Lost&Found Theatre

Pearl Gidley production shots 2

2011-11-07T18:51:00.002-05:00

Gord Cameron as George, Kathleen Sheehy as Pearl, Brad Cook as Andrew and Jen Cornish as Edith in Pearl Gidley by Gary Kirkham, November 2011.

Pearl Gidley production shots

2011-11-07T18:48:00.002-05:00

Brad Cook and Gord Cameron as Andrew and George in Pearl Gidley, November 2011. Photo by Terry Barna

Kirkham madness!!

2011-11-07T18:15:00.005-05:00

Pearl Gidley closed November 5 to a sold-out house and a standing ovation. Need another Kirkham fix? Get on over to Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton for Gary's award-winning play, Queen Milli of Galt. Click here!

Lost and Found Theatre's Romeo and Juliet

2010-11-03T16:06:00.001-04:00

Romeo and Juliet

2010-10-22T15:10:00.004-04:00

Flashing swords and raging hormones!! Our production is cast age appropriately with ACTUAL TEENAGERS playing Romeo, Juliet, and their pals, along with a few real live grownups playing the older generation roles, like Juliet's dad, Romeo's mom, the Friar, and the Nurse. Tickets at the website!! Click here.

Poster Exhibit

2010-07-20T15:43:00.003-04:00

Don't miss our show poster exhibit at Kitchener Public Library's main branch downtown, August 1-31, 2010. Get in on the fun: Do you have a story or memory about any of the shows on the list below? Send me your story by July 28, and I'll make every effort to include them in the exhibit. Email ksheehy@lostandfoundtheatre.ca with the subject line: show memory.

Here's a list of the posters on exhibit:
THEATRE & COMPANY
The Shunning
Godspell
Waiting for Godot
Three in the Back, Two in the Head
The Day Boy and the Night Girl (1999 production)
Dr. Faustus
The Foreigner
A Delicate Balance
Cherry Docs
Quilters (2001 production at Market Square)
Queen Milli of Galt (opened the King Street Theatre in 2001)
Problem Child
Beauty and the Beast
An Ideal Husband
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (King Street Theatre production)
Einstein's Gift
Fire
Proof
How I Learned to Drive
Girl in the Goldfish Bowl
Strawberries in January

LOST&FOUND THEATRE
Radio Leacock (both the 2004 and 2009 productions)
Falling: A Wake (world premiere 2007 production)
Twelfth Night
Some Assembly Required
Possible Worlds
The Lion, the Witch and the Orchestra (with the KW Symphony)
Vigil
Eleemosynary
Cotton Patch Gospel

The Trojan Women

2010-03-04T12:22:00.006-05:00

This version of Euripides’ The Trojan Women is an English translation of Jean-Paul Sartre's adaptation of the play. While remaining true to the original, Sartre makes the play more accessible to 21st century audiences. Students from Cameron Heights, Resurrection, Forest Heights, St. Mary's, Eastwood, Woodland Christian High School and several other schools are turning in strong performances. Joining them is Lost&Found’s Kathleen Sheehy, playing Queen Hecuba.

"Working with these young actors is galvanizing," says Sheehy. "They are full-out committed to the process of exploring their characters and the play's difficult themes. These actors are our next generation of theatre practitioners and I'd say the future is in good hands!"

Director Alan K. Sapp is excited about this venture. "Having Kathleen in the production provides an example to our student actors, of what it takes to craft a role the size of Hecuba. It is part of the mentoring process that is so vital to our education work with these students. I am also thrilled to have Brad Cook, whom I taught only a few short years ago at the University of Waterloo, as my movement specialist. Brad is drawing work out of these students that is nothing short of astonishing."

Written almost 2,500 years ago, The Trojan Women is soberingly current in its portrayal of the victims of war. Even today, in too many places around the globe, women and children endure similar suffering in the aftermath of devastating conflict. In this play, we see the different ways the women have of coping with tragedy and relating as victims to the victors.

Despair does not go unchallenged, as Hecuba declares: "However painful life is, it is better than death; it has hope!" and exhorts her followers to stand firm. This is a play that highlights the dignity and strength of character of women in dire circumstances.

The Trojan Women runs March 25 – April 3 at 8pm at The Registry Theatre (122 Frederick Street, downtown Kitchener). Tickets: $10 students, $15 adults, $5 eyeGo; available at the Centre In The Square box office (1.800.265.8977) or www.lostandfoundtheatre.ca.

THE YOUNG COMPANY

2009-07-28T13:35:00.004-04:00

We are delighted to announce the formation of Lost&Found Theatre's Young Company! The first event will be a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It November 26-28, 2009 at the newly reopened Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts, formerly the King Street Theatre Centre. If you are aged 11-21 and would like to audition, check out our Facebook posting for the details!

POSSIBLE WORLDS MEDIA RELEASE AND PHOTOS

2009-05-27T15:00:00.004-04:00

Click here for the media release and a few show photos.

COOL VIDEO CLIP OF POSSIBLE WORLDS

2009-05-27T14:59:00.004-04:00

VIDEO CLIP OF POSSIBLE WORLDS! Thanks to Phil Bast, who shot this excellent footage plus an interview with director Nicole Lee Quesnel. Click here.

POSSIBLE WORLDS: ART IMITATES SCIENCE - OR IS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND?

2009-05-27T13:09:00.004-04:00

The character Joyce talks about drugs someday being available that will eradicate painful memories, among other wondrous effects. Read about the science of forgetting - already in the works - on Newsweek's site. Click here.

