A DIFFERENT KIND OF THEATER AT ONG KING

How does one resist a Chinatown loft stage production that promises lyrical hip-hop verse, mixed martial arts and the catharsis of human drama against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic future where a handful of lost souls struggle for some semblance of civilization?

Easily, if the above frightens you about as much as losing those precious orchestra-level seats to "The Lion King" you bought six months ago.

The rest of us? We'll be a couple of miles 'ewa on King Street crashing on the hardwood floor of Ong King Arts Center for writer-director Cristian "See" Ellauri's "Hip-Hopalypse." The so-called "hip-hop theatre production" featuring a motley — though crafty and rough-hewn adept — cast of Honolulu MCs, martial artists, actors and singers is being staged weekend evenings at Ong King through the end of the month.

The premise in a nutshell:

It's the year 3013. Countries, cities, villages and all pockets of civilization have long ago been wiped out by an unnamed series of events. The world is all but lifeless save for a few scattered souls wandering its barren landscape. One collective of refugees, the New Project of Oneness, is attempting to eke out something resembling a return to civilized human existence. Its nemesis in the fight for numbers: a new, evolving life-form collective called the Seekers, which promises zero suffering and eternal life for humans willing to give up individuality to get it.

Ellauri's first stage production in the Downtown arts center he co-founded with business partner Jonathan Heraux a year ago specifically for alt-theater works like "Hip-Hopalypse" posits many questions. Is civilization doomed if it ignores its toll on the environment? Is everlasting life worth sacrificing choice? Are the Seekers the heroes and the New Project of Oneness the villains, is it vice versa, or are there no real good guys and bad guys?

Ellauri auditioned and recruited his cast in mid-June with only 10 pages of script, a rough sketch of a story and a desire to mix a variety of elements he was fond of — spoken-word poetry, MC battles, martial arts, vocalists — into "Hip-Hopalypse." The script evolved over the next two months as Ellauri rehearsed with the cast and discovered elements of their personalities and talents he could incorporate into it.

Having written and staged a couple of productions ("Jaguar Priest," "Chase") with judicious use of hip-hop verse at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Lab Theatre while pursuing a master's degree in directing, Ellauri returned to the form's showy cadences for much of "Hip-Hopalypse."

"The great thing about (hip-hop) verse is that it gives you spectacle at zero cost. You're drawn to watch and listen to the action that is happening because it is in verse," said Ellauri, discounting the need for elaborate staging, lighting and props. "Hip-hop, for me, is a sense of raw, budding, constant creativity. That sense of raw creativity can come through a lot more in verse."

Local MC/actor Jonathan "Intrepid" Sypert signed up for "Hip-Hopalypse" first, having worked with Ellauri on the director's past hip-hop versed productions. He plays Do, one of a trio of mostly loquacious MCs who collectively wind up "Hip-Hopalypse's" humorous and rebellious audience-mirroring heart.

"I really liked the story. But as an MC it's fun to have a character that's also an MC, so I can really relate to him being a performer and an artist," said Sypert. "If you listen to the flow of what is being said, it's so intricate, (and) every word is methodically placed. But it's a joy to recite as well as listen to and be a part of."

Sypert and "Hip-Hopalypse" cohort Harumi the Hymn even got to write the verses of their on-stage MC battle.

"That was cool, because we wrote the words in our own style yet kept it in the world that See was creating," said Sypert.

Kicking back in the intimate, oddly homey confines of Ong King days after his cast's fourth "Hip-Hopalypse" performance earlier this month, Ellauri scanned the room — its stage temporarily taken down for evening yoga and arts classes — and talked of finally working a stage production at Ong King.

"It feels like the beginning of something," said Ellauri. "The beginning of theater here at Ong King. The beginning of this being a space where shows can start and move on to other venues."

He smiled at the mention of Ong King's potential as an incubator for eclectic productions like "Hip-Hopalypse."

"It feels like I have enough support from this community where it can be done."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.