Articles from:February 2014

• ‘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

  Wednesday, February 19, 2014 | By Brock University

  

  Professor Jill Dolan began the two day symposium with her public lecture: “Moving the Body Politic: How Feminism and Theatre Inspire Social Re-imaginings.”

  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.

  The event was marked by remarkable and rich participation by members of the Niagara region and our international guests. Photos of the event may be viewed at the Facebook 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 BrockVideoCentre’s DART channel, and are now available (unedited) for viewing.

  Tags: J. Kelly Nestruck, Jackie Maxwell, Jill Dolan, Karen Fricker, Richard Ouzounian, Steve Solski, Walker Cultural Leader Series
  Categories: Events, Walker Cultural Leader Series

• Halfway home: It’s good news for Brock’s downtown arts school

  Tuesday, February 11, 2014 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: The Brock News, Tuesday, February 11, 2014)

  The construction of Brock University’s new arts school in downtown St. Catharines has passed the midway point, as workers have kept the major project moving along despite this winter’s harsh weather.

  Three senior University officials appeared before St Catharines City Council on Monday Feb 10 with an update on the $45-million project that will house the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  And their news was good.

  “We’re on time, and we’re on budget,” said Brian Hutchings, Vice-President of Finance and Administration, who joined President Jack Lightstone and Humanities Dean Douglas Kneale for the council presentation. Hutchings said the Walker School is still scheduled to be open for September 2015.

  Lightstone, who first proposed the idea of twin downtown arts projects when he appeared in the same council chamber seven years ago, said the urban-centre location lets the University play a role in helping local communities. The University and City worked together to find a site for the Brock project in an industrial heritage building, the former Canada Hair Cloth plant.

  “Brock University is proud to be a partner and supporter of St Catharines, and indeed of Niagara,” said Lightstone. “For years Brock has publicly stated that one of our top priorities is to help strengthen our host communities intellectually, socially, culturally and economically.”

  Kneale said creating a new centre of learning in the shell of an old industrial site is a “perfect metaphor” that will help future generations become part of Canada’s billion-dollar cultural sector.

  “We are taking a 19th-century textile factory and turning it into a state-of-the-art facility for more than 500 students,” said Kneale. “Opportunities like this happen but once in a lifetime.”

  As part of the presentation, city councillors viewed a video presentation on the project done by Tracy van Oosten, a Brock graduate of visual arts and film studies.

  At the worksite, the full footprint of the Walker School is now visible. The main structure for the project’s new construction – mainly, the new dramatic arts theatre – is up, and now workers will largely focus on the complex interior work in all of the buildings, the most time-consuming being the renovation and repurposing of the older structures.

  The University and City arts projects were the initial catalysts of a massive downtown renewal initiative, which now also includes the Meridian Centre, a 4,500-seat ice rink and spectator facility expected to be completed this autumn.

  Tags: 15 artists' common, canada hair cloth building, downtown revitalization, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  Categories: In the Media, News

• Arts centres on time and on budget: Brock, St. Catharines

  Tuesday, February 11, 2014 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: The St. Catharines Standard, Tuesday, February 11, 2014 | By Marlene Bergsma)

  Construction on both the city’s Performing Arts Centre and Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts is on time and on budget – but the recent cold snap has forced the city’s contractor to rent ground-thawing equipment.

  Brock president Jack Lightstone told St. Catharines councillors it’s been seven years since he first made a presentation to council suggesting a partnership to revitalize downtown, and he said Brock continues to be “proud to be a partner and supporter of St. Catharines and Niagara.”

  With an anticipated enrolment of 500 students plus faculty and staff, and the city’s construction of an adjacent performing arts centre, the Walker school of art “will truly revitalize the downtown core of the city,” Lightstone said.

  Brock’s VP of finance and administration, Brian Hutchings, said construction and renovations on Brock’s part of the project are “50% done, and we are on time and on budget.”

  Showing pictures to council, Hutchings said the university is preserving much of the character of the former Canada Hair Cloth building, by showcasing wooden pillars, exposed masonry and existing windows.

  Douglas Kneale, Brock’s Dean of Humanities, said turning the former factory building into classrooms and rehearsal studios “is the perfect metaphor for St. Catharines’ industrial past and post-industrial future.”

  Quoting English Romantic poet William Blake, Kneale said the project is turning “dark Satanic mills” into engines of education and creativity. Kneale also described the state-of-the-art music practice rooms that will offer acoustic isolation with sound-blocking walls, ceilings and windows, and the perfect humidity for singers’ voices and musical instruments.

  Meanwhile a significant part of the foundation has been poured for the city’s performing arts centre project. An aerial shot of the site, taken recently, shows the elevator shaft on the left, next to the crane, and a dark hole in the centre of the frame, which will provide the stairway access to Brock’s school of arts, said St. Patrick’s Coun. Mark Elliott. On the bottom left is bare earth which will be the site of Partridge Hall, the centre’s biggest venue with 775 seats, which will boast sophisticated and invisible acoustical panels which can be automatically adjusted for the type of concert or event.

