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Board of Directors

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Larry Reitzer

President

Larry Reitzer (Producer/Director) is currently the Producing Artistic Director of the Hilo Education Arts Repertory Theatre (HEART) and most recently directed the HEART productions of:  Grease, The Lion King, Jr , Cabaret, Avenue Q, The Prom, Beauty and The Beast, Biloxi Blues, Home for the HiloDays, Songs in the Key of Love, The Palace Pride Show, Gypsy and Aladdin Jr.  Right out of High School, Larry served as Arthur Laurents' production assistant on the original Broadway production of La Cage Aux Folles. Larry went on to assist such Broadway directors as Tommy Tune, Michael Blakemore and Herb Ross. After attending NYU, Larry switched his sights from directing producing/company management working on the Broadway, First National and Los Angeles companies of Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. While in Los Angeles, Larry switched careers again, and went into television production and writing, working on such shows as Spin City, Just Shoot Me, Melissa and Joey, and Ugly Betty. Larry has developed pilots for Disney Channel, ABC, NBC, Universal, Warner Brothers and ABC Family. Larry currently serves as the Resident Theatre Director of the East Hawaii Cultural Center as well as on the Board of OHANA (Oceania Hawai'i Action Network for the Arts). Larry lives in Onomea Bay with his husband of 29 years, Matthew, their dog, Mabel, and their cat, Pippin

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Nicholas Souza

Vice-President

Nicholas Souza was born in Hilo, Hawaii and is a graduate of Kamehameha. He is a local freelance filmmaker and photographer who proudly serves as the Interim Vice President on the HEART Board of Directors. Nick started working in community theater as the documentarian for HEART’S 2021 production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and has since Co-Produced such HEART shows as CABARET, LION KING, THE PROM and GREASE. Nick is currently pursuing a career as a director, screenwriter and producer.

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Aleah Kay

Secretary

Aleah Kay was born in Hilo, Hawaii and is a graduate of Kamehameha. Currently, the Secretary of the HEART Board, Aleah has choreographed AVENUE Q, CABARET and GREASE. In addition she has starred in the following HEART productions AVENUE Q (Lucy), THE LION KING (Nala), GREASE (Jan), BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Ensemble), HILODAYS (Ensemble) and CABARET (Ensemble). She is currently a double major in English and Performing arts at UH Hilo. She’s an inspiring theater director/choreographer/writer and producer.

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Jason Aiwohi-Tomlin

Treasurer

Jason Aiwohi- Tomlin was born in Hilo, Hawaii and is a graduate of Kamehameha. He is proud to be the Treasurer of the Heart Board after appearing in such shows as CABARET (Bobby), LION KING (Scar), THE PROM (Kevin), GREASE (Kenickie) and most recently the Palace production of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (Daniel). Thanks to the support from his HEART family- Jason recently began choreographing - his most recent choreography credits include THE PROM and GREASE as well as providing “additional choreography” for CABARET.  He has been dancing since the age of nine focusing on Hula and recently started training in ballet, jazz and other styles of dance. He currently works at Pineapples Restaurant as a manager. He looks forward to continuing acting, dancing and choreographing (as well as producing) for stage, film and television in the future. 

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Heather Bottom

Director

Heather grew up dancing and singing in Phoenix, Arizona. In high school, she started performing professionally, and for college, moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. While getting her BA in Astrophysics, she took time off to perform as a Radio City Rockette and in the Broadway National Tour of A Chorus Line (Judy). Heather also has a Master's degree in Space Engineering. She now lives in Hilo with her husband and daughter and works remotely for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She's worked on the Perseverance Mars rover, NISAR Earth-observation mission, and SPHEREx astrophysics observatory. Heather has performed in Biloxi Blues (Rowena) here in Hilo and still loves taking dance class and singing at home with family. Heather is thrilled to be a part of HEART with such an amazing team.

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Grayson Mento

Director

Grayson Mento, who recently musically directed GREASE for HEART is a graduate of Hilo High School with a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Upon obtaining his degree, he served as the orchestra and chorus director of Mililani Middle School for five years, as well as the music director for Central Theatre Arts Academy's 2022 production of High School Music On Stage. Currently, Grayson directs the band, chorus, ukulele, and popular music programs at Waiākea High School. Grayson’s next project will be musically directing HEART’s production of CHICAGO which opens at the Hilo Palace Theatre in June.   

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Yisa Var

Director

Yisa Var grew up in Pahoa and moved to Hilo for college where she graduated with highest honors with bachelor’s degrees in English and Communication. She went on to be a radio personality at various local stations for over fifteen years before moving to the mainland to further her career. Now that she has returned home, Yisa has thrown herself into the local music scene, performing as a lead vocalist for Show Me Dragon Band and Hot Potaytahs. Acting and musical theater have been Yisa’s passion since the age of five. She has starred in a variety of local theater productions including Chicago, Little Shop of Horrors, Vagina Monologues with Roseanne Barr and Jane Sibbett (“Friends”), Cabaret, A Chorus Line, Bat Boy, Gypsy, Grease, Hairspray, and many more.  When not performing, Yisa spends time at home in Papaikou with her family and many, many Dobermans.

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