Lost and Found in the Mission Takes Best Ensemble Award in the SF Fringe Fest! Encore Performance September 26th

Here is the company outside the Exit on Taylor Theatre just moments after we learned Lost and Found in the Mission won the Best Ensemble Award! We are humbled and ecstatic. What a wonderful way to end our four-show run in this phenomenal, unpredictable festival. We really didn't expect it. Neither did we expect to sell out three out of four performances. Nor did we expect an audience member to tell us one of the post-its we refer to was his. Like Lost and Found itself, it was a festival full of surprises. (Photo by Borys Procak.)

A heartfelt thank you to our audience. We are lucky to have such great friends and family members who support us. But the Fringe also has a built-in audience. "Fringers," people who take in as many Fringe shows as they can, helped us sell out by spreading the word. Audience reviews played a part as well. One of our favorite reviews called our production ". . . A valentine to the Mission." Check out what our audience had to say: Audience Reviews.

As Best Ensemble we were invited to perform in the Best of Fringe benefit. We will give one more performance of Lost and Found in the Mission on Friday, September 26th at 8:30 at the Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy Street. Tickets are $20. Pay at the door or buy tickets online at brownpapertickets.com. All proceeds go towards funding next year's Fringe Festival.

Lost and Found in the Mission comes to the San Francisco Fringe Festival September 6-13, 2008

Lost and Found in the Mission opens on September 6, 2008, as part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Cast and crew (from left to right): Rowena Richie, Susie Hara, Carole Landes, Joan D. Saunders, Peter Griggs, and Jocelyn Truitt (not pictured here: Daniel K. Lai, Rozelle Polido, and Scott Stewart; scroll down to see their photos and profiles). Photos by Borys Procak.

Rowena Richie and Susie Hara, creator/directors of Lost and Found in the Mission, started finding and collecting handwritten notes from the streets of San Francisco's Mission District back in 2005. The found texts, including letters, grocery lists, bits of scripture, and post-its, eventually became the basis for Lost and Found in the Mission, a song-and-dance infused play. When it premiered in San Francisco in May 2007, with an intergenerational, multi-ethnic cast of seven, the San Francisco Bay Times called it "a treasure of a find!" Come see the revamped and reimagined version at the Exit on Taylor Theatre, 277 Taylor St. at Eddy:

September 6th at 7 pm
September 7th at 2:30 pm
September 9th at 7:00 pm
September 13th at 1:00 pm

Tickets are $9 at the door or online at: brownpapertickets.com/event/39295
No late seating. See you at the theatre!

Found: I Will Work Hard so I Will Change

One of our favorites: we found this near Precita and Shotwell and have had endless (but enjoyable) conversations about who wrote it and why. What do you think?

Spotlight On...Scott Stewart

Meet Scott Stewart (front), another one of our new recruits. Here Scott stands ready to deliver his list of Italian groceries in our grocery list scene. I love Scott's laugh, how well he takes direction, and his willingness to try new things: look out for Scott's cool "scratchin" in our Sasha scene and hot Spanish in our Vocabulary Lesson scene. Scott is an all around joy to work (hard!) with. Photo by Borys Procak.

Spotlight on Daniel K. Lai

We are happy to add Daniel K. Lai to our cast for this production of Lost and Found in the Mission at the Fringe (see panel on the right side of this page for performance details). In his own words: Daniel's last performance in S.F.'s One-Act Fringe was in Durable Theatre's Ritual Trio, a 6-7 minute one-act in the middle of Short & Sweet: 3 Plays. His last "real" thing was a docudrama called Aftermath of War: In Their Own Words, in which he played actual U.S. soldiers from Iraq using their real words. His last musical was at the end of May with fellow Lost & Founders Joan & Scott, Songs for a New World with Studio A.C.T. Yet a play with music (& music not in the background)? This is his first! Outside of theatre, Daniel shot a pilot with Danny Bonaduce for Spike TV this February. He is also a U.S. Citizenship tutor and teacher's aide at City College of San Francisco-Chinatown/North Beach Campus--kudos to Owen for the Mandarin lesson. Thanks to masterminds Susie & Row, Ben's flava, Joan's referral, cast's warmth & magic, Row's "blind" faith. Also, Mom, Dad, Patty, Ava, Nancy.

Daniel also tells us: I'm passionate about some things in life, but very much so for acting and education, and it gets even better when acting becomes a forum for education, because it challenges you to think in different ways, or see a perspective of someone who'd you normally ignore, judge, ostracize, etc. I like to act because it's a healing art and a real key to self-discovery, it's never the same thing twice, it's educational to others as well as ourselves (like playing a doctor and having to study all that scientific lingo for instance), it's getting to do or say what you normally can't in the "real world," it gets you in the gut where you're living life to the fullest, and it's good storytelling.

