Lost & Found Triptych
The Lost & Found Triptych was the Community Arts Guild's first independent project. A series of three performance-based artworks inspired by stories told by local Tamil Seniors from the Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities' health and wellness programs, the artworks are all related to stories of people and things lost and found.
In the first phase of the project in 2012, we collected stories and developed the initial outline of the three pieces; in the winter and spring of 2013 we recorded and produced the radio play, Lost & Found 1: You Are Not Lost; shot and edited the film, Lost & Found 2: Coming to Past, and began development of the stage production, Lost & Found 3: Train Payanam.
We presented the works in progress in a gallery show in collaboration with Jumblies Theatre, The Lost & Found Evolving Gallery, at Cedar Ridge Creative Centre in May 2013. In November 2013 we mounted a workshop production of Lost & Found 3: Train Payanam at The Hub mid-Scarborough.
Read more about each part of the Triptych below!
Lost & Found 1:
You Are Not Lost
You Are Not Lost is a radio play that was created in collaboration with the Tamil seniors’ program at 65 Greencrest Circuit from the Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities and Vasantham Tamil seniors’ services. Ram is visiting his two grandmothers in
Sri Lanka and becomes separated from them while at a festival. Community performers of all ages recorded the performance in English and Tamil.
Written in collaboration with Sharada K. Eswar and Beth Helmers. Directed by Beth Helmers. Sound composition and production by Sarah Miller. Additional script development, sound creation and cultural interpretation by
Sharada K. Eswar.
-
Cast A – English & Tamil
(in order of appearance)
Singer – Phillipu Matthiyas
Apamma – Kamala Poopal
Amamma – Sulogini Sothynathan
Ram – Ilakkiyan Ratnaveluppillai
Ice Cream Vendor – M. Pathma
Mohan – Kaitlynn Rodgers
Gopal – Karis Jones-Pard
Mini – Nasha Shaw
Shanti – Raynaiya Rowe
James – Hapbishan Vijayakummar
James’ Appa – John Pyette
Announcer – Ron StuartCast B – more in Tamil
(in order of appearance)
Singer – Phillipu Matthiyas
Apamma – P. Parameswary
Amamma – M. Pathma
Ram – Hapbishan Vijayakummar
Ice Cream Vendor – Sulogini Sothynathan
Mohan – Nasha Shaw
Gopal – Ilakkiyan Ratnaveluppillai
Mini – Kaitlynn Rodgers
James – Valuvan Ratnaveluppillai
Gopal’s Appa – Ron Stuart
Announcer – Sarma DonepudiOther vendors
Ron Stuart, Harold Shaw, Nadine Shaw, Mohani Raghunath, Sharada K. Eswar, Shanish ShawPercussion
Sarma Donepudi with Sean Frey and the Tuesday night drop-in crowdLost and Found Stories
R. Ragupathy, David McNiven, Dillon Cox, Christina Fedak, Maritess, John Pyette, Zahra, Ashton, Maria Otyeka, Kamala, Sironmany, Parameswary, Thilagam, Leelah Chelliah, Maria, Nagesh Rajaratnam, Pathma, Mary Ragel, LuxmiGeneral cast & contributors
Vasanthy Ratnaveluppillai, Devi, Roshawn Bent, Roshayne Bent, Andrea Bent, Violet Archer, Sue Melnyk, Lashell Shaw, Shavone Shaw, Shanel Shaw, Sara Wajeeb, Josie, Dreanna, Meya, Percival Brown, Greencrest, Storefront and Tuxedo Court Tamil seniors’ groups from SCHC and Vasantham, Dharshana Jayapathy, Gehan Kolumba Tantrege, Oren, Sasha Tate-Howarth, Elise, Allison Roche, Stephanie Kroone and Melinda KrooneOther artist contributors
Andrea Thring, Julia ChurchillThanks to our funders and partners:
The Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities, Vasantham Tamil Seniors’ Services, City of Toronto Arts Services, Cedar Ridge Studio Gallery, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Government of Canada, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Toronto Community Foundation, George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation, The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation.
Lost & Found 2:
Coming to Past
Coming to Past is a short film about a woman living in a new country who gets off the bus at the wrong stop and finds herself in an unexpected, magical place.
Created with Tamil seniors from the Storefront, Scarborough youth, and other community members.
Directed by Sean Frey and Sonja Rainey; concept by Sean Frey and Beth Helmers, with vocals by Sharada Eswar, percussion by Sarma Donepudi, and strings by Rebecca Bruton.
Core performers: Nages Rajaratnam, Pathini Krishnamoorthy, Pathma Mahalingam, Parameswary Ponnampalam, Sulogini Sothynathan, Yogeswary Kumarespasopathy
SCHC Storefront Tamil Seniors' wellness program.