  Parks and recreation director Rick Lane said the city’s project is also on time and on budget, although the cold weather which has frozen the ground has posed some problems for Bird Construction, which has been using heaters to thaw the earth so they can continue with necessary excavation.

  Mayor Brian McMullan thanked Lightstone for the “vision and passion” he has brought to the project, and said it was “one of the reasons it succeeded and it will truly be a transformative project.”

  Lightstone also showed a video showcasing Brock’s arts programs.

   

  Tags: 15 artists' common, downtown revitalization, miwsfpa
  Categories: In the Media, News

• Brock community event looks at theatre criticism in the digital age

  Monday, February 10, 2014 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: The Brock News, Monday, February 10, 2014)

  An upcoming series of community discussions at Brock University later this month will debate the question: is everyone a critic?

  Media professionals, theatre experts, scholars and students will assemble in Sankey Chamber at Brock Feb. 21 and Feb. 22 to take part in the colloquium, The Changing Face of Theatre Criticism in the Digital Age, hosted by the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  “The rise of blogging and Twitter, combined with the decline of print journalism, is raising important questions about what counts as legitimate, professional criticism,” says Karen Fricker, event co-ordinator and a professor of dramatic arts. “Our discussions will focus on the current critical scene in Niagara, as well as imagining possible futures for the arts in our community.”

  Panel members include two of Toronto’s most influential theatre critics: J. Kelly Nestruck of The Globe and Mail and Richard Ouzounian of the Toronto Star. Others include local figures like Jackie Maxwell, artistic director of the Shaw Festival, and Steve Solski, director of the St. Catharines Centre for the Performing Arts.

  The colloquium will also feature international critics: Jill Dolan, Princeton University professor and noted theatre blogger (thefeministspectator.com); Maddy Costa, a London, England blogger and journalist; and Andy Horwitz, founder of New York arts blog culturebot.net

  Dolan is visiting Brock as part of the Walker Cultural Leaders series. While here, she will deliver a public lecture, “Moving the Body Politic: How Feminism and Theatre Inspire Social Re-imaginings.” Her lecture, co-sponsored by the Department of Dramatic Arts and Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies at Brock, takes place Friday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, also in Sankey Chamber.

  All of these events are free and open to the public.

  Funding for these events is provided by the Walker Cultural Leaders Series, the Brock Humanities Research Institute and the SSHRC Institutional Grant scheme, and the St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre.

  All events will be live-streamed.  [Click on “live video”]

  —

  SCHEDULE: The Changing Face of Theatre Criticism in the Digital Age

  All events take place in Sankey Chamber at Brock University

  FRIDAY, FEB. 21:

  * 2 – 2:30 p.m.: Welcome
  Presentation by Brock dramatic arts students from the third-year class, Studies in Praxis – Theatre Criticism

  * 2:30 – 4 p.m.: Panel discussion “Critics and the arts in Niagara”

  • Jill Dolan (respondent)
  • Monica Dufault, artistic director, Essential Collective Theatre
  • David Fancy, associate professor of Dramatic Arts, Brock University, co-artistic director, neXt Company Theatre (chair)
  • John Law, arts and entertainment writer, Sun Media
  • Sara Palmieri, co-founder, In the Soil Festival
  • Stephen Remus, minister of energy, minds, and resources, Niagara Arts Centre
  • Steve Solski, director, St. Catharines Centre for the Performing Arts
  • Candice Turner-Smith, managing director, Niagara Symphony Orchestra

  * 4:15 – 5:45 p.m.: Panel discussion “Embedded criticism: a new way forward, or criticism-as-PR?”

  • Maddy Costa, critic and blogger
  • Karen Fricker
  • Andy Horwitz, founder, culturebot.org
  • Jackie Maxwell, artistic director, Shaw Festival
  • Jacob Gallagher-Ross, assistant professor of theatre, University of Buffalo (respondent)
  • Lawrence Switzky, assistant professor of Drama, University of Toronto at Mississauga (chair)

  SATURDAY, FEB. 22:

  * 10 – 10:30 a.m.: Welcome
  Presentation by Brock dramatic arts students from the third-year class, Studies in Praxis – Theatre Criticism

  * 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon: Panel discussion “Bloggers, critics, and cultural legitimation”

  • Jill Dolan
  • Karen Fricker (chair)
  • Andy Horwitz (respondent)
  • J. Kelly Nestruck, lead theatre critic, The Globe and Mail
  • Richard Ouzounian, lead theatre critic, Toronto Star
  • Holger Syme, chair, Department of English and Drama, University of Toronto at Mississauga, and blogger (disposito.net)
  • Odette Yazbeck, director of public relations, Shaw Festival

  * 12:15 – 1 p.m.: Colloquium wrap-up

  • Maddy Costa; Jill Dolan; Karen Fricker (chair); Rosemary Drage Hale, director of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Brock University; and Andy Horwitz

  Tags: Andy Horwitz, art, art criticism, colloquium, dramatic arts, J. Kelly Nestruck, Jackie Maxwell, Jill Dolan, Karen Fricker, Maddy Costa, Richard Ouzounian, Steve Solski, The Changing Face of Theatre Criticism in the Digital Age, Walker Cultural Leader Series
  Categories: In the Media, News