Who's That Girl?

A year ago, Susie met Rozelle Polido, writer, dancer, actor, singer, when they were both slogging through stacks of paper at a publishing company. We were lucky enough to land Rozelle when our beloved Flo bowed out. Rozelle fit right in. She's sharp and funny and sassy and can sing. Come see what we mean. In her own words: Rozelle Polido began her performance training when her mother decided she was too shy and that it was unhealthy for little girls to enjoy lonelily pondering their toes in pre-school classroom corners. Rozelle blossomed studying dance at the Rosalie Woodson Academy in Honolulu, and loved the theatre thereafter. She earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from Pepperdine University, where she also studied theatre and music. Rozelle performed and choreographed with the company Dance in Flight, and apprenticed with Meh-tropolis Dance Theatre in Los Angeles. Past performances include: The Imaginary Invalid, Our Town, The Vagina Monologues, The Music Man, Nishikigi, et plus. In the spirit of Lost and Found... “Degas: We were created to look at one another—if the leaves of a tree didn't move, how sad would be the tree, and so should we be...”

Found: A Mother-Daughter Birthday Card

We found this on Duncan Street near Valencia. The words became lyrics for a song in our show, Lost and Found in the Mission, coming soon to the San Francisco Fringe Festival. See upper right corner of this page for performance details.

Found: A Vocabulary List

We found this list on 22nd Street between Valencia and Mission. It's the basis for a scene between two arguing merengue dancers, and is one of many vignettes in our play with music, Lost and Found in the Mission. The play runs September 6-13 in the San Francisco Fringe Festival at the Exit on Taylor Theater. For showtime details, see upper right corner of this page . . .

The latest "photograffities"

Here are some of the results of yesterday's publicity photo shoot. Thanks to our photographer Borys Procak and to the cast for making the most of the wind despite the alley stench. (But props to the graffiti artists for giving us such rich landscapes)! I've posted four of my favorites--of these four which is yours? In the end, I'm leaning towards the one at the bottom that replicates last year's. I really like the one where we're dancing in the sun, but we can't see Jocelyn's radiant face. I have a soft spot for the intimate close-up, but is it "dynamite" enough? Any votes for "Saskatchewan?" Peter, were you trying to imitate Sasquatch, or does it come sort of naturally? Teasing!

Lost and Found in the Fringe, September 2008

"Lost and Found in the Mission" got into the San Francisco Fringe Festival. The revival/remounted production comes to the Exit on Taylor theater this September, 2008. Exact details to come. The Fringe roster is decided by lottery with hundreds of entries vying for a few coveted slots. We were picked 14th out of 15. Going forward we face the loss of two of our performers, Robert Kellerman, pictured here down front, and Flo Nakamura, whose elbow can be seen growing out of the back of Carole Landes (far left). We are so grateful for their contributions to the original production and will miss their creative spirits dearly. But...the show goes on with (left to right) Carole, Joan D. Saunders, Peter Griggs, Jocelyn Truitt, Rowena Richie, and Susie Hara, co-artistic director of Boathouse & Co. Performance (not pictured). Besides being a great way to take in a lot of shows in two-weeks' time, the Fringe is a friendly competition. Audience members can vote for your show as "best of fringe," which makes your show really popular. So, we hope to see you there and to wow you. Stay tuned.
--Rowena

Stay Tuned for our Comeback Production in 2008

Wow! The premiere of Lost and Found in the Mission at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory was met with appreciative audiences and an enthusiastic review in the San Francisco Bay Times. Only one problem: the run was too short! Plans are now afoot to further develop the show and mount a new production in 2008. We're all (artistic directors and cast) looking forward to the next incarnation of this wild ride. A big thank you to our supporters, audience, and community, who made the residency and premiere possible! - Susie and Rowena

photo by Borys Procak

We open May 31st: Reserve your Tickets now!

The cast, from left to right: Robert Kellerman, Rowena Richie, Jocelyn Truitt, Joan D. Saunders, Peter Griggs, Carole Landes, and Flo Nakamura. Lost and Found in the Mission, an original theater production created and directed by Susie Hara and Rowena Richie, is based on true stories from scraps of paper found on the streets of San Francisco's Mission District. The show runs May 31st through June 9th. Photo by Borys Procak.

Spotlight On...Robert Kellerman

Robert heard about our audition through the Z Space Studio which is where Susie and I first collaborated, so we had a good feeling about him right away. He brings a playwright's instinct and physical comedy to his roles, has a rich singing voice and doesn't mind doing a little dirty work. In this photo, by Borys of course, he's pictured with Joan D. Saunders working on "Vocabulary Duet," a merengue-infused scene based on a found Spanish to English vocabulary list. Here's Robert's bio: Robert Kellerman has a B.A. in Literature from the State University of New York at Purchase and a Master's from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications program at Tisch School of the Arts. He appeared in a solo performance of "Kaddish - Song for My Father" at the Yerba Buena Theater Festival in July, 2006 and most recently in a provocative new work by Paul Heller, "Saigon / California," at the Phoenix Theatre in San Francisco. Robert also directed a lovely short play by Lisa Kang, "Molly Shines the Floor," which was presented at the City Lights Theatre in San Jose as part of its New Play Readers Series. Photo by Borys Procak.

