Announcements

  • Brock University ready to welcome thousands to annual Open House

    Wednesday, April 03, 2019 | By

    Alexandra McDermid, Brock Student Life and Community Experience Events Assistant, shares details of summer orientation programs with visitors during the 2018 Spring Open House.

    (From The Brock News, Monday, April 1, 2019 | By: )

    With early signs indicating Brock continues to rise as a top choice for high school graduates, campus is expected be buzzing for the University’s annual Spring Open House this weekend.

    The entire Brock community will join together to welcome thousands of potential undergraduate and graduate students and their families Sunday, April 7.

    Running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Open House aims to give visitors a taste of all that Brock has to offer. In addition to a comprehensive information fair, prospective students will have the chance to tour campus, meet students, senior administrators, faculty and staff, attend presentations related to programs of interest, learn about student services and research opportunities, and even take in a first-year lecture.

    Tours of residences, research labs, athletic facilities and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts downtown will also be available, and welcome sessions will be introduced to help visitors make the most of their time on campus.

    “The day will be action-packed, allowing for a ‘choose your own adventure’ style experience that meets students’ personal interests and passions,” said Beth Natale, Director, Recruitment for Brock University. “Open House is one of the best ways to solidify that Brock is the right choice for your future. It allows you to try us on for size and learn how you can shape your Brock experience to fit your own priorities and goals for your future.”

    One of the most important days on the recruitment calendar, Spring Open House comes on the heels of promising early signs for the University’s fall enrolment.

    Last September, Brock welcomed a record number of students to campus, taking enrolment past 19,000 for the first time. Recent figures compiled by the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) indicate that trend may continue, with an increasing number of students shortlisting Brock as their possible destination for 2019-20:

    • Ontario high school students who put Brock in their Top 3 universities are up nearly 12 per cent over a year ago.
    • Those listing Brock as their No. 1 pick shot up more than 15 per cent.
    • In Brock’s home communities, applications from students across Niagara region are up nearly 10 per cent.
    • Globally, Brock has nearly 4,000 applications from international students, up 22.5 per cent over the same time last year. (This number reflects both students applying from overseas, as well as international students currently studying in Ontario high schools.)

    It will be a few months before universities know where students ultimately register, but the strong numbers combined with early interest in Brock’s Open House are promising.

    “We are seeing indicator after indicator that shows Brock is definitely in demand,” Natale said. “Our reputation as a career starter and place of interest for students is gaining serious momentum.”

    Online registration and a full schedule for Spring Open House can be found at discover.brocku.ca/openhouse/

    What: Brock University Spring Open House
    When: Sunday, April 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
    Where: Information fair to begin in Ian Beddis Gymnasium on Brock’s main campus

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    Categories: Announcements, Future Students, News

  • Changes to availability of drop-in counselling sessions at MIWSFPA

    Thursday, March 21, 2019 | By

    facade of the School

    Due to recent events, Brock University has had to adjust plans for on-site counselling at Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts for next week as more resources are required at the main campus.

    Drop-in counselling  at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts will move forward as planned on on Tuesday, March 26, at 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., in MWS 404. All other previously planned sessions at the MIWSFPA, however, will be cancelled.

     We recognize that all students need supports during this high stress time, however, and offer the following:

    • Morneau Shepell’s counselling is available 24/7 both to book appointments and for immediate urgent supports. That number is: 1-833-276-2533.  Evening appointments are available. 
    • Drop in mental health services are available in the evening, Monday to Thursday, in the Library of Brock’s main campus from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
    • Drop-in counselling  at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts on Tuesday, March 26, at 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., in MW404. 
    • Julie Fennel will be offering stress reduction activities on Monday, Tuesday March 26 from 1 to – 3 p.m. and Thursday, March 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    You may also find these online resources helpful:

    https://bouncebackontario.ca/
    https://www.bigwhitewall.ca/v2/Home.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

     

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, News

  • Popular One Act Festival returns to Marilyn I. Walker Theatre

    Monday, March 18, 2019 | By

    Dramatic Arts students in the Directing II course are presenting a series of short plays as part of the upcoming One Act Festival on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre.

    (From The Brock News, March 18, 2019 | By: Sarah Ackles)

    Brock’s Dramatic Arts students will bring the intricacies of human interaction, the banality of small-town life and even the future of ‘designer babies’ to the stage in the upcoming One Act Festival.

