Directed by Marisa Emma Smith of Alley Theatre, Quelemia Sparrow is a First Nations actor and writer from the Musqueam Nation who created an autobiographical, one-woman performance play, Ow'et / Lost Lagoon, described as a visceral, spiritual canoe journey of healing. It explores intergenerational trauma through the life of a mixed race aboriginal woman who has had an international modeling career but has been equally influenced by fishing trips with her father. O'wet (oh-wee) is a verb colloquially used to denote propelling a
canoe. The word is also connected to a shaman's canoe ride to the land of the dead to retrieve a lost soul. According to Sparrow: "Some say your soul will leave your
body during a terrible fright. You
must journey to retrieve it."

Ow'et / Lost Lagoon was presented at the Firehall Arts Centre in June of 2016 and at the Playwrights Theatre Centre where Sparrow was an Associate Playwright. O'wet / Lost Lagoon was originally commissioned by Full Circle: First Nations Performance as part of a larger work, and benefited from the work of the Full Circle Aboriginal Ensemble, including director Margo Kane, dramaturg Michael Springate, and Associate Dramaturg and Researcher Kwasuun Sarah Vedan.

A graduate of Studio 58, Sparrow has written screenplays and appeared in productions that include Our Town (Osimous Theatre), The Edward Curtis Project (GCTC/NAC), The Penelopiad (Arts Club Theatre), Where the Blood Mixes (Playhouse/WCT) and The Fall (Electric Company).

[BCBW 2016]