Lost & Found 3:
Train Payanam
Train Payanam was a show that told stories of loss and recovery from East Scarborough. A child is lost on a busy train. We follow his parents’ search through the train cars, and meet other travelers and adventures along the way. The story is told with music, sound, dance, acting, puppetry, audience participation and more.
Train Payanam was inspired by a true story from Ragupathy Ratnasabapathy, and also by an interview with Kanagasabai Sinnappu, a former station master on the Sri Lankan national railway for 36 years. Poetry written by Kamala Ramasurian was also used for this production, along with story ideas, writing, editing, and translation by Sharada K. Eswar.
A workshop production of this play was performed at The Hub Mid-Scarborough, 2660 Eglinton Avenue East, from November 27 to 30, 2013. The full production took place in April 2015.
Project concept and story development by Beth Helmers, with script and story contributions from the entire creative team, and stories and words from people of all ages living in East Scarborough and Toronto.
The final production of Train Payanam was staged in April 2015 at The Hub Mid-Scarborough and The Young People's Theatre. It was staged as an immersive experience where the cast, in-role, invited the audience to journey with them on the train. Train Payanam weaved together different cultural forms and influences, drawing on elements of true stories combined with fantastical images drawn from our collective imaginations. It was created and performed by artists and community members of all ages from the Community Arts Guild in East Scarborough.
Train Payanam Project Credits
-
Concept Creator and Director: Beth Helmers
Designer: Sonja Rainey
Composer, Arranger and Musical Director: Cathy Nosaty
Song and Story Writer and co-Musical Director: Sharada K. Eswar
Choreographer: Lilia Leon
Assistant Designer and Puppet Director: Arber Makri
Assistant Director and Mask Coach: Andrea Thring
Costume Co-ordinator and Textile Artist: Marianne Alas
Audio Installation Artist: Sarah Miller
Song Writer: Julia Churchill
-
Community Arts Guild Artistic Director: Beth Helmers
Production Manager: Kim Gravel
Outreach and Publicity Co-ordinator: Sarah Miller
Additional Outreach and Food Co-ordinator: Hillari Blumfald
Workshop Assistant and Intern: Dillon Cox
Box Office and Front-of-House Co-ordinator: Sigrid Vellis
Cooks: Peter Jones, Marianne Alas
Drivers: Tim Dollack, Pouyan Mirahssani
Childminders and Production Assistants: Eli Howard, Shifra Cooper
Photographer: Katherine Fleitas
Graphic Designers: Helah Cooper (posters and illustration), Venetia Butler (program)
-
VENDORS: Cynthia Walker, Dillon Cox, Earlena Dawson, Eunillyne Lazado, John Pyette, Parameswary Ponnampalam, Sadi Karabage
BUSKERS: Komathy Sarah Coomaraswamy (violin), Mangayakarasi Sivasubramaniam (harmonium), Cathy Nosaty (accordion and keyboard, conductor), Sharada K. Eswar (vocal percussion and singing)
PASSENGERS: Andrea Thring (ensemble leader), Beth Helmers, Kamala Poopal, Kathy Wolfer, Lilia Leon (ensemble leader), Ragupathy Ratnasabapathy, Sarah Miller, Saraswathy Kumarakulasingham, Sivayogamalar Sivapatham
POLICE OFFICER/TICKET COLLECTOR: Pathma Mahalingam
TICKET COLLECTOR: Annapooranam Gnanassambandar
RETIRED STATION MASTER: Kamala Ramasurian
STATION MASTER: Sulogini Sothynathan
FATHER: Lyndon Alvares
MOTHER: Melrose McGill
SON: Tyler Alvares
FATHER AS PUPPET: Dillon Cox
SON AS PUPPET: Arber Makri
PUPPETEERS AND PROJECTIONISTS: Bill Livingstone, Brooklyn Wang, Jess Shane, John Pyette, Junyee Wang, Kaitlyn Wang, Kaitlynn Rodgers, Kamala Poopal, Kamala Ramasurian, Karis Jones-Pard, Earlena Dawson, Nirven Armoogum, Olivia Wallace, Ragupathy Ratnasabapathy
-
Adelyn Wang, Beverly Larsen, Christina Fedak, Hapbishan Vijayakummar, Jasmine, David Phan, Kamala Jeyananthan, Oren, Margaret, Marlene Wolfer, Minnie Choi, Mithila, Munzir Rahman, Pushpavany, Annasundaram, Zakariyu, Zarameena, Dharshana Jayapathy and the Tamil seniors from the SCHC programs at 50 Tuxedo Court, 65 Greencrest and the East Scarborough Storefront, members of the story groups at 65 Greencrest and 4175 Lawrence.