Akasya Crosier, ArtIndustria+, Casey Ridings, Catherine Parayre, Cody Schriever, Continuous Monument, Derek Knight, Gayle Young, Harmonia Chamber SIngers, Jean Zhu, Jim Watkins, Josh Dawson, Lauren Regier, Lucas Veraldi, Paul Savoie, Reinhard Reitzenstein, Shawn Serfas, Silo-City, Sophia Yung
Categories: Alumni, Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News
Brock’s Three Minute Thesis winner Kaitlyn Kerridge, and award winners Shasha Hu and Jonathan Brower all spoke at the Graduate Student Awards and Donor Recognition Celebration on Thursday, May 10.
(adapted from: The Brock News Monday, May 14, 2018 | by Lauryn Carrick)
It wasn’t until he started at Brock University that Jonathan Brower was able to marry his passions: theatre, LGBTQ2 studies and spirituality.
During the Graduate Student Awards and Donor Recognition Celebration held on campus Thursday, May 10, the Master of Social Justice and Equity Studies student spoke about how the University and its donors have made a difference in his life.
An actor, playwright and producer, Brower told the more than 100 guests in attendance about how support from donors allows him to focus on his research and continue artistic pursuits, without having to worry about financial pressures.
“For research to truly be enriched, you need to be able to immerse yourself in it completely,” he said. “Support from donors allows me to focus my creative energy on academia, rather than having to worry about how my bills are being paid. Every layer of support I have received lifts me closer to success.”
Brower was the recipient of multiple awards at the celebration: a Bluma Appel Graduate Entrance Scholarship for Excellence in Social Sciences, the Scotiabank Graduate Award and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council CGS Master’s Scholarship.Hosted by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the awards event celebrated student success and thanked donors for their generous support of graduate students.
Brower came to Niagara from Calgary, where he co-founded and ran a queer theatre company and wrote and produced a play, oblivion, about the struggle to reconcile faith and sexuality. The production toured Canada over three years, visiting major cities including Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto, with a stop in St. Catharines last year.
Starting his master’s at Brock seemed a fitting next step for the student researcher, whose work explores “queer religious agency through narrative inquiry and applied theatre.”
“My own experience as a queer person in the Christian faith was marginalized, which led to the creation of oblivion,” Brower said. “This thesis project takes things a step further using collective theatre creation to bring the experiences of queer individuals from different faith backgrounds into conversation.”
In 2017-18 Brower was a teaching Assistant in the Department of Dramatic Arts for the courses DART 1F91 Introduction to Theatre and Performance (Dr. Jacqueline Taucar, Instructor) and DART 4F56 Advanced Studies in Theatre (Professor Gyllian Raby). He recently collaborated on WE WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HIAWATHA ARE PROUD TO PRESENT HIAWATHA as part of the Rhizomes for the 2018 In The Soil Festival.
Advanced Studies in Theatre, DART 1F91, DART 4F56, development and alumni relations, dramatic arts, faculty of graduate studies, gyllian raby, Introduction to Theatre and Performance, Jacqueline Taucar, Jonathan Brower, LGBTQ2, Social Justice and Equity Studies, Student Awards and Donor Recognition Reception, Teaching Assistant
Categories: Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, News
(Source: The Brock News | Wednesday, May 03, 2018 by Matthew Melnyk)
Students from Stamford Collegiate took to the stage at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre to present their original play, Breaking the Silence, as part of In the Soil Arts Festival on Friday, April 27. The public performance was sponsored by Brock University. The play — based on the stories of British Home Children who were torn from their families and sent to Canada for a ‘better life’ — earned Stamford the top prize at this year’s National Theatre School Drama Festival. Friday’s performance featured a quilt made up of historic photos of British Home Children.
Stamford Collegiate at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. Seen l to r: Colin Anthes, BA (Honours) Dramatic Arts and Psychology, Minor in Philosophy, 2014; MA Philosophy (Contemporary Continental Philosophy), 2016; Certificate in Public Law (in process) is an alumnus of Stamford Collegiate, an instructor at the Department of Dramatic Arts, Artistic Director of Essential Collective Theatre and founder of Twitches & Itches Theatre; Angela Menotti, program leader of Drama at Stamford Collegiate; and Ethan Yando, who has a placement at Stamford Collegiate as he completes his BA (Honours) Dramatic Arts, Minor in English Language and Literature, BEd Teacher Education – Intermediate Senior in 2018.