    Opening at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) on Friday, March 22, the popular One Act Festival will stage eight student-led productions in a two-night run.

    A yearly endeavour, the festival puts students in the Directing II course in the spotlight as they bring a selection of one-act plays to life. The students are responsible for the entire production process, including the selection of a script, auditioning the cast, rehearsing, designing the show and co-ordinating with the Dramatic Arts (DART) production team on all technical needs.

    The course’s instructor, Mike Griffin, said the One Act Festival is one of his favourite parts of the DART program.

    An exciting mentoring process happens, he explained, as students from all years collaborate to create theatre under the leadership of the third-year directing class.

    “As the student actors and directors come together, they put into practice the skills they have been developing throughout their courses, which supports them as they teach each other, grow as artists and inspire the next round of future directors,” he said.

    This year’s productions are all being presented under the theme ‘Rise.’

    Lauren Reid, a third-year DART major and Director of On the Porch One Crisp Spring Morning, said the inclusive and collaborative nature of the One Act Festival makes for a valuable learning experience.

    “Everyone is so open and willing to help me with this great opportunity and to make it the best it can be,” she said. “I have a great team on all sides that are there to support me whenever I need help, and I think this course is a great way for people to explore different opportunities within the DART and theatre community, in general.”

    For second-year DART student Holly Hebert, the festival allows her to “actively participate in the growth of a production.”

    “As an actor in Winter Games, Director Chris Murillo had us engage in a number of exercises that built our relationships, our impulses and developed our One Act to become an incredibly stimulating process,” she added.

    The students encourage the community to attend, promising the roster of shows in the festival are “emotionally active” and will often have audiences “on the edge of their seats.”

    The One Act Festival runs on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. each night. All shows take place in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre of the MIWSFPA at 15 Artists’ Common.

    Admission is pay-what-you-can at the door.

    For more information on the 2018 One Act Festival, visit the Current Season page on the DART website.

    One Act Festival 2019

    Inside the Department of the Exterior
    Directed by: Josh Loewen
    Playwright: Philip Hall
    Actors: Jared Geden, Samantha Rideout

    Another Sense
    Directed by: Rina Wilkins
    Playwright: Melissa Major
    Actors: Madison Andrews, Bianca Taylor

    Winter Games  
    Directed by: Rachel Bonds
    Playwright: Chris Murillo
    Actors: Alex Sykes, Holly Hebert, Leah Rantala

    The Worker
    Directed by: Rachel Frederick
    Playwright: Walter Wykes
    Actors: Paige Hunt-Harmon, Asenia Lyall, Diego Blanco

    Baby Factory  
    Directed by: Tyler Simpson
    Playwright: Stephen Bittrich
    Actors: Tristan Holmes, Luke Huffman, Meryl Ochoa, Nathan Rossi, Elizabeth Martin

    Nightstand  
    Directed by: Uchenna Edozie-Egbuna
    Playwright: Fergus Church
    Actors: Molly Lacey, Luca D’Amico

    One Night Fran
    Directed by: Frances Johnson
    Playwright: Adam Szudrich
    Actors: Kristina Miller, Aly Markov, Sarah Rowe

    On the Porch One Crisp Spring Morning
    Directed by: Lauren Reid
    Playwright: Alex Dremann
    Actors: Alexandra, Chubaty Boychuk and Joanna Tran

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, News

  • Canadian poet Adam Dickinson to reflect on human impact to our environment in upcoming Author Talk March 18

    Friday, March 15, 2019 | By

    (From The Brock News, March 15, 2019 | By: Sarah Ackles)

    Join Brock Associate Professor Adam Dickinson as he uses poetry to explore the dramatic impact humans have made on Earth’s climate, geology and biological makeup.

    Presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC), Dickinson’s talk will be the next presentation in the Walker Cultural Leaders Series. It will take place on Monday, March 18, from 8 to 9 p.m., in room 211 of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    “Writing in the Anthropocene: Poetics and the Environment” will focus on the intersections between poetry and science as a way of exploring new ecocritical perspectives and alternative modes of poetic composition.

