Lost and Found provided students of color an opportunity to share their personal, insightful stories about race and identity. Directed by seniors Olivia Helfrich-Tapia, Ben Tang, and junior Abby Puduseril, the show ran Jan. 20-22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Little Theatre.

Lost and Found displayed students’ musical and acting skills through a collection of songs, poems, monologues, and scenes. The show is unique because all the pieces feature stories of people of color by people of color. 

According to junior Catia Schiff, the musical director, Lost and Found “gives us an opportunity to not only share with others our experience but to relate to each other,” she said.

One powerful performance was “Identity,” a monologue written by Maria Clara Sarem and performed by junior Margot Carmona Born, which focused on the issues with the different terminology for people of mixed race. 

“There is still no term that can describe us mixed race kids, with diverse histories and so many questions about our own representation and identity,” said Carmona Born.  

In “Identity,” Carmona Born’s message resonated with many as she attempted to answer the question “What am I?” 

“Last night I had some audience members come up to me and be like ‘I really connected with that piece.’ I feel like it’s really important for me to be able to connect with other people of mixed race,” said Carmona Born.

Another notable performance called “Listen,” a song written and performed by Schiff, questions whose fault it is when a white person is hurt after being called out because they made a person of color uncomfortable. “My song was more of an angry kind of rant that I wrote down because I’m frustrated, and then I slapped some chords onto it,” she said. 

Compelling scenes like “Beautiful,” written by freshman Nour El Fekih, and performed by El Fekih and sophomore ZZ Sayeed, highlighted the harm of Black women stereotypes. When El Fekih asks Sayeed out on a date, Sayeed rejects her and attempts to explain that it’s because she dislikes a Black girl’s features—not because she is racist. However, El Fekih explains that using preference as an excuse doesn’t make anyone less racist.

Besides creating and rehearsing their pieces for the show, cast members also attended weekly meetings on Mondays where they discussed racial identity and current events in the U.S. Opinions and reactions to some of these events made it into the show, such as in the scene “Letter to Kyle Rittenhouse,” written by senior Ashlynn Saint Preux.

Lost and Found ultimately strives to open others to the constant struggle of people of color, according to Schiff. 

“People of color are oftentimes uncomfortable in majority white spaces almost every second of every day. If we can convey that uncomfortableness, even if it’s just for 90 minutes, and people learn from it, that helps infinitely,” said Schiff.