News

  • DART Alumnus on stage in Toronto in Marat/Sade

    Dart Alumnus Andrew Fleming hits the boards playing Duperret in Soup Can Theatre’s production of Marat/Sade. The show runs from July 19-24 at the Alumnae Theatre in downtown Toronto (Berkeley Street). All performances are at 8pm except for the final show which is a 2pm matinee.

    Andrew first performed in the play on the stage of the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre at Brock University when the Department of Dramatic Arts produced Mara/Sade in 2009.

    Please see www.maratsade.ca for information including the production concept as well as promotional photographs of the production.

    Break-a-leg, Andrew!

     

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  • DART Alumna in Canopy Theatre’s Outdoor Theatre for Downtown Toronto production of LYSISTRATA

    Brock Alumna and DART TA, Lauren Shepherd, will be seen performing this summer in Canopy Theatre’s Outdoor Theatre for Downtown Toronto production of:

    LYSISTRATA – the sex strike by Aristophanes (Adapted by Germaine Greer and Phil Willmott)
    Known for its bawdy humour, Lysistrata tells the tale of how one woman encourages a nation of lustful ladies to deny their husbands any sexual attention until the men declare peace and put a stop to civil war.  Germaine Greer’s adaptation keeps all of the expected phalli, sexually charged hijinks and anti-war rhetoric while also exploring issues of gender politics and class bias.  Guaranteed to be the sexiest production ever seen on Philosopher’s Stage, Lysistrata comes with a ‘mature content’ warning: This is not a family show!

    Tickets can be purchased online at: www.canopytheatre.ca, or at the door. Students, Wednesday nights are PAY WHAT YOU CAN! Bring a blanket and enjoy the fun!

    Event Details:

    July 20 – August 6, 2011
    Wednesday – Saturday
    doors open at 7:30pm, curtain at 8pm

     

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  • Oscar-winning digital effects specialist will speak at Brock

    A digital effects specialist who has worked on movies such as Avatar and King Kong will headline next week’s Interacting with Immersive Worlds conference at Brock University in St. Catharines.

    Dejan Momcilovic is a motion capture supervisor at New Zealand’s WETA Digital, a studio co-founded by director Peter Jackson. The studio has won Academy Awards for its work on Avatar, King Kong and Lord of the Rings. It has also worked on films such as District 9 and X-Men First Class.

    Motion capture is the process of transferring an actor’s performance onto digital characters, such as the blue-skinned Na’vi in Avatar or Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Momcilovic will give the conference keynote speech, which is free and open to the public.

    Read the full story in The Brock News

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  • Free admission to Keynote Speaker session – Dejan Momcilovic of WETA Digital talks about Motion Capture and Special Effects in “Avatar,” “King Kong,” and “Lord of the Rings”

    Dejan Momcilovic of WETA Digital will be a keynote speaker at Brock University’s Interacting with Immersive Worlds conference on June 13th. WETA Digital is an academy award winning visual effects studio. They won an academy award for Best Visual Effects on Avatar – other movies they have worked on, which include King Kong, Lord of the Rings and District 9 are listed on their website www.wetafx.co.nz/features.

    The conference organizers don’t want anyone to miss out on this rare opportunity and are therefore making Dejan Momcilovic’s talk free for all. While there is no charge to attend the talk, you are asked to register to ensure space availability.
     

    Date: Monday, June 13th
    Time: 4:00 pm
    Location: Brock University, Academic South Room 202
    Admission: Free
    RSVP: 905-688-5550 ext. 3270 or csuba@brocku.ca

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  • Brock University receives $500,000 gift from TD

    Donation will go towards enhancing Brock’s environmental studies program and to support the development of downtown arts school

    Today, Brock University received a significant donation from TD Bank Financial Group of $500,000 as part of the Campaign for a Bold New Brock.

    The two-fold gift will help create the TD Bursary for Environmental Studies as well as support the economic revitalization of downtown St. Catharines through the new Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    “Brock is moving full steam ahead with the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts downtown campus in partnership with the City of St. Catharines and its multi-venue arts complex,” said Brock President Jack Lightstone. “We are pleased that TD is joining us to renew downtown St. Catharines and help students pursue a higher education and the Brock Both Sides of the Brain experience.”

    “Our donation to Brock University will encourage student innovation, creativity and community involvement while contributing to a stronger future for St. Catharines,” said TD Deputy Chair Frank McKenna. “We’re very proud to be investing in our future environmental leaders and helping to create a modern downtown arts and learning hub.”

    The TD Bursary for Environmental Studies will provide grants to full-time Brock students demonstrating financial need while pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences or studies to reduce the impact of humankind’s footprint in the world through the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences.

    TD will donate $250,000 over five years towards this award. Brock will apply for matching funds through the Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS) program to maximize the award’s endowment at $500,000.

