Lost and Found in the Mission cast: Robert Kellerman, Rowena Richie, Jocelyn Truitt, Joan D. Saunders, Peter Griggs, Carole Landes, Flo Nakamura. Photo by Borys Procak.

“Deviating from the expected” is how the director of Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory defines queer performance. With that in mind, Lost and Found in the Mission, presented by the new Boathouse and Company, fits very nicely into the category. Playwrights and performing artists have long used “found” material to jog their imagination. In Lost and Found, collaborators Susie Hara and Rowena Richie have done an inspiring job “deviating” with some very creative “recycling.” Initially, L&F grew out of their affinity for their neighborhood, SF’s Mission District. As they put it: “In 2005, when we first became intrigued by the scraps of paper blowing through the streets of the Mission District and started collecting them, we didn’t realize that these … would eventually become the source material for a rampant multi-character theatre production with original songs, dance and stories.” Most of the words in the scenes and songs are taken verbatim from the found materials, all of which are neatly displayed in the lobby.

Boathouse has gathered a wonderfully diverse ensemble of seven actors that reflects the different backgrounds of the Mission District’s population.

The piece begins casually with the entrance of actor Joan D. Saunders with a flashlight finding her way in the darkness, then examining the huge canvasses, enlargements of some of the found scraps. She finds her way to a desk. After her introduction, the other actors (dressed in variations of basic white) arrive on the freight elevator far upstage. It’s a marvelous use of space and sets a fun tone for the remainder of the evening.

Finding a note on the ground, ensemble member Robert Kellerman reads it aloud. The reminder includes self-directives to “Lose weight, Find your balance, Find a job, Find Yourself,” which is then repeated by other actors and expanded into a well choreographed musical dance number. This is followed by a letter written half in English and half in a Philippine dialect by a young woman writing to her aunt about her studies and ambitions to become a secretary, charmingly performed by Flo Nakamura.

The next number begins energetically with a dance of chairs that wind up in a therapists office, all inspired by the legally required change of one letter on a business card from MFC to MFT (Master of Family  Counseling to Master of Family Therapy). The scene is a kick with Carole Landes as the therapist Lili summing up the problem between the female partners (Jocelyn Truitt and Rowena Richie): “You’re both perpetually busy!” Costumes vary to create new characters with light humorous touches of boas, sunglasses and cigarette holders in this scene.

Found at Guerrero and 18th Street was a list of biblical quotations that included “God’s warnings on sleep.” In an hysterically funny piece, the ensemble takes individual poses that demonstrate the slothful, the sleep that robs, the “inappropriate,” the bondage, and a final admonition to one (Peter Griggs) in repose: “How long wilt thou sleep? Oh, Sluggard!”

This is followed by St. Thomas Aquinas’ further ranting on human sexuality: “Anything sexual not for reproduction is a sin,” that leads into a LOL, brilliantly choreographed number with baskets (initially used as halos) that takes on St. Thomas and breast obsession.

The multitude of material in Lost and Found in the Mission demonstrates that “things in peoples’ hearts aren’t so different from each other,” and Boathouse pulls it off with panache in little over an hour. Lucky for us, it’s a treasure of a find! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Lost and Found in the Mission continues through June 9 at Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory in the Jon Sims Center for Performing Arts, 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco. For tickets ($15 to $25) phone (415) 368-1244 or go to www.voicefactorysf.org/index.html.