POSSIBLE WORLDS: TO BOLDLY GO...

2009-05-27T13:06:00.004-04:00

Star Trek fans find that Possible Worlds has a lot of ideas they remember from the show. If you haven't come to see the show yet, feed your inner Trekkie and come to a performance. Also, check out this Newsweek article on how the geeks have inherited the earth! Click here.

2009-04-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

2009-01-23T21:13:00.004-05:00

Next up: John Mighton's Possible Worlds, May 21-30, 2009 at the Registry Theatre. Check the website for details.

Curtain Time for Twelfth Night

2007-05-09T15:31:00.000-04:00

All performances of Twelfth Night begin at 7:30 pm at the Theatre of the Arts. For details, visit www.lostandfoundtheatre.ca See you at the show!

EDUCATION UPDATE

2007-02-03T18:14:00.000-05:00

How to Liberate the Natural Voice: A Workshop with Richard Quesnel

Does your voice tire easily? Having trouble being heard? Do you feel as if you have a limited vocal range? Discover how powerful your voice can be.

In this practical hands-on workshop, you will explore exercises and improvisational theatre games that free, develop and strengthen the voice. Based on the technique developed by Kristin Linklater (Freeing the Natural Voice), this class will teach you to strip away the physical and mental impediments that inhibit the healthy function of the vocal instrument. This technique is used by actors, singers, business people - anyone who simply wants to learn how to use the voice to its full potential.

Having trained directly under Kristin Linklater, Richard Quesnel is a professional actor and instructor that has used and taught this vocal technique for over 13 years. He has taught for The Stratford Festival Conservatory, Lost&Found Theatre, Theatre & Company, The Players Academy, and many other professional theatres and organizations.

WHEN: Mondays from March 12 – April 16 (6 sessions in total)
TIME: 7:00PM – 9:00 PM
WHERE: Globe Studios (141 Whitney Place, downtown Kitchener)
COST: $150.00

Contact: Richard Quesnel
rquesnel@rogers.com or call: 519-662-2754.

Springboard - Twelfth Night - Entry #1

2007-01-29T15:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true. Lost & Found Theatre is working in conjunction with UW Drama to produce this year's Springboard production of "Twelfth Night". For many of us, it is a dream come true to finally produce our own Shakespeare. Thanks to all who are making this possible

Bill Chesney, whose idea it was to launch the Springboard program last year, has done the Waterloo-Wellington area a great service. This is a chance for students to work with a local producing theatre company, and in turn, the University is providing rehearsal and performance space, free of charge. Because of this, Lost & Found is able to supply the students with a modest stipend. The end result being that audiences of this area get to reap the benefits by becoming a part an imaginative and stimulating evening of theatre.

I am excited about the prospect of working with students, some of whom I have taught at the university over the course of the last three years, on this production. Not only that, but I'll be working in conjunction with two of my Lost & Found cohorts, Kathleen Sheehy and Andrew Lakin. Kathleen will be the crusty Sir Toby Belch, and Andrew gets to play the actor's dream role of Malvolio.

I have wanted to do a Shakespeare for a long, long time, since the day I trained with an incredible mentor, Bob Strane, during the late 70's. I have seen a great deal of Shakespeare in my life, and been a cast member of three productions. Recently, I began teaching at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, where I have my grade 10 students working on scenes or speeches from "Twelfth NIght".

In working with students, some who will just be graduating, we are hoping to help with the bridge between the academic and the professional world. Often, academia can be very protected, and unrealistic. But to be thrown into the shock of trying to "get work", if indeed one is pursuing a career in the theatre, can be overwhelming. This is an opportunity for students to see how a local collective of actors are pursuing their careers, and how self-producing is often the only way an actor can realize their dreams. And they are learning through life's best teaching tool - experience.

So, if any of you interested in being a part of this project are reading this, pay close attention.

I am not the kind of director (oh, did I mention that I was directing the show??), who likes to take credit for the work. I was first an actor. I know what it's like to put your emotional, physical, and spiritual life on the line. Because that is precisely what an actor does. And so, the production will be all about the actors, and the text of Shakespeare.

We will be using some techniques created by a professional company in England, who has done extensive research on how Shakespeare's actors worked, and the keys and clues that they looked for. At the same time, I hope to give the actors ample time in rehearsal to explore (actors of Shakespeare's day had very, very, very little rehearsal time), and be comfortable with, the language.

If you have a question about the process, as it is here articulated, please send a reply. All for now.

Alan K. Sapp

Falling: A Wake

2006-10-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

Coming in March 2007:
The world premiere of
Gary Kirkham's new play,
Falling: A Wake

March 15-24, 2007
8 pm curtain
The Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick Street in downtown Kitchener

So what's the play about?

Harold and Elsie live on a small isolated farm just outside an unnamed Canadian town. A jet explodes 6 miles above, scattering debris over a 200 square mile area. The body of a young man, still strapped in his seat, lands in Harold and Elsie’s yard. Over the course of the play, they make a home around the body, and in doing so the mysterious stranger effects a strange transformation in his hosts.

The story is inspired by, but not closely based on, the events in the aftermath of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Any words of wisdom from the playwright?

"It’s a comedy about death, loss, and moving furniture." - Gary Kirkham, playwright

Where?
the Registry Theatre on Frederick Street near Weber in downtown Kitchener

When?
March 15-24, 2007. Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm.

How do I get tickets?
Tickets are available through the Centre in the Square at 519-578-1570 or at the door (cash or cheque only at the door).