About Kaikana

Hi, I’m Luis.
Musician, cellist… and teacher by accident.

Yes, by accident.

I play the cello, and honestly, my dream was always to live off it—whether in the Vienna Philharmonic or rocking out at festivals with a band. I never imagined myself in a classroom. In fact, the idea of teaching terrified me (I still remember the look of despair on my high school music teacher’s face, dealing with us—a wild bunch of hyperactive monkeys!).

But life has a sense of humor. Shortly after graduating, the principal of a nearby school mentioned they urgently needed a music teacher. My first response? A polite “no thanks.” But, two days later, with my bank account running on fumes, I thought, “Why not give it a shot? I can survive for a year.”

My first year was pure glorious chaos. I had just turned 24, and every class felt like riding a rollercoaster with no seatbelt. I was more lost than an onion in a dessert. But over time, I found my footing—adjusting my expectations and figuring out how to motivate my students while keeping the chaos under control.

One year, with a particularly enthusiastic group of students, I had a different idea: What if we did a musical?
I’ve always loved the genre. I even took part in a few musicals when I was younger. Didn’t win a Tony, but I picked up a thing or two between rehearsals.

I started looking for scripts, but nothing really convinced me—so, in a burst of creativity, I decided to write one myself.

It was weeks of late nights, writing and composing while my girlfriend gave me that look—”Really? Another night without Netflix?” But it was so worth it. The kids’ energy, from picking roles to every single rehearsal, was absolute magic.

The premiere was equal parts chaos and joy. I barely knew how to handle sound systems or stage lighting, and I was pretty much on my own organizing the whole thing. Luckily, the kids stepped up, taking on roles like tech crew, set decorators, and more. There were mistakes, of course… but what a show we pulled off! At the end of the year, they gave me a letter signed by almost everyone in the class, thanking me for everything they’d experienced. That’s when I fell in love with teaching.

Years later, after many musicals and plenty of trial and error, I decided to take this passion even further. Together with my siblings—also musicians—I founded Kaikana (a spin on the word “siblings” in Hawaiian). With an amazing team of creative people, we created our first musical: Askronauts. And this is just the beginning.

Want to know more about Kaikana?
Interested in bringing one of our productions to your school or theatre group?
If so, feel free to get in touch with us today.

If you’ve made it this far—thank you for reading!
We hope you enjoy this musical adventure as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Let the curtain rise… and make it count!