    Catherine Parayre, Director of STAC, said Dickinson is a fitting artist to welcome to the Walker Cultural Leaders Series this year because of his involvement with the Centre’s new Small Walker Press.

    Officially launching this spring, the press publishes books by artists and authors working together on a given theme.

    “The Small Walker Press is publishing works on the theme of environmental degradation this year, and Adam Dickinson’s work perfectly aligns with it,” explained Parayre. “He was inspired to write his contribution to the press after a walk he took with artist Lorène Bourgeois at Glenridge Quarry in the Fall of 2018.”

    Dickinson is an award-winning poet whose work has been featured at prominent international literary festivals such as Poetry International in Rotterdam, The Harbourfront International Festival of Authors in Toronto, and the Oslo International Poetry Festival in Norway.

    He is perhaps best known for his work The Polymers (2013), which was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General’s Award for English-language poetry at the 2013 Governor General’s Awards, the 2014 ReLit Award for Poetry and for the 2014 Trillium Book Award.

    He is also the author of Cartography and Walking (2002), Kingdom, Phylum (2006) and Anatomic (2018).

    His poem “My Fear of Being Eaten” will appear alongside art by Lorène Bourgeois in the forthcoming Quarry, to be published by The Small Walker Press later this year.

    His upcoming author’s talk is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

    For more information, please contact Catherine Parayre at cparayre@brocku.ca

    Generously funded by Marilyn I. Walker, the Walker Cultural Leader series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Engaging, lively and erudite, these sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society.

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    Categories: Announcements, Events, News, Walker Cultural Leader Series

  • Enter to win FREE King Ubu Tickets

    Thursday, February 28, 2019 | By

    Enter the Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts social media contest for your chance to win one pair of free King Ubu theatre tickets, valid for any event date from March 1-9 !

    Details:

    • Share a picture of your favourite fictional theatre character to your Instagram story by midnight on Thursday, Feb. 28
    • Must include the hashtag #KingUbuContest and tag @miwsfpa
    • You must follow the @miwsfpa or have a public account to be entered
    • We will select one winner at random from all valid entries to receive two complimentary King Ubu tickets. Winner can use their two free tickets for one performance of King Ubu between March 1-9, provided ticket has been validated in advance of the showtime.

    Eligible showtimes:

    Friday, March 1, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Saturday, March 2, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Sunday, March 3, 2019 @ 2:00 PM
    Friday, March 8, 2019 @ 11:30 AM
    Friday, March 8, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Saturday, March 9, 2019 @ 7:30 PM

    Winner will be chosen from all eligible entries and contacted on Friday, March 1 with details on how to redeem their two free tickets.

    No purchase necessary. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received.

    Contact miwsfpa@brocku.ca for more details.

    Categories: Announcements, Events, News, Uncategorised

  • Local musician’s legacy lives on through new Brock University jazz ensemble

    Tuesday, January 29, 2019 | By

    A new community jazz ensemble and concert series is being established at Brock University in honour of the late musician Hugh Logan and his wife, Marie. Photo courtesy of the St. Catharines Standard.

    (From The Brock News, January 28, 2019 | By: Sarah Ackles)

    If you’re a jazz lover in Niagara, you’ve likely crossed paths with Hugh Logan.

    Affectionately known as ‘Hughie,’ the Toronto-born musician was a prominent part of the local music community for decades — known as much for his upbeat demeanour and quirky antics as he was for being a valued and dedicated member of a number of bands.

    Logan died in 2016, but his legacy will live on for years thanks to a generous gift to Brock University’s Department of Music.

    Brock students and members of the community are invited to audition for the Department of Music’s new jazz ensemble, which is funded by a generous gift from the Bassett family in honour of late musicians Hugh and Marie Logan. Pictured is Brock Music student Aaron Cardona.

    Logan’s sister, Norma Bassett, has created a fund that will support a new student and community jazz ensemble, an accompanying instrumental jazz techniques course and the Hugh and Marie Logan Jazz Series. The gift is Bassett’s way of honouring her late brother and sister-in-law, who were loved for their musical accomplishments and larger-than-life personalities.

    The ensemble and three-concert series will launch in the fall out of Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Brock Department of Music Chair Matthew Royal said he is “extremely grateful” for the generous contribution.

    “This is a fitting way to memorialize Hugh and his wife Marie and we are delighted to be able to offer this programming for our students and musicians in the broader community,” he said.

