracker Sweets! This annual production has become a beloved rite of passage for local actors to collaborate with Momentum’s talented young dancers, so it truly feels like an initiation of sorts.

And in perfect Nutcracker irony, I ended up not being Kameron’s wife after all, but Shane’s — making him my first Maui stage husband! 🩰💃

This show has been such a joy — I even postponed a vacation just to perform. Saturday-only rehearsals have fit perfectly into my schedule, giving me the chance to reconnect with the stage, stretch myself in new (and slightly scary) ways, and soak up the radiant energy of these amazing kids.

I hope you can join us! There’s nothing like the warm exchange of love and excitement with the audience — it’s pure magic.

🎟️ Come see the show — and enjoy 10% off tickets with the code AmandaSweets.

12/06/2025

🎙✨ Final Weekend! ✨🎙
We’re wrapping up 1940’s Radio Christmas Carol at Maui OnStage — and I just have to share a bit of the journey behind this set!

This was my first official invitation to design, build, paint, and dress a full production set. Every drawing was done by hand (no fancy CAD software yet!) — with a little creative collaboration from ChatGPT — and the design itself was adapted from the Lyric Arts Main Street Stage production in Anoka, MN, originally designed by Katie Phillips.

Director Dale Button presented me with an inspiration image early on and said, “I want it to look like this — with that checkered floor!” And so the journey began.

I reimagined the layout to fit our beloved ʻĪao Theater — integrating the theater’s original 1920s proscenium architecture into the set. You’ll see echoes of the historic trim colors carried through the set’s design — a subtle bridge between the world of WOV Radio and the timeless elegance of our 100-year-old theater.

It was a whirlwind:
🛠 One week to build before actors move-in
🎨 Two weeks to paint and dress

And there were countless hours of creativity, collaboration, and caffeine along side an incredible team of volunteers:
James Caudle, Terry Spraungel, Jason Wulf, Elisha Cullins, Jan Hages, Josh Pelletier, Joyce Hunter, Dawn Harper, Bob Offerman, Andrea Finkelstein, David Negaard, Caro Walker, Jeff & Barbara Moore

Special shoutouts:
💚 Caro Walker – painted 75% of those green checkered squares (a lifesaver!).
🌸 Joyce Hunter – installed the gorgeous wallpaper.
🔧 Jason Wulf & Elisha Cullins – helped build the bones of this set in record time.
🎨 James Caudle – hand painted record albums and curated the bookshelf.
🎭 And the most serendipitous surprise — Jan Hages, visiting from Germany, wandered into the theater on our first day and ended up volunteering for three days!

I’m so proud of what we built together — and so grateful for all the kind words.

Here’s to many more sets, stories, and stage dreams coming to life on Maui. 💫



*Final image by Ashley Ventimiglia

11/09/2025

🌙 The Last Quarter Moon Club 🌙
A new monthly circle — a space to pause and reflect on the completion of cycles, journeys, and relationships. ✨

A gentle counterbalance to hustle culture — a reminder that rest, reflection, and release are part of growth too. 🌾

Each month we’ll weave in astrology, tarot, and holistic practices like breathwork, art, and ritual ;
sometimes even community activities with people, places, plants, or projects that embody the waning moon’s energy of letting go and renewal. 🌕

Our first gathering is next Sunday — totally free. 💛
The only exchange is the wisdom and curiosity we bring from our own journeys to share with one another.

Come as you are. 🌙

06/22/2025

✨ For the first time in months, I finally got to attend a fun event on Maui — one I didn’t plan, coordinate, or volunteer for! 🙌💃

After six long months away caring for her dad following her mom’s passing, Mama Lori is finally back on island and sporting grandmas visor! 💖🌺 What better way to welcome her home than with her first-ever drag show?! 👑🎉 She didn’t know what to expect… and she loved it!

Grateful to have shared this fabulous morning with three incredible women — , , 💕✨In support of our girl Riley, AKA Elizabeth Winters!

There were:
🎶 80s pop bangers
🥂 Bottomless mimosas
🌟 Big girl, main character energy
🎭 Maui theater nerds
🏳️‍🌈 The cutest qu**rs
💗 And so much love and laughter

My heart is full, my cup is refilled, and I’m reminded how essential joy and play are. All work and no play makes Amanda a very dull girl. 😅💫

🏳️‍🌈

05/31/2025

I’m so excited (and a little nervous!) to be back on stage—and diving into my very first Greek reading! Thanks to the amazing David Negaard for including me in this incredible group of actors. If I accidentally summon a god or two… my bad. 🙏🎭

05/31/2025

🎉Come and enjoy Wailuku First Friday and hear a
FREE sneak peek of Come From Away!

🎟️Special ticket pricing on First Friday in the
Historic Iao Theater lobby

11/07/2024

09/06/2024

Have you ever gotten exactly what you wanted for your birthday? This year, I did! All I wished for was to be back on stage, performing and feeling my absolute best at 40—and tah-dah—the universe delivered. ✨ It was the perfect celebration of life, surrounded by the people I love and who love me right back. My heart is overflowing with gratitude for this beautiful experience in Seussical and for the new friends and community I’ve found. 💖

I’ve been longing for a sense of belonging, and not only did I find it with these incredible humans, but I found it within myself—rising to the challenge, embracing the fear, and doing it anyway. 🎭💫

As Brene Brown so perfectly says:
“True belonging is not something you negotiate externally. It’s what you carry in your heart. It’s finding the sacredness of being a part of something and then braving the wilderness alone.” 🌿

And to top it all off, my little sister Jessica surprised me by flying in for opening weekend. ✈️ Her love and devotion just cracked my heart wide open. 💞 Looking back on this summer, I’m truly in awe of how unbelievably supported and loved I’ve been. It’s so humbling and so welcome. 🙏 Yes. Thank you. More, please.

Thank you, Maui. Thank you, family. I love you all so much. 💖✨