Faculty news

  • The Walker Cultural Leader Series: Daniel Levinson, leading movement and stage fighting expert to present a Movement and Stage Combat Intensive program

    Thursday, February 14, 2013 | By

    BROCK UNIVERSITY
    MEDIA RELEASE 

    February 12, 2013
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    905.688.5550 x4765

    New Walker series opens doors for arts students and the public

    A major series of cultural events, workshops and performances being launched this fall by Brock University will provide new learning experiences for students, and in many cases will also be open to the public.

    The Walker Cultural Leader Series will see leading artists, performers and academics convene more than a dozen events in disciplines ranging from animation to classical music and theatrical performance. The events will take place on campus as well as in the community.

    Presented by Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), the series opens Oct. 16-19 with workshops, studio visits and performances by Sobey Award-winning performer and animator Daniel Barrow.

    The series will also feature presentations by Joan Watson, principal horn of the Canadian Opera Company; performer and author Stephen Nachmanovitch; acclaimed Canadian pianist Robert Silverman; and Daniel Levinson, an expert in movement and stage combat.

    The new series is being funded thanks to the Marilyn I. Walker Fund, an endowed fund created in 2008, when Marilyn Walker donated $15 million to Brock’s school of fine and performing arts.

    Derek Knight, director of the Walker School, said the main objective of the series is to engage students, but pointed out many sessions are open to the community.

    “The new series is committed to inviting varied and interesting guest speakers,” said Knight. “It will be engaging, lively and erudite. These sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society.”

    Douglas Kneale, Dean of Humanities at the University, said the initiative is another step forward for Brock on the academic, cultural and community fronts.

    “Thanks to the generosity of Marilyn I. Walker, we are able to offer students unique interactions with creative leaders in the fine and performing arts, and also extend to the community educational and cultural opportunities that will be enormously enriching.”

    The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts is comprised of the departments of Dramatic Arts, Music, Visual Arts, and the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture.

    For more info and follow-up interviews: Marie Balsom, Communications, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University, 905-688-5550 x4765; mbalsom@brocku.ca

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    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • The Blue Room opens at Brock University

    Thursday, February 14, 2013 | By

    The Blue Room

    February 14, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm
    Matinee February 15, 2013 – 1:00 pm
    February 15, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm
    February 16, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm

    By David Hare, freely adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde

    Director: Virginia Reh
    Scenographer: David Vivian
    Lighting Design: Ken Garrett
    Assistant Director: Jessi Robinson

    Directed by Professor Virginia Reh, The Blue Room is David Hare’s 1998 adaptation of Schnitzler’s Reigen (La Ronde), first produced in 1921. The plot is a “sexual daisychain”: the Girl couples with the Cab Driver, then the Cab Driver with the Au Pair, etc. Each time the new participant in one scene moves on to the next scene and so on, until in the final scene the Girl returns and encounters the Aristocrat. The play looks at casual sexual encounters as a (mostly) unsatisfactory substitute for human connection. This is a universal and timeless quest. The play is an important exploration with diverse current points-of-view: as each character has encounters with two different partners, the play explores the shifting status relationships (both social and personal). The relational dynamics of the play have interesting correspondences to explorations on social media.

    Tickets: Adults $15.00, Students/Seniors $12.00, Groups $10.00, eyeGo $5.00 H.S.T. extra

    Theme-oriented and moderated workshops will be available. DART 3F93: Social Issues Theatre for Community Development, taught by Professor Joe Norris,  will employ Process Drama and Applied Theatre techniques to explore themes that underlie the Blue Room. Scenes will be created that delve into issue of identity, innocence, risks, thresholds, secrets, awkwardness, beliefs, mores, taboos, exploitation and power. With a participatory dimension cast and audience will enter into conversations to explore the issues further.

    Please contact us for more information.

    THE BLUE ROOM: A Primer
    is available for review before you come to see the production

    low res 709kb
    high res 2139 kb
    print res 3690 kb

     

    Interactive Arts and Science program
    student Patrick Gagliardi has put together
    a sultry trailer for the show.

     

    from COGECO TV,
    Published on Feb 8, 2013:
    The Department of Dramatic Arts at
    Brock University are hoping to spice up
    your Valentines Day with their new
    production “The Blue Room’.

     

    Standard_article_th

    In the buff with Brock’s Blue Room. t

    A fun full-first-page-of-the-section article
    about our upcoming mainstage in the city paper
    – another great reason to study dramatic arts
    at Brock University. Come see the play and
    discover what its really all about.

     

    Standard_article_th

    See the article about the show in
    The Brock Press, the independent student newspaper.