    Logan’s love of music was evident to those in the Niagara community who knew him — as was his wife Marie’s never-wavering support of that passion.

    “Music was integral to Hugh’s being,” Bassett said simply. “It really was his life, and Marie was very supportive.”

    Encouraged by his father’s musical talents, Logan began playing the flute and clarinet in his early teens in the Toronto neighbourhood where we grew up.

    Among his early musical accomplishments was earning a place in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, which he played in at the age of 15.

    A few years later, his father passed away from cancer, leaving Logan on his own to support his mother and sisters.

    The love of music instilled in him by his father stayed near to Logan’s heart, however.

    Bassett laughs when she recalls a time that Logan was reprimanded at work because he couldn’t stop dancing and singing along to a jazz number while working on a factory line.

    Logan later moved to Niagara, where he played with a number of bands across the region until his death at 90 years old. He played alto sax in the Niagara Falls Concert Band, flute in the Thorold Reed Band, flute and lead tenor sax with the Ambassadors Swing Band and baritone sax in the American-based Dick Griffo’s Jazz Workshop.

    He would occasionally sub in with the Jimmy Marando Swing Band, too, and Bassett said her brother was known to always carry his instruments with him, so he would be prepared if an opportunity to play presented itself. It wasn’t unusual for someone to need a fill-in and phone Logan up to come jam.

    “We wanted to do something to honour that passion for music,” added Bassett, “and giving back to students at Brock and other musicians in Niagara was the right choice.”

    Pamela Shanks, Executive Director, Development and Alumni Relations at Brock, said the gift serves to strengthen ties between the University and the community.

    “We thank Norma for her generous gift to the University,” said Shanks. “It will create new programming for our students and the Niagara music community, and for that we are grateful.”

    Royal added that although the Department has traditionally focused on classical music, the jazz ensemble provides an opportunity to bring students and the community together to learn a popular musical style.

    “Having students play alongside experienced musicians is a great way for them to learn jazz because they benefit from that cross-generational interaction,” he said. “The jazz series will also afford an opportunity for jazz lovers in the region to perform together and develop new creative collaborations.”

    The jazz ensemble will add to Brock’s existing roster of string and wind ensembles and will be open to Music and non-music majors, as well as members of the broader community. Anyone interested in auditioning should contact Royal at mroyal@brocku.ca for more details.

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Media Releases, News

  • Join us for an Artist Talk with Phil Irish Jan. 30

    Friday, January 25, 2019 | By

    Artist Phil Irish

    The Department of Visual Arts is pleased to welcome Phil Irish to the MIWSFPA for an artist talk on Jan. 30.

    Irish, from Elora, Ontario, makes paintings that are both fierce and beautiful. He is known for cutting paintings into fragments, and installing those pieces to make architecturally scaled collages that engage your senses and your mind.  His new work is influenced by his time on an icebreaker in the Canadian arctic, with Canada C3, a 150-day expedition from Toronto to Victoria via the Northwest Passage that took place from June 1 to Oct. 28, 2017.

    He has shown in commercial galleries, artist-run centres, and public galleries, including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Guelph, Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Whyte Museum, Lonsdale Gallery and Angell Gallery, and was twice shortlisted for the Kingston Portrait Prize.

    He holds degrees from Guelph (BA) and York (MFA) and teaches studio at Redeemer University College.

    Irish will present at 1 p.m. on Jan. 30 in room 416 of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    The talk is free and open to the public.

    Registration is not required, but space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, News

  • Visual Arts prof named new Associate Dean of Humanities

    Thursday, January 24, 2019 | By

    Keri Cronin, Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts, will take on the role of Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Humanities starting July 1. (Photo credit Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals.)

    (From The Brock News, January 24, 2019 | By: Alison Innes)

    Keri Cronin has always been invested in sharing the research of Brock’s Faculty of Humanities in far-reaching ways. And in her new role as Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, she intends to continue down that path.

    “There is so much great work being done here in the Humanities,” says Cronin, Associate Professor with the Department of Visual Arts.

    “A lot of people hold misperceptions about what it is we do and the value and relevance of this work to the ‘real world.’ Using public platforms to highlight our stories and the excellent research being done here is, I believe, more important than ever.”