We are very excited to announce an exhibition by the students of the MIWSFPA in Innsbruck, Austria!
see photographs from the exhibition, below.
presented at …
13 June – 6 July 2018 (Opening 13 June 2018, 19:00)
Learning is process. Students in Visual Arts at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University, Canada put together a series of paintings to illustrate the process of abstraction at work in referencing urban, industrial, domestic, and natural landscapes. Students in Arts and Culture and French Studies continue the process of abstraction through the creation of written texts responding to their peers’ paintings.
Curators: Catherine Parayre and Shawn Serfas
With the generous support of the Canadian Studies Centre, University of Innsbruck
—
Lernen ist ein Prozess. Studierende der bildenden Kunst der Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts an der Brock University (Kanada) haben eine Reihe von Bildern zusammengestellt, um den Prozess des Abstrahierens zu illustrieren, der abläuft, wenn auf städtische, industrielle, häusliche und natürliche Landschaften Bezug genommen wird. Studierende der Fächer Kunst, Kultur und Französisch setzen diesen Prozess fort, indem sie Texte verfassen, die auf die Bilder ihrer KollegInnen
reagieren.
KuratorIn: Catherine Parayre und Shawn Serfas (Brock University)
Eröffnung: 13. Juni 2018, 19:00 Uhr
13. Juni – 6. Juli 2018
Bäckerei Innsbruck, Dreiheiligenstraße 21a, 6020 Innsbruck
Geographien als Prozess / Geographies of Process / Géographies en formation
Lernen ist ein Prozess. Studierende der bildenden Kunst der Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts an der Brock University (Kanada) haben ein Reihe von Bildern zusammengestellt, um den Prozess des Abstrahierens zu illustrieren, der abläuft, wenn auf städtische, industrielle, häusliche und natürliche Landschaften Bezug genommen wird. Studierende der Fächer Kunst, Kultur und Französisch setzen diesen Prozess fort, indem sie Texte verfassen, die auf die Bilder ihrer KollegInnen reagieren.
Learning is process. Students in Visual Arts at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University, Canada put together a series of paintings to illustrate the process of abstraction at work in referencing urban, industrial, domestic, and natural landscapes. Students in Arts and Culture and French Studies continue the process of abstraction through the creation of written texts responding to their peers’ paintings.
Tout apprentissage est un processus. Des étudiant.e.s en Arts visuels de l’Ecole des beaux-arts et arts du spectacle Marilyn I. Walker à l’Université Brock au Canada assemblent une série de peintures illustrant un processus d’abstraction faisant référence à des paysages urbains, industriels, domestiques et naturels. Poursuivant cet enchainement vers l’abstraction, des étudiant.e.s d’Arts et Culture et d’Etudes en français répondent aux œuvres de leurs collègues par la création de textes.
KuratorIn / Curators / Commissaires: Catherine Parayre / Shawn Serfas
Mit der Unterstützung des Zentrums für Kanadastudien der Universität Innsbruck
With the generous support of the Canadian Studies Centre, University of Innsbruck
Avec le généreux appui du Centre d’Etudes canadiennes de l’Université d’Innsbruck
KünstlerIn / Artists / Artistes
Gianna Aceto
Jessica Angelevski
Elizabeth Angotti
Denise Apostolatos
Teresa Badgley
Renz Baluyot
Chris Belanger
Marilyn Blanchette
Brandon Boudreau
Hannah Brown
Andrea Caruso
Maddy Cugini
Thomas Denton
Chelsea Dietrich
Amy Doan
Hannah Dobbie
Isabella Domaradski
Mariah Dubeau
Amandine Faivre
Alex Finlayson
Dailia Frigault
Jill Greer
Stefanie Gugliucciello
Kylie Haveron
Gail Higenell
Samantha Hilton
Aimee Hu
Syerra Jasmin
Gabriella Jones
Phuong Le
Laura Levesque
Brendan Long
Craig Maltais
Sarah Martin
Jim Maunder
Katie McGinness
Kaitlyn Michie
Avery Mikolic-O’Rourke
Andrey Mintchev
Jennie Montes
Victoria Morinello
Jaclyn Morse
Lauren Mucciarone
Michelle Nazari
Alona Nyforovska
Joseph Opara
Lillianna Pagliaro
Connor Playfair
Anna Podvalni
Jacob Primeau
Brittany Reitzel
Curt Richard
Jessie Richard
Cynthia Richards
Keira Robertson-Worden
Abby Rollo
Kourtney Spadoni
Samantha Stein
Sophia Strachan
Charlotte Tarr
Evan Weins
Zachary White
Amber Lee Williams
LISTEN to an interview (in German) by Sarah von Karger with Co-Curator Catherine Parayre for “KulturTon”, Freirad Radio, Innsbruck, Austria, 2 Juli 2018
Port Colborne High School students were taken on a tour of campus Tuesday, May 8.
