Dr. Kirstin A Pauka's primary area of specialization is the theatre and performance of Southeast Asia. She has done groundbreaking research on Randai theatre in Sumatra, and has published a book, a CD-ROM, and numerous articles on Randai and related topics. She is also a practitioner and scholar of martial arts and their relationship to performing arts in Asia. Dr. Pauka has produced and directed several Southeast Asian Theatre productions at Kennedy Theatre. In 2001 she directed the first-ever English language production of an Indonesian Randai dance theatre which included a 6-month intensive artist-in-residence training program with two renown Randai artists from West Sumatra. Dr. Pauka has considerable multimedia expertise. She was the first Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hawai'i to submit her dissertation on Randai theatre in CD-ROM format, which has since been published. Since becoming a faculty member in the Dept. of Theatre and Dance in 1997, she has developed new multimedia courses on how to integrate digital media into theatre research, analysis, and performance. In 2003 Dr. Pauka was the recipient of a INNOVATEC grant through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to teach courses in multimedia technology and Southeast Asian Theatre at the Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. Dr. Pauka is also a member of the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble, performing locally, nationally, and internationally.