Spotlight on . . . Peter Griggs

Boathouse & Co. is lucky that one day in February, Peter stuck his head in the door of Mama Calizo's Voice Factory and asked if we were auditioning. Yes! we said. Two weeks later he joined our cast, and in these last couple of months, Peter has brought a versatile blend of movement, acting, and singing skills to our work together (not to mention a good measure of humor).

Peter's Bio: Originally from Seattle, this San Francisco transplant has been involved in numerous incarnations of stagecraft. Growing up in acting, dance, and voice classes made for an interesting beginning and present. In his youth Peter was part of a Company called "Greaspaint" where he learned the wonders of dance, iambic pentameter, improv, stage combat; a foundation for the creative arts was formed. Musical endeavors include: “A Chorus Line” (Bobby), Peninsula Civic Light Opera, “West Side Story” (PePe), Sunnyvale Community Players, Godspell (Judas/John) - Palo Alto Players; and many more. In San Jose he was involved with the Young Peoples Theatre where he played Mr. Jordan in “Heaven Can Wait”as well as SJCC’s groundbreaking play “AS IS”. Peter’s passion for the theatre is inspired by new works. In Seattle he was heavily involved with the nationally renowned “Alice B. Theatre” [A Queer theatre for all people]; while in residence he performed, workshopped, directed, and wrote original pieces. In San Francisco Peter has been lucky enough to work with Erika Shuch (ESP Project), Crash Cabaret, reveller/dancer with New College [EPI rocks!] afficionados Dwayne Calizo and Jessica Fudim. Peter feels very honored to be working with Row & Susie in this, a truly inspired piece of art. Photo by Borys Procak.

Spotlight on . . . Jocelyn Truitt

We first saw Jocelyn's headshot and resume on the Theatre Bay Area website; we thought she had a certain undefinable quality that fit with our idea or maybe our ideal of several Lost and Found in the Mission characters. It turns out our hunch was right . . . she's an invaluable member of our ensemble. She is also currently appearing in a production of Lysistrata with the Actor's Ensemble of Berkeley at the Live Oak Theatre, now through May 12. Some biographical background, in her own words: This is Jocelyn’s first production with Boathouse & Co., and she is excited to be involved with such an innovative project as well as this group of fun and talented people. A native of Columbia, Maryland, she moved to the Bay Area in 2000. She has since studied at both the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and American Conservatory Theater, most recently completing its 2006 Summer Training Congress. Past roles include Silvia in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Steele in A Piece of my Heart, and Rena in Jitney. (Photo by Borys Procak)

Lost and Found in the Mission

My current favorite publicity shot. The cast, from left to right: Robert Kellerman, Rowena Richie, Jocelyn Truitt, Joan D. Saunders, Peter Griggs, Carole Landes, and Flo Nakamura. Photo by Borys Procak.

Spotlight On...Joan D. Saunders

Today we stopped traffic with our publicity photo shoot. When the storm passed, we took over the bus-stop at Mission and 11th. Check back later to see our "best of" photos. Speaking of stopping traffic, today's Spotlight features Joan D. Saunders, a.k.a. Lois, the librarian (can't you tell?), and the "finder" in our story. Joan D. loves high heels. (Those are the shoes we didn't choose for this shoot in the background--photos by Borys, of course). "I like them to be at least three inches," Joan told me. She has a lot of spark, beautiful Spanish, and can sing a mean B. Here is her biography: Joan D. Saunders attended North Dakota State University, majoring in both Spanish and English, then attended graduate school at Southern Illinois University and Florida Atlantic University, where she studied linguistics, specializing in phonetics. She was an avid participant in music and drama as a teenager and young adult, then shifted into work related to her education. Three years ago, after a long career as an editor, Joan went back to her first loves, acting and music. She continues her acting and musical theater training, primarily at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. She also studies singing on an ongoing basis in private training with singing teacher Ava Victoria (NATS). In October 2006, Joan participated in a 20 hour acting and improv workshop taught by Alan Arkin. Only 20 participants were allowed in the workshop. Joan says, “It was one of the most amazing and valuable experiences of my life.” Over the last 12 months, Joan has completed five independent films, with a principal role in three of them.

