Media releases

• Innovative mainstage production explores brain injury through the arts

  Tuesday, January 30, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: January 30 2024 – R0010

  An upcoming production from Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) is shedding light on the experiences of individuals impacted by mild traumatic brain injuries.

  The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy, written and directed by DART Instructor Mike Griffin, uses non-verbal storytelling to create a visceral and imaginative performance.

  Opening Thursday, Feb. 15 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, the story follows its title character as her ordinary life is transformed after experiencing a concussion, sending her on a tumultuous journey back to health. 

  The production communicates the symptoms caused by brain injuries through physical theatre, movement and the use of character mask to convey the many struggles and obstacles facing those affected. 

  For those who suffer with mild brain trauma, symptoms can often be invisible and therefore difficult for others to comprehend, Griffin said.

  “This production aims to stage the invisible; to heighten the symptoms, physiology and experiences of someone struggling from a concussion,” he said. “We hope this show will raise awareness of the serious impact that concussions can have on one’s life — physically, socially and emotionally.”

  Prioritizing accessibility for all audience members, the production run will include a sensory-reduced experience known as a “relaxed performance” on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. The relaxed performance is intended to welcome audience members who struggle with sensory stimulation by reducing flashing lights, loud noises and providing a quiet room where a livestream of the performance can be viewed on a screen.

  Additionally, the Saturday night performance will also be livestreamed for those who might need to watch the performance in the controlled environment of their own homes.

  Complementing the mainstage is the Molly Gallery, a response to the play by DART student and visual artist Rebecca Cowan, displayed in the second-floor hallway at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre for audience members to take in during or after the event.

  “As we created a show that staged the experience of a brain injury through heightened theatrical methods, we were aware that things like bright lights and a crowded environment were not ideal for those affected. This provides folks an opportunity to come and view artwork inspired by the production at their leisure,” Griffin said.

  To spark further conversation about the interdisciplinary nature of brain injuries, DART will host a public research colloquium, Brain Injury and the Arts, on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. The event will bring together performing artists and panellists, including faculty members from Brock’s Faculties of Applied Health Sciences and Social Sciences, as well as representatives from the Ontario Brain Injury Association and Active Life Rehab+ Concussion Management Clinic.

  The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy opens Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.

  Performances will also take place Thursday, Feb. 15 at 11:30 a.m. (student preview matinee), Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. (relaxed performance) and 7:30 p.m.

  General admission tickets are available for $20 and tickets for students and seniors are available for $16. Visit the Dramatic Arts event website to reserve tickets.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209 

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock-led study explores spirituality’s role in children’s mental health

  Thursday, January 25, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: January 25 2024 – R0009

  A Brock-led international team’s recent research suggests that spirituality be added to factors that determine children’s mental health.

  The research team, led by Brock Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Valerie Michaelson, explored spirituality as a potential “non-tangible determinant of health” in adolescents aged 11 to 15 years.

  The researchers define ‘spirituality’ as being connections with others, nature, the transcendent, and within themselves, through the importance of having a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives.

  “Determinants of health” include factors such as adequate housing, food security and a living family income.

  Researchers in eight countries — Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova and Poland — surveyed 42,843 children ages 11 to 15 years about their health, health behaviours and the factors that influence them.

  The research team found that:

  • Higher socio-economic status appears to be correlated with higher spiritual health in most populations of children.
  • There seems to be a consistent protective effect of spirituality on the mental health of young people.
  • These effects seem to be driven by having a sense of “meaning and purpose” in life.
  • Western and Eastern cultural contexts shape results in interesting and nuanced ways.

  The research team’s findings were “striking,” says Michaelson.

  The spiritual domain of “connections to themselves,” which included consideration of experiences of meaning and purpose in life, was strongly and consistently protective of adolescent mental health. These experiences were also unequally experienced by young people in relation to their socio-economic circumstances, she says.

  If young people were socio-economically advantaged, they reported a high sense of meaning and purpose in life, while much lower levels of meaning and purpose were reported among disadvantaged children, she says.

  “This is a matter of social justice,” says Michaelson. “When it comes to mental health, having a sense of meaning and purpose in life is really important, but the resources that foster this seem to be inequitably distributed.”

  She says the study’s findings “draw attention to the urgent need to equitably distribute health-promoting resources — including intangible resources — that help children to thrive.”

  “Establishing spirituality as an intermediary determinant of health among 42,843 children from eight countries” will be published in the February issue of Preventive Medicine.

  The child participants were recruited through the World Health Organization’s Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, an ongoing, cross-national research study of youth aged 11 to 15 years old that collects data every four years on young people’s well-being, health behaviours and social contexts.

  Brock Professor of Health Sciences William Pickett, who is a member of the research team, co-leads the HBSC study. He worked with the international HBSC network to recruit the child participants.

  He points to the value of the HBSC study to identify new and innovative findings on the health of young people.

  “HBSC represents one of the largest and most diverse population health surveys of its kind in North America and Europe and provides opportunities for researchers to explore complex ideas about the determinants of health in child populations,” he says.

  In addition to Michaelson and Pickett, other Brock members of the team include Associate Professors of Health Sciences Karen Patte and Pauli Gardner.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases