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‘The Changing Face of Theatre Criticism in the Digital Age,’ A remarkable two-day colloquium with international reach, part of the Walker Cultural Leader Series for 2013-14
Listening to theatre companies, they’ve never needed theatre critics more. Listening to them after a bad review, they’ve also never resented them more. This strange dance of mutual need has been going on since the first time someone recited dialogue on stage, and someone in the next day’s paper wrote "it doth sucked, verily." But what of that relationship today? Do critics matter? Can anyone with a blog call themselves a theatre critic? Are critics there to serve theatre companies or readers? (John Law)
See the complete article by media journalist John Law in the Niagara Falls Review about his recent participation in the two-day colloquium ‘The Changing Face of Theatre Criticism in the Digital Age‘ organized by Professor Karen Fricker of the Department of Dramatic Arts on the occasion of the special visit by Jill Dolan, Annan Professor in English, Professor of Theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts, Director, Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, at Princeton University, noted theatre blogger (thefeministspectator.com) and a Walker Cultural Leader for 2013-14. Special guests J. Kelly Nestruck of The Globe and Mail and Richard Ouzounian of the Toronto Star joined local guests and luminaries including cultural leaders like Jackie Maxwell, artistic director of the Shaw Festival, and Steve Solski, director of the St. Catharines Centre for the Performing Arts.
The two day program began with the Friday morning public lecture, “Moving the Body Politic: How Feminism and Theatre Inspire Social Re-imaginings” by Professor Jill Dolan. The lecture was presented in association with the Department of Dramatic Arts and the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies.
For a complete list of participants and more information please see the Brock News Article, the Department of Dramatic Arts and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts web pages.
There event was marked by a remarkable and rich participation by members of the Niagara region and our international guests. Photos of the event may be viewed at the FB page of the Department of Dramatic Arts and tweeted commentary may be viewed at dartcritics.com .
The stimulating exchange of ideas and opinions in this "blossoming" cultural scene of Niagara (Professor Karen Fricker) were live-streamed at http://brockvideocenter.brocku.ca/videos/ and are now available (unedited) for viewing at:
http://brockvideocenter.brocku.ca/videos/video/516/
http://brockvideocenter.brocku.ca/videos/video/517/
http://brockvideocenter.brocku.ca/videos/video/518/ -
Renowned Canadian Theatre Director visits Department of Dramatic Arts
On 13 February, 2014, the director Peter Hinton visited the Department of Dramatic Arts for a two-hour talk about his work as a director and adaptor. He responded to questions from students in DART 3P96: Studies in Praxis – Theatre Criticism, as well as from other students in the department.
Hinton spoke about a number of his recent projects, including his adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, which premiered Montreal’s Segal Centre in February 2014; his 2013 Shaw Festival production of Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan; and his upcoming staging of the musical Cabaret, also at Shaw. Discussion focused on Hinton’s research processes and how these inform his directorial concepts, in particular on his approach to existing and canonical works. Hinton also spoke about his relationship to theatre critics: "I’m not after five stars; I’m after a respectful dialogue," Hinton said of the critics who regularly review his work. "I don’t want to be in search of [their] praise or victim of [their] ignorance." When asked for his advice for a new generation of Canadian theatre artists and professionals, Hinton reminded the group that the professional relationships they form during their student years may be the most important ones in their careers, and urged them to consider their professional creative lives as already underway: "I always thought that theatre was an elite club to get into, but theatre already belongs to you."
Hinton has worked with major theatre companies across Canada including Theatre Passe Muraille and Canadian Stage; Playwrights Theatre Centre in Vancouver; Playwrights Workshop Montr_al; and the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. He was the director of the English theatre division of the National Arts Centre from 2005-2011, and is originally from Toronto.
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Dr. Fanny Dolansky wins international award for Gender Studies article
Congratulations to Dr. Fanny Dolansky who is the 2014 recipient of the Barbara McManus award for best published article on women’s or gender studies in antiquity and Classics for her study "Playing with Gender: Girls, Dolls, and Adult Ideals in the Roman World", published in /Classical Antiquity/ 31.2 (2012): 256-292. The award is sponsored by the Women’s Classical Caucus, an affiliate of the American Philological Association.
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Centre for Digital Humanities pleased to host Every1Games’ Video Game Design programs
Every1Games offers Video Game Design programs designed to be low anxiety learning environments for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Niagara Region workshops will be held in the Centre for Digital Humanities at Brock University.