    The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts downtown campus will receive $250,000 to help realize the unique joint venture between Brock and the City of St. Catharines to build a stunning, multi-venue arts and learning complex. The impact of the gift will assist in breathing new life and activity into the urban core, stimulating the creativity and economy of the city and region and beyond.

    On the fifth floor of the historic Canada Hair Cloth building, Brock will build the TD Roof Terrace. It will have a spectacular southern view of the first Welland Canal route and the Twelve Mile Creek green space looking toward Brock’s Schmon Tower on the top of the Niagara Escarpment.

    The TD Roof Terrace will serve as an informal learning student lounge and refreshment area for the more than 500 students and 40 faculty and staff who will study, teach and work at the school. Additionally, this outdoor area will provide a space for local community and university receptions and other functions.

    In total, the TD gift, when combined with Government of Ontario matching funds for student awards, will result in a $750,000 investment in a Bold New Brock.

     

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  • DART Professor’s book wins Outstanding Book Award

    Joe Norris’ book, “Playbuilding as Qualitative Research: A Participatory Arts-based Approach” was selected as the winner of the American Educational Research Association’s Qualitative Research SIG’s 2011 Outstanding Book Award. This book not only met all the criteria for the award, it exceeded every criteria. Norris bridges arts-based research, qualitative inquiry, and playbuilding grounded in rich theories and created dialogue for various social justice issues. The committee members (Linda Evans, Allison Anders and Kakali Bhattacharya – see in the photo with Joe Norris) exclaimed not only about the accessibility, utility of this book, but the ways in which this book challenged their thinking, made them imagine how the audience participation might look like at the end of the scenes, and created the fertile ground for much needed dialoguing. The committee was honored and privileged to review the works of such great thinkers as Valerie Janesick, Kathryn Roulston and Norman Denzin, change agents, and activists in qualitative research and are delighted to present Joe Norris with this years’ Outstanding Book Award.
    Congratulations, Joe.

     

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  • Director of cSTAC and DART Professor honoured for his contribution to the City of St. Catharines

    Associate Professors Peter Vietgen (Visual Arts Education in the Department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education) and David Vivian (Department of Dramatic Arts and the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Faculty of Humanities) were each presented with three Volunteer Recognition Certificates from the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and the City of St. Catharines, at the 23rd Annual Volunteer Recognition Night co-sponsored by the City of St. Catharines, the St. Catharines-Thorold Chamber of Commerce, and the Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery.

    Professor Vietgen was nominated by the Niagara Artist’s Centre for his contribution to the Public Art Advisory Committee of the City of St. Catharines. Professor Vivian was nominated for his service over four years as Chair of the Culture Committee of the City of St. Catharines.  Both Committees of Council are actively engaged in developing new policy, advocacy, funding, recognition and opportunities in the arts and culture sector, contributing to the creation of stimulating and sustainable culturally-rich lives in the city of St. Catharines.

    Given annually, the Volunteer Recognition Awards recognize those outstanding volunteers whose unselfish and dedicated service to an organization has made a significant difference in the community. Nominations are open to youth and adult volunteers, who are presented with their awards at a banquet hosted by the Mayor and councillors in April. This year the banquet was held at the Quality Hotel Parkway Convention Centre on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

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  • Brock students step into the gaming world with two new releases

    The year is 2060. The world is dark and gloomy. There’s a technological depression and even worse, there’s been a murder and the killer is at large.

    That’s the premise of a new video game, Flint and BURT: Astro City Homicide, developed by 12 Brock University students who have taken the game from conception to finished product in just seven months. The PC game, which follows a detective and his sidekick robot, will debut on Wednesday, April 20 with a launch at the Red Hot Chili Pepper in downtown St. Catharines.

    Read the full story in The Brock News

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  • Interacting with Immersive Worlds Conference Organizers Announce Newly Reduced Registration Fees

     

    Interacting with Immersive Worlds: Third Brock University Conference on the Interactive Arts & Sciences

    BROCK UNIVERSITY, ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO JUNE 13th – 14th, 2011

    http://brocku.ca/conferences/immersive-worlds

    Thanks to a combination of generous support from the City of St. Catharines and corporate sponsorship we are delighted to announce that we are able to reduce our conference registration fees to:

    Regular: $150.00
    Student: $75.00

     

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  • Interacting with Immersive Worlds conference announces Guest Appearance by Dejan Momcilovic of WETA Studios, New Zealand

    Interacting with Immersive Worlds: Third Brock University Conference on the Interactive Arts & Sciences

    BROCK UNIVERSITY, ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO JUNE 13th – 14th, 2011

    http://brocku.ca/conferences/immersive-worlds

     

    We are excited to announce that Dejan Momcilovic of WETA studios, New Zealand, will give a talk on Monday June 13th on “Lord of the Rings,” “King Kong,” and “Avatar” and motion capture, prior to the guided tour of the motion capture studio at the Generator at one. Further details will be announced on the conference web site as they become available.

     

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