    View Larger Map

    Categories: News

  • Dramatic arts prof interviewed on national radio

    Monday, January 21, 2013 | By

    A Brock University dramatic arts professor was interviewed on national radio about the current state of affairs of entertainment giant Cirque du Soleil.

    Karen Fricker was a guest Monday on CBC Radio’s Q, a daily arts and culture magazine. The assistant professor talked about the implications of Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil’s recent announcement that it was laying off 400 people.

    “This is significant because Cirque du Soleil is a very strong brand and usually the coverage around it is positive,” Fricker said.

    The segment of the show, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, looked at whether the company was in crisis and if the layoffs meant the end of a Canadian success story made world famous for its performances that incorporate gravity-defying acrobatics and stunning choreography.

    From Fricker’s perspective, Cirque du Soleil isn’t going anywhere but it has grown at an unsustainable rate.

    The company has even admitted to not having appropriate control over its spending.

    “That’s an important admission,” Fricker said. “They’re making money but they’re spending too much and (cutting jobs) is a line in the sand, a signal their practices need to change .”

    Fricker was joined by J. Kelly Nestruck, a theatre critic for the Globe and Mail, on the show.

    The segment will air again Monday night on CBC Radio One at 10 p.m. and can be heard online or as a podcast.

    This article was first published by tmayer tttton Jan 21st, 2013 in The Brock News.

     

    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • Brock student hits the international red carpet

    Friday, October 05, 2012 | By

    DART student Katie Coseni was recently featured in an article in The Brock News:

    "Katie Coseni’s first experience at the Toronto International Film Festival was not typical.

    Rather than chasing celebrities for autographs and crowding the edges of red carpets in hopes of catching a glimpse of movie stars, the second-year dramatic arts student found herself on the red carpet soaking up the limelight.

    Coseni plays one of the lead roles in the film Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, which premiered at this year’s festival on Sept. 10."

     

    The article continues: ". . . . Coseni’s long journey to the red carpet in Toronto all started when she responded to an open casting call in 2010.

    “A friend and I went to a drama camp when I was in middle school,” she says. “I guess we stayed on their mailing list and they sent out a flyer about this audition.”

    . . . Coseni credits her fellow students and professors in the dramatic arts program at Brock for being extremely supportive of her foray into film. Students would share their notes with her when she missed classes and professors were accommodating when it came to handing in assignments.

    “Because I was going to school for drama and I was missing school because of a movie, they understood,” she said. “It’s a very supportive and friendly environment.”"

    From the article by Jeffrey Sinibaldi in the Brock News.  Read more of the article here.

     

    congratulations to Katie!

    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • Looking for a unique Spring/Summer course? sign-up for Introduction to Physical Theatre

    Friday, September 28, 2012 | By

    Looking for a unique Spring/Summer course? sign-up for a three week-long intensive Introduction to Physical Theatre taught by the resident theatre company of Brock University, Theatre Beyond Words, during the Spring session of 2012.

    DART 2F04: Physical Theatre – Education through Collective Creation
    Students will explore a wide range of physical theatre styles (mask, mime, pantomime, graphics, theatrical clown, and commedia dell’arte) by recreating a series of scenes from professional repertoire using masks, puppets, costumes and sets from international touring theatre ensemble and Brock Resident Theatre Company, Theatre Beyond Words. This is a 3-week intensive, full-credit course, running 6 hours per day, 5 days per week. There will be a final performance for invited friends, family and staff at the end of the 3 three weeks. As this is a practicum course, attendance at all classes is mandatory.

    More information about this full-credit course may be found here. Enrollment is limited to 20 students. Don’t delay!
    Applicants without previous theatre training at Brock University may enrol with permission of the instructor.

    for more information contact dramatic.arts@brocku.ca 
    here are some examples of the masks and object-based theatre used by Theatre Beyond Words:

    Theatre Beyond Words

    and here’s a trailer for their current show on tour, created and performed by Brock students:

    Categories: News

  • Special Guest Fujimoto Takakyuki gives a workshop in light art at DART

    Friday, September 28, 2012 | By

    On January 26 and 27, 2012, Fujimoto Takakyuki – pioneer of stage design with LED lighting – visited the Department of Dramatic Arts to give a demonstration and creative workshop with this innovative technology.

    Fujimoto has created a unique staging method using LED light systems and installations to manipulate all colours of the spectrum. His aim is to create new “circuits” to connect directly to the audience with no less strength than the connection created by the stage performer communicating directly to the audience in a live stage experience. He is principle designer for the Japanese performance group Dumb Type. Independently his work True, created with
    Tsuyoshi Shirai (AbsT/BANETO) and Takao Kawaguchi (Dumb Type) has been touring since 2007. He has worked with Ryoji Ikeda on the videomusic concert series “formula”, with Hong Kong choreographer Daniel Yeung, Vietnam-French choreographer Ea Sola, Singapore’s video artist Choy Ka Fai, on the installation/concert path with the guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi and singer UA, and with dance company Monochrome Circus. He recently designed for Kyoto Noh Theatre’s 2011 production.

