Piece after piece, thunderous applause echoed from the audiences who were left in continual awe. Lost and Found invited students of color to share their stories and experiences through a variety of performances. Directed by senior Jonathan Santos, juniors Neria Abbimutt, Malia Thompson-Leong, Aanya Vishwanath, William Yahns, and musical director senior Oscar Bohnenkamp, the show ran from Jan. 15-17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Little Theater.
According to Thompson-Leong, the goal of Lost and Found was for students of color to come together and explore topics of identity and race through personal stories, monologues, and songs.
“We really wanted to uplift the voices of students of color, who might not feel like they have a space anywhere else,” said Thompson-Leong. “I think a good thing about Lost and Found is that it gives a space for everyone, regardless of prior experience.”
The production opened with Demi Lovato’s “Skyscraper,” a heartfelt song about rising above and overcoming any obstacles, performed by Santos. He said his highlight was “definitely the performance, getting to showcase everything that we’ve worked for, and all these months how hard we’ve been working to show the experience of being a person of color at North.”
Following this song came “Our Existence is Resistance,” spoken word poetry written and performed by Thompson-Leong and junior Vero Schiff. This powerful and moving performance shared topics of hurtful stereotypes and resisting them while staying true to one’s culture.
Another powerful piece was the finale of Act I, “AfroNova,” a dance choreographed by Junior Bushra Bukenya and performed by other cast members.
The production ended with “Bollywood x Beyoncé Fusion,” an upbeat dance performed by several cast members and choreographed by Thompson-Leong. “I’m really proud of the group dance, and I’m really proud of the cast as a whole for coming out of their comfort zones,” they said.
According to Santos another highlight was “getting to meet everyone and getting to know them personally, and really seeing the show come together.”
Bohnenkamp added that Lost and Found introduced many new people to the theater scene. “I think seeing the growth of so many people who’ve never done theater, never sang before, never done anything like this before, take the leap and join the show and just spend the weeks to rehearse, and learn their acts, their songs, their dances, and put together the show and just make new friends and everything—it’s just really amazing.”
During the intermission between acts, various art pieces that represent the culture and experiences of each artist were put on display. One of the pieces, “The Art of Change” by sophomore Kay Vasquez, is a collage of paper, magazine cutouts, and found objects.
“I incorporated my views of street art into my Abuelo’s history and combined them into a piece about how his history has shaped him and is ever present throughout his life,” Vasquez said. “I focused on making a piece exploring how traveling to a new place connected to my heritage informs both my ethnic and artistic identities.”
According to Bohnenkamp, the most challenging part was the long rehearsals and long days. “But everybody’s in it together and it’s all worth it in the end,” Bohnenkamp said.