Spotlight On...Flo Nakamura

Here's Flo. She won us over with her initial email saying, "I'd like to audition w/ you this saturday, if you think you can use a butoh-hula-modern dancer. (i'm also an ex-singer w/ assorted groups for ~20 years back in the day.)" We auditioned her and we said, YES, let's go with the FLO! Photo by Borys Procak, per usual. By the way, that crucifix set is for another show. Here's Flo's bio:
Flo Nakamura took dance classes from childhood on, dropped it . . . returned to it via 100s of improv jams at Judson Church in New York City. Eventually, she began dancing with Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre and the Giinko Marischino/Wild Hair Jabong ensembles in Hawaii. Transplanted last year into the rich soil that is San Francisco, she continues to delve into the intersections of performance, inspiration, and meditative (non-thinking) dance improvisation here, and can be seen from time to time at Bare Bones Butoh in the Mission. Flo has also sung for start-up rock and world-beat bands in Boston and New York, in the 80s and 90s. More at www.iamlovingthis.com.

Spotlight On...Carole Landes

For the next few weeks we'll be profiling individual members of our cast, so be sure to check back to see* the "performer of the hour." Carole is the first person we auditioned and we hired her on the spot. She's playful and vibrant and works hard! Here's her bio: Carole Landes has been part of the Bay Area theatre scene for many years, including roles in The Diary of Anne Frank, Grease, Dream of a Common Language, White Lies, Whose Life Is It, Anyway?, Broadway Bound, Over the River and Through the Woods, and It's Only a Play for which she received a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nomination and a Best Actress Award from Theatre Rhinoceros. She has also appeared at Fringe Festivals in San Francisco and at Dominican University. Carole has toured with her solo dramatization of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, and the widely acclaimed play, Purple Breasts. She was thrilled to be part of the film, Seniors Rocking, developed by the world renowned dancer, Anna Halprin. She has done commercial work on TV and radio, and was last seen in a Mythbusters commercial on the Discovery Channel, and as a lover of Brazilian music, has danced in the streets of Bahia and San Francisco during Carneval.
*Photo by Borys Procak

Post-it Post

Last night in rehearsal we played a game of "pass the post-it." Post-its are one of my favorite categories of handwritten found artifacts. Susie--pictured* above in purple top and red pants, tries to convince Rowena--pictured opposite in red top and purple pants to: "BRING ME BACK TO WAREHOUSE," which is exactly what one of our found post-its states. My current favorite reads: "Success at last," followed by an illegible scribble, as if the writer drifted off--or worse? Perhaps this is the suicide note that Lois has been looking for all along...
Stay tuned.
-Rowena
*Photo by Borys Procak.

Song of Lost and Found

(Left to right) Joan D. Saunders, Rowena Richie, Susie Hara, Flo Nakamura, Carole Landes, Robert Kellerman, Miquela Sierra, Jocelyn Truitt, and Peter Griggs rehearse The Song of Lost and Found. We're already finding our way . . . as we begin exploring the songs, dance, and characters of Lost and Found, we're finding new insights into the material. --Susie

Boathouse & Co. Performance is Underway

Well, we did it! We cast our lines and "hooked" seven dynamic performers from different pools for our show "Lost and Found in the Mission." Introducing our cast (From left to right in photo): Miquela Sierra, Joan D. Saunders, Flo Nakamura, Robert Kellerman, Peter Griggs, Jocelyn Truitt, and Carole Landes, with directors Susie and Rowena seated on the floor in the foreground. For our first rehearsal we set our intentions and our sails in motion. Already there are beautiful sounds coming from the ensemble, who got right down to work on "The Song of Lost and Found," a song Rowena wrote. Hearing it for the first time "live" the way she'd been imagining it was an amazing gift for Rowena. After rehearsal Susie, Borys (our indispensable Production Manager, Publicist, and Photographer), and Rowena concluded we were already smitten with our gang. Looking forward to making this a remarkable experience for all, including our audience. Please stay tuned. Bon Voyage! --Boathouse

Lost and Found in the Mission May 31 - June 9

Boathouse & Co. Performance Group presents Lost and Found in the Mission, a music/ dance/ theater piece by Rowena Richie and Susie Hara. The piece is based on letters, notes, grocery lists, post-its, homework assignments, and other ephemera found on the streets of the Mission District of San Francisco. We'll be posting more information, samples of found material, photos, and work-in-progress in the next few months. The show will run May 31 - June 9, 2007, at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory, at 1519 Mission Street in San Francisco. Come and get lost and found.

Last summer, Susie and Rowena had a two-week artist residency at the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, IL where we began working on Lost and Found. We invited our fellow residents to an open rehearsal. Here they are viewing our found materials.

Here are two of our favorite found artifacts. The "Dear Julie" letter Rowena found stuck between the floorboards of her closet (in the Mission). Susie's friend Donna found the "I Will Work Hard" list (25 repetitions).