    Fujimoto was hosted in Canada by Across Oceans and artistic director Maxine Heppner, a Toronto-based organization that  produces international arts platforms in Canada and worldwide, with acclaimed performing, visual and literary artists, and develops interactions created specially for specific environments and communities. Programming includes live performance, 2-D and 3-D art exhibits, film/video screenings, public forums, advanced training and research.  Fujimoto’s recent collaboration with Across Oceans my heart is a spoon was well-received by Toronto critics and audiences.

    Fujimoto shared his creative approach in technology  with approximately 15 students and professionals. A selection of videos from the workshop may be seen on a youtube channel.

    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • Industrial Fabric2: Festival of the Arts

    Friday, September 28, 2012 | By

    Brock University
    Media Release
    St. Catharines, ON
    March 1, 2012

    Industrial Fabric2: Festival of the Arts
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    March to April 2012

    The second Festival of the Arts showcasing the remarkable talents of students enrolled in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will be held March to April 2012. Industrial Fabric2 signals that time of year when students who have been preparing individually and collectively will bring their in-class, independent or studio projects to fruition. In the spirit of openness and mutual generosity, we invite you to celebrate their achievements on stage, in studios and galleries, and at regional venues.

    As part of the culminating activities that signal the end of the academic year Industrial Fabric2 offers a dynamic range of creative events open to the University and community at large from theatre to musical performances to art exhibitions. Enjoy original student-written and performed plays produced as part of the Department of Dramatic Arts’ Gimme 3 or One Acts Festival, and a production written and produced by fourth-year students called Shadows of a Toymaker; a rich selection of concerts from the Department of Music including its Tuesday Music@Noon series, Student Recitals, the ENCORE! Professional Concert Series, the VIVA VOCE! Choral Series, and the University Wind Ensemble; exhibitions from the students of the Department of Visual Arts reflecting their achievements in photography, drawing, book making, and intermedia as well as the annual juried show, and a fourth-year honours exhibition hosted by Rodman Hall Art Centre. This year we are honoured by the participation of Donna Szoke, Visiting Artist, whose video installation and all watched over by machines of loving grace will be installed at CRAM Gallery.

    "Industrial Fabric2 represents the creative thread that binds students in common effort, to perfect and bring their creativity to audiences both large and small, on and off campus. It promises to deliver over the course of two months a rich plethora of collective and individual talent mentored under the guise of our tremendous faculty and staff. This continues to be a testimony to the strength of our academic programs – where else can one find such brilliant vitality and collaboration that manifests itself from year to year with such vision, energy and dedication?" states Derek Knight, Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, part of the Faculty of Humanities at Brock University, is comprised of the Departments of Dramatic Arts (DART), Music (MUSI, and Visual Arts (VISA), and the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (cSTAC).

    All are welcome.  Click here for a calendar of events.
     

    -30-

     

    Media inquiries:
    Marie Balsom, Communications
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    T: 905-688-5550 x4765
    E: mbalsom@brocku.ca
    W: www.brocku.ca/finearts

    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • DART Alumna Kate Trotter to be awarded Distinguished Alumni Prize for the Humanities

    Friday, September 28, 2012 | By

    Kate Trotter, a celebrated actress of theatre, cinema and television will be presented with the “Distinguished Alumni Prize for the Humanities” on March 31, 2012 at Brock University.  Ms. Trotter graduated from Brock University with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Dramatic Literature, First-Class Standing, in 1975 and the National Theatre School of Canada in 1978.

    During the past 37 years Ms. Trotter has established an international reputation as a lead actress in film, television and stage production.  Roles in theatre have included significant work in both classics and modern pieces: she has performed in Canadian plays by Anne Chislett, Tmothy Findley,  David French, John Murell and Sharon Pollock among others as well as various Shakespeare, comic, tragic, and lyric theatre productions.  She has collaborated with Canadian luminaries such as Martha Henry, Bill Hutt, Brent Carver, Robin Phillips, Richard Monette, RH Thompson, Al  Waxman, Bill Shatner and Donald Sutherland.

    Roles in cinema include Marie Currie in Glory Enough for All, and working alongside actors such as Charles Bronson, Angelina Jolie, James Woods, the three Carradine brothers, Claire Bloom, Clive Owen, Gary Sineese, Whoopi Goldberg, Edward Woodward, Jon Voight and Sophia Loren, to name a few.

    Her numerous roles in television include Being Erica, The Murdoch Mysteries, The Jane Show and CSI.