For more information please visit:
http://every1games.ca/programs/category/niagara-workshops-at-the-center-for-digital-humanities-at-brock-university/Advanced Videogame Design and Digital Art
Dates: Tuesdays, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm (November 18th to December 17th)
Location: Centre for Digital Humanities, Brock UniversityE1G Niagara’s Digital Kids
Dates: Saturdays, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm (November 21st to December 21st)
Location: Centre for Digital Humanities, Brock UniversityIntroduction to Videogame Design and Digital Art
Dates: Saturdays, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm (November 21st to December 21st)
Location: Centre for Digital Humanities, Brock University -
Dramatic Arts Professor directs Canadian premiere of a Benjamin Britten opera
The 2013-2014 season of Toronto’s Voicebox/Opera in Concert showcases some ‘rarities of performance’ and features Gloriana by Benjamin Britten.
The one-time concert performance at the Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto is directed by Brock University Dramatic Arts Professor Virginia Reh.
Gloriana was composed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953 and VOICEBOX’s performance marks the 100Th Anniversary of the Composer’s birth.Queen Elizabeth I is approaching the end of her reign. Her affection for the impressive Earl of Essex is tested when he grows increasingly ambitious. Should she listen to the guidance of her advisors or be swayed by emotion? Moving from the pomp of state ceremony to the intimacy of the Queen’s private rooms, Gloriana depicts the public and private faces of the Virgin Queen, and the deterioration of her relationship with the impulsive Earl of Essex.
The opera features 15 soloists. In this concert production 10 of the soloists will be coming out of the chorus. The production is in memory of Reh’s friend Stephen Ireland who passed away last October from complications arising from prostate cancer. The production is sponsored by his foundation.
Professor Reh will be directing the next mainstage production of the Department of Dramatic Arts, Jehanne of the Witches, opening February 13, 2014.
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
GLORIANASunday, November 24, 2013 — 2:30pm
IN english
Jane Mallett Theatre (at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts) Sunday, November 24 @2:30 p.m.Featuring
Peter Tiefenbach, Music Director and Pianist
Virginia Reh, Dramatic Advisor
Robert Cooper, Chorus DirectorBetty Waynne Allison as Queen Elizabeth I
Jennifer Sullivan as Penelope (Lady Rich)
Adam Luther as Lord of Essex
Dion Mazerrole as Cecil
Jesse Clark as Lord Mountjoy
Christina Campsall as Countess of Essex
Marco Petracchi as Sir Walter Raleigh
Domenico Sanfilippo as Henry Cuffe
Fabian Arciniegas as The Recorder of Norwich
Joshua Wales as The Spirit of the Masque
Keenan Viau as The Master of Ceremonies
Gregory Finney as Old Man
Lise Maher as Page
Jessika Monea as Lady in Waiting
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TWELFTH NIGHT, (or what you will) a comedy by William Shakespeare at the Department of Dramatic Arts
TWELFTH NIGHT, (or what you will)
a comedy by William Shakespeare
November 7-9, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Student Matinee November 08 at 11:30 AMDIRECTED BY Gyllian Raby.
Co-Director and Vocal Coach: Danielle Wilson
Assistant Director and Dramaturge: Keavy LynchIf music be the food of love, play on!
“Twelfth Night, (or what you will)” presented on stage at the Sean O’Sullivan TheatreThe Department of Dramatic Arts’ rendition of Twelfth Night gives this classic Shakespearean comedy a 20th century twist, setting it in the 1950s and taking audiences to the era of soul-searching country blues. This production runs November 7, 8 and 9, 2013 at 7:30 p.m., and November 8 at 11:30 a.m., held at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University.
The magical fictitious kingdom of Illyria is a modern world where boys are boys and girls are girls and subterranean passions blow apart rigid conventions. Fools, lovers, and shipwrecked souls grapple adverse fortunes and comic misunderstandings to find what truth and love might mean. To meet Shakespeare’s demand that Illyria be a land where music is “the food of love,” we present the fool musician Feste as the leader of a country blues band.
The production is a directorial collaboration between Dramatic Arts faculty Gyllian Raby and Danielle Wilson, assisted by Keavy Lynch. Raby states, “We are performing Twelfth Night using music rooted in contemporary culture, so although this production is not a musical, music is threaded throughout the play.” Wilson adds, “The play has many of the elements common to Elizabethan romantic comedy, including the devices of mistaken identity, separated twins, and gender-crossing disguise, and its plot revolves around whether one can manage betrayal, and overcome the obstacles to truth and love.“
media release (PDF)
High-School teachers should read this letter about the Matinee performance opportunities available for Twefth Night (November 2013) and Jehanne of the Witches (February 2014) (PDF)
A Study Guide is available for review,
prepared by Gyllian Raby and Keavy Lynch:
download to print a copy (PDF, 2.0 MB)watch this preview on Cogeco TV:
see the article in the Brock News!