(excerpted from: Brock News Tuesday, May 08, 2018 | by Maryanne Firth)
Now that Winter Term has come to an end, it’s high season for high school students on campus.
Brock has been buzzing with activity over the past two weeks, with secondary students from across Niagara and the GTA taking tours, listening to presentations, participating in lab demonstrations and getting a taste for life on campus.
That jam-packed lineup continues this week, with the addition of the popular Scientifically Yours event May 10 and 11, and the Ontario Classics Conference May 10 to 12.
“For many high school students, University campuses can seem very intimidating at first,” said Jamie Mandigo, Brock’s Vice-Provost, Enrolment Management and International. “Some have never set foot on a University campus while others may be the first in their family to apply and attend University. Providing students with a welcoming first impression of Brock is critical to reassuring them that they will have a positive student experience during their time with us.”
Included in the many high school events that have happened recently at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts are:
(Source: Brock News, Monday, May 07, 2018 | by Alison Innes)
Visual Arts Professor Amy Friend’s piece “Vestiges” was unveiled at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday, May 2. The work, a photograph on fabric, was commissioned by the City of St. Catharines for its civic art collection and hangs in the lobby of the PAC. Friend is flanked by Kathleen Powell, Acting Supervisor of Cultural Services, left, and Olivia Hope, Culture Co-ordinator, right.
Below, Vestiges, 2018, by Amy Friend, in the Algoma Central Lobby of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Beginning in 2018 the Executive of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will be awarding the Marilyn I. Walker Textile Art Award.
This award will be made to an undergraduate student who is graduating from the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), Brock University; who is awarded, by vote of the Executive Committee of the MIWSPFA, the top prize for a piece of textile art produced and submitted by said student.
As the award must be granted to a student for the purposes of his or her continuing education and or development, students must also submit an expression of their intention to continue this education and or development.
For the purposes of this award, textile art is defined as a work of art that utilizes any and all forms of textiles, either natural or man-made, and in any form of original artistic expression.
For the purposes of this award, continuing education or development is defined as any form of post graduate education and development which the student may wish to pursue whether at a college, university, by way of apprenticeship at a technical institute or at a research facility.
We thank Marilyn I. Walker and her estate for the legacy of her generosity.
Cast members from the student-run Mirror Theatre had the unique opportunity to perform in the heart of the New York City theatre district recently.
On Wednesday, April 25, the cast members performed vignettes from their applied theatre work at the Marriott Marquis hotel.
Mirror Theatre is a comprised primarily of Brock Dramatic Arts students that produce and perform interactive scenes on a variety of social issues. The group is coached by Dramatic Arts Chair and Professor of Drama in Education and Applied Theatre Joe Norris. It gives students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they learn in their courses in real-world situations. Through experiential education, the students develop life and learning skills that will prepare them for their careers and future studies.
Mirror Theatre was invited to attend the Arts Based Educational Research (ABER) business meeting in New York City by the ABER Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. At the conference, they presented “Employing Playbuilding Research and Pedagogy in Addressing Educational and Social Issues Facing Youth.” Their scenes addressed issues of academic integrity, seeking help, dealing with gossip, refusing unsafe working conditions, parental pressures and healthy eating.
Regent cheque presented to Mirror Theatre for $500.
The trip was partially funded by the Regent Student Livings’ Dramatic Arts Student Independent and Outreach Projects fund. Recently, Mitch Allanson (BA ’16) presented Abby Rollo, Mirror Theatre’s President and Lindsey Abrams, Treasurer a cheque for $500. This award will be available to DART students each year and is part of Regent Student Livings investment in the success of the students at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.