    She has also directed for the National Film Board and for women in the director’s chair as well as for the stage.  Ms Trotter has taught Shakespeare at George Brown College, is co-founder of a program supporting kids at risk called youth and the law and for several years has been part of training programs for Canadian judges teaching communication skills in the courtroom.

    The “Distinguished Alumni Prize for the Humanities” was founded in 2002 to celebrate the achievements of Brock’s finest graduates. The award is conferred upon alumni who have made outstanding  contributions to their field of study and the larger Brock community, as both a scholar and role model.

    On March 30, 2012 from 7pm-9pm the Department of Dramatic Arts will be hosting a special event (Studio Theatre ST 107) to introduce Ms Trotter to our current students and aspiring artists. All DART students and faculty are welcome to join the Department as we celebrate her success and raise a glass to toast this alumna of Brock Theatre.

    For more information see Ms Totter’s YouTube DEMO REEL or her entries in the Internet Movie Database and Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia (last updated 2009).

    A poster advertising the event is available for download.

    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • Brock DART graduates are playing IN THE SOIL

    Friday, September 28, 2012 | By

    The Clockmaker by Stephen Massicotte

    April 27 @ 8:00pm and April 28 @ 2:00pm
    Sullivan Mahoney  Courthouse Theatre 101 King Street,  St Catharines

    Tickets: $10 at the door
    Festival pass: $25 through inthesoil.on.ca

    Nathan Tanner MacDonald – Director
    Geoffrey Heaney – Performer
    Dylan Mawson – Performer
    Michael Pearson – Performer
    Caitlin Popek – Performer
    Kate Hardy – Stage Manager
    Finn Archinuk – Designer

    Graduates of the Department of Dramatic Arts are on the boards again and this time they are playing IN THE SOIL.

    Nathan Tanner Mac Donald – A resident of the St Catharines downtown area and recent graduate of the Department of Dramatic Arts has brought together a team of DART students to present this metaphysical rollercoaster.  The Clockmaker may seem like little more than a love story set inside a murder-mystery-to-be, but it just might end up exposing the very truth of existence itself.

    Nathan recently performed in the 2011 STRUTT wearable art show and this past summer he wrote and directed Circus, which played at Factory Theatre in the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival. He cannot wait to share the brilliant play The Clockmaker in this year’s festival.

    In the Soil Arts Festival brings Niagara artists from a range of disciplines together to provide unique audience experiences. The festival nurtures the creation of new work, showcases talent, encourages innovation, offers learning opportunities for youth and provides intimate and uncommon platforms for audiences to experience work by contemporary performing and literary artists, musicians and media artists. In the Soil is Niagara’s homegrown arts festival and is working to make a Niagara that is self-determining and culturally distinct.

    for more information see the IN THE SOIL website

    Break-a-leg, Nathan, Caitlin, Geoffrey, Kate and Finn!

    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • cSTAC Prof hits national airwaves this Sunday in CBC quiz

    Friday, September 28, 2012 | By

    Humanities professor Sharilyn Ingram will put Brock University on a national stage this weekend. She’s one of three academics who will duke it out in a pre-Canada Day quiz on CBC Radio’s flagship current affairs program, the Sunday Edition.

    The show was pre-taped with host Michael Enright earlier this month, though Ingram is sworn to secrecy about who prevails in the good-natured derby between herself, University of Calgary professor Rebecca Sullivan and Anthony Stewart of Dalhousie University.

    She says the experience was fun, if a bit nerve-wracking. The questions cover a broad range of topics, from history to geography and pop culture.

    “There are some very creative answers, and we all laughed a lot,” said Ingram, who teaches in the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture. “The quiz was meant to be a light-hearted look at all things Canadian, and I think it lived up to this goal.”

    Staging a quiz with contestants in three different studios across Canada has its challenges. She said each contestant was asked to bring their own noisemaker to signal their attempt to answer.

    “I learned that it was most important to be the first to get the noisemaker going, and only then worry about whether you knew the answer – which accounts for some pauses, as well as some wild guesses.”

    Ingram ended up on CBC through a twist of fate. At a recent social event in Toronto, a producer for the program was mentioning the search for an academic who is a good fit for a pop-culture quiz on Canada. A friend of Ingram’s was present, and the rest is history.

    “One of my former employees said I would be perfect – never defeated in Trivial Pursuit.”

    The quiz will air June 24 during the show’s final hour, between 11 a.m. and noon, on 99.1 CBC Radio One.

    see brocku.ca/brock-news/?p=17110

    Posted by tmayer tttton Jun 22nd, 2012 and filed under Gallery, Top stories. ttYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. ttttYou can leave a response or trackback to this entry

     

    Categories: News, Uncategorised

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