(From left): Sean Rintoul, Chris Chapman and Bri Lidstone perform in the Department of Dramatic Arts production of Twelfth Night, which opens Nov. 7 at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre.
Announcing $5.00 Fridays!
all holders of Brock ID cards – students, staff and faculty – are invited to take advantage of a special new price for the Matinee mainstage performance. Please present your ID card upon purchase of your ticket.Tickets for all performances including the $5.00 Friday Matinees are available through the Box Office of the Centre for the Arts
or 905.688.5550 x 3257For more information, please contact Marie Balsom, Co-ordinator of the School of Fine and Performing Arts, at 905-688-5550, ext. 4765; e-mail: mbalsom@brocku.ca
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Full-time Teaching Opportunity in the Department of Dramatic Arts
Assistant Professor – Drama in Education/Applied Theatre and Performance
The Department of Dramatic Arts in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University invites applications for a tenure-track appointment in Drama in Education/Applied Theatre and Performance at the rank of Assistant Professor starting July 1st, 2014. The position is subject to final budgetary approval.
Qualifications
The successful candidate must hold a PhD with an emphasis on process drama/participatory theatre and exhibit exemplary practice in the profession. Teaching experience in elementary/secondary schools is an asset. Applicants should be able to teach courses with mixed studio/lecture components as well as larger-scale survey courses and studio performance intensives.
The successful candidate will teach a range of courses in drama in education, applied theatre, performance, movement, and praxis. The preferred individual will bring knowledge of a spectrum of teaching methodologies in diverse pedagogical situations and critical performance theory, as well as expertise in synthesizing these modes of knowledge. The individual will engage energetically with departmental production activity, specifically the conceptualization and realization of departmental main-stage events and/or outreach educational outcomes. Skills in a secondary area featuring interdisciplinary research and practice may also be of value. Administrative skills are a definite asset.
The salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications.
Notes
The Department of Dramatic Arts offers a BA Honours in Dramatic Arts. For Honours students, Concentrations are available in Drama in Education/Applied Theatre, Performance, Production and Design, and Theatre Praxis. The Department also offers a four-year (20 credit) BA with Major Dramatic Arts degree and a three-year BA Pass degree, as well as two concurrent BA (Honours)/BEd programs over five years. For more information, see www.brocku.ca/dramatic_arts/
Located at the center of Canada’s beautiful Niagara peninsula in St. Catharines, Ontario, we are a community of learners and researchers with a strong and expanding regional base, with excellent resources in cultural, social, and athletic enrichment. Canadian and American metropolitan centres are within easy distance.
In the summer of 2015 the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, including the Department of Dramatic Arts, will move to its new comprehensive facility in downtown St. Catharines, adjacent to a new regional performing arts centre built by the City of St. Catharines.
Applications will include a brief covering letter, a letter of intent (1200 words max.) and a current curriculum vitae including a teaching dossier and/or artistic/academic portfolio in a theatrical field (mask, movement, directing, publications etc.). A five-year research plan should indicate directions for the future. In addition, candidates will provide the names of three referees who will be contacted in the event of a short listing. Please address applications to:
Professor David Vivian
Chair, Department of Dramatic Arts
Brock University
St. Catharines ON L2S 3A1
dvivian@brocku.caThe application deadline is December 10th, 2013. This position is subject to budgetary approval. More information on Brock University may be found on the University’s website: www.brocku.ca. Brock University is actively committed to diversity and the principles of Employment Equity and invites applications from all qualified candidates. Women, Aboriginal peoples, members of visible minorities, and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply and to voluntarily self identify as a member of a designated group as part of their application. Candidates who wish to have their application considered as a member of one or more designated groups should fill out the Self-Identification Form available at http://www.brocku.ca/hr-ehs/career-opportunities-2 and include the completed form with their application. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
This posting can be found at
www.brocku.ca/hr/careers/position_detail.php?id=1370 -
Prof. Adam Dickinson’s book of poetry nominated for national literary award
Prof. Adam Dickinson’s latest poetry book titled The Polymers, published by House of Anansi Press in 2013 has been shortlisted for a Governor General’s Literary Award.
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New degree program in English and Creative Writing approved by Senate
New English and Creative Writing Degree program
The program is comprised of writing workshops and larger enrolment, lecture-based courses. In the former, students learn the craft of key literary genres while in the latter, they examine the material and social contexts of creative writing. In this way, the program allows students the opportunity to develop their talents within an academic environment that emphasizes the crucial role of creative writing and writers in both literary and public communities.