    Cronin, whose position as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Humanities begins July 1, values making academic research accessible to a wide and diverse audience.

    “I look forward to supporting faculty and graduate students in developing knowledge mobilization plans that make sense for their areas of expertise,” she says.

    Cronin’s own research trajectory has been a blend of the traditional and the non-traditional. In addition to her academic publications, including the 2018 publication of Art for Animals, Cronin has embraced online opportunities to share her research.

    The Unbound Project, a multimedia initiative Cronin co-created with Jo-Anne McArthur of We Animals, uses video, photography, interviews and social media to tell the stories of women who are working in animal advocacy.

    “The Unbound Project has a very large and international reach,” Cronin says. “Using our website and social media channels, we are able to share these women’s stories widely.”

    Cronin has also curated an online exhibition for the National Museum of Animals & Society. Be Kind: A Visual History of Humane Education was launched in 2012 and is used by teachers and professors in classrooms around the world.

    Social justice and transdisciplinary work are key for Cronin. She is a faculty member in the Social Justice and Equity Studies graduate program and was a founding member of Brock’s Social Justice Research Institute, where she worked to showcase Humanities-based approaches to social justice work.

    “Dr. Cronin is an accomplished scholar and teacher, with an excellent record of service to the University and the Faculty already,” says Dean of Humanities Carol Merriam.

    “I’m very pleased that she will now put her skills and talents available to her colleagues in this new role. She is a fitting successor to Dr. Michael Carter, who has done very good work in the role since 2016.

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    Categories: Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • King Ubu tickets on sale now!

    Thursday, January 24, 2019 | By

    Tickets for our spring mainstage presentation of King Ubu, presented by the Department of Dramatic Arts, are on sale now!

    The show runs from March 1 to 9 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre.

    Buy tickets

    King Ubu

    Written by Alfred Jarry
    Translated by David Edney
    Directed by David Fancy
    Set and lighting by James McCoy
    Costumes by Jo Pacinda

    Alfred Jarry wrote King Ubu in the 1890’s in large part to poke fun at the idiocy, capriciousness and vanity of political and personal power. it is almost like its author could see into the future and predict the very political climate we are living in today.

    The character of King Ubu is a complete fool who talks about poop, loves himself a lot and kills everybody around him whenever he feels like it. He is a patriarch, a racist and a megalomaniac.

    His wife, Ma Ubu, is very much like Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth and pushes King Ubu to increasing feats of violence and narcissism. When they are not bickering or having food-fights, Ma Ubu demands King Ubu kill off their adversaries and take over the world. They spend the show chasing their enemies all over a fairy-tale-like Poland before sailing off into a sunset.

    In short: the Ubus are the ultimate reality TV show gone wrong.

    Read more about the performance.

    PERFORMANCES:
    Friday, March 1, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Saturday, March 2, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Sunday, March 3, 2019 @ 2:00 PM
    Friday, March 8, 2019 @ 11:30 AM
    Friday, March 8, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Saturday, March 9, 2019 @ 7:30 PM

    Tickets:
    $18 Adult
    $15 Student/Senior
    $12 Group (10+) each
    $5 EYEGO Highschool Student (with Valid ID upon ticket Pick-Up)

    General Admission seating.

    Performance location:
    The Marilyn I. Walker Theatre
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts – downtown campus – Brock University
    15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines, ON

    Tickets for all performances are available online through the Box Office of the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre. by email at boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca, or in person in downtown St. Catharines at 250 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines, ON, L2R 3M2.

    Open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Holiday and summer hours may vary).

    Buy tickets

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    Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Lockdown training Wednesday at downtown campus

    Tuesday, January 22, 2019 | By

    (From The Brock News, Tuesday, January 22, 2019)

    Campus Security and the Niagara Regional Police are partnering to perform a shelter-in-place lockdown training drill at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Wednesday morning.

    This is the first lockdown exercise ever held at the downtown arts school and is the culmination of months of education and training around what students at the Walker School should do in a shelter-in-place situation.

    The exercise, which has previously been done at Brock’s Hamilton campus, will get underway at 11 a.m. Wednesday and is expected to last about 30 minutes. Those at the downtown campus should expect to hear audible messages and see instructions on digital signs leading up to and during the exercise.

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, News

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