The Manoa Foundation's role in The Big Read was to arrange dramatic readings of the play based on The Joy Luck Club. Partnering with director Tim Slaughter, the Foundation arranged performances throughout the state of Hawai‘i.

Each 45-minute performance was followed by a question-and-answer session led by Frank Stewart, Manoa Foundation president.

Reading—especially of expressive writing such as The Joy Luck Club—builds the muscles of imagination in ways no other activity can. A healthy diet of reading makes fat, lazy brains as sleek and agile as leopards after a deer. Out-of-shape synapses are soon running marathons and climbing Everest. The power we acquire from reading expands our souls, stretches our reasoning, and deepens our compassion. And reading does not contribute to global warming. The Manoa Foundation is pleased to be part of The Big Read Hawaii, with its goal of reinvigorating a love of books and the healthy joy that comes from talking to one another about them.---Frank Stewart