Cast members of Mirror Theatre include, Lindsey Abrams, Dani Shae Barkley, Kaedyn Brouse, Candice De Freitas Braz, Aaron Drake, Nadia Ganesh, Rosa Moreno, Mike Metz, Abby Rollo, Sumer Seth, Dawson Strangway and Director Joe Norris.
(Source: The Brock News | Wednesday, April 25, 2018 by Alison Innes)
It’s a festival born out of love for the local community and the arts.
In the Soil, the three-day, multi-layered and multi-disciplinary festival in St. Catharines, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend, and Brock has played an important role in its growth.
The festival started as an idea sparked at a Centre for the Arts performance in Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, where Annie Wilson (BA’03), Joe Lapinski (BA’99) and Sara Palmieri (BA ’03) wondered how they help showcase Niagara talent. Three more former Brock students came on board to found the festival in 2009: Deanna Jones (BA ’02), Natasha Pedros (BA ’04) and Jordy Yack.
They wanted to bring people together with local artists to create a shared experience and celebrate Niagara’s arts scene.
Brock’s support of In the Soil has been important from the start, says Wilson, who studied Theatre and English.
“To have the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts right in the downtown core is a dream come true and so is the opportunity to collaborate with so many incredible profs and friends over there,” says Wilson. “Brock University has supported In the Soil Arts Festival from day one and the ongoing investment in us has allowed us to grow it into what it is today.”
Suitcase in Point Theatre Company, a theatre group founded by graduates from Brock’s Dramatic Arts program, took over organizing the festival in 2012. The group worked to sharpen the festival’s interdisciplinary approach and now has a tradition of showcasing the latest work in theatre, literature, music, film, comedy and site-specific installations.
Many Brock students, staff, faculty, and grads are exhibiting and performing at this year’s festival in various venues around the downtown core, including:
Prior to the festival, the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will be hosting a special event on the evening of April 27 for students from Stamford Collegiate.
The MIWSFPA is also a festival sponsor.
What: In the Soil Arts Festival
When: Friday, April 27 to Sunday, April 29
Where: Downtown St. Catharines
Tickets and event details: inthesoil.on.ca
The Avanti Chamber Singers, under the direction of Rachel Rensink-Hoff, will close out the 2017-18 Department of Music season on Saturday, April 28 at St. Thomas Anglican Church.
The curtain will close on Brock’s 2017-18 Music season with a final performance by the Avanti Chamber Singers.
Boundless, the last concert of the academic year, will be presented by the Department of Music and the Avanti Chamber Singers on Saturday, April 28 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario St., St. Catharines.
The show features celestial-inspired music, exploring the harmony and mystery of the universe with a range of primarily 21st-century works.
The program includes pieces such as Gloria Patri by Urmas Sisask, And Einstein Said by Trent Worthington, Stars by Eriks Ešenvalds, and the centerpiece of the program, Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen.
The Avanti Chamber Singers is a mixed chamber choir comprised of experienced choral singers from across the Niagara region. The group performs under the direction of Artistic Director Rachel Rensink-Hoff, who is also conductor of the Brock University choirs, Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Brock University.
“It has been a wonderful year,” she said when describing the choral and concert season as a whole. “We are seeing more and more people from the local community coming to our concerts, which is so exciting and motivating for our performers.”
Looking forward to the 2018-19 Music season, there will be new choral opportunities for students and the community. The Brock choirs are being restructured to feature two ensembles: a mixed chamber choir and a women’s choir. Both are open by audition to all Brock University students, staff and faculty. New for this year, the women’s choir will also be open to the wider Niagara community “in hopes that it will function as a bridge between Brock’s music program and the wider singing community here in St. Catharines,” Rensink-Hoff said.
Women’s choir rehearsals will be on Thursday evenings from 6 to 8:45 p.m. in the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Interested singers from the community are encouraged to contact Rensink-Hoff by email at [email protected] for an audition.
Advance tickets for the last choral concert of the season are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for students and under the eyeGo program. They can be purchased at Thorold Music, 289 Glendale Ave.; Booksmart, 350 Vine St.; online through Eventbrite; or through members of the Avanti Chamber Singers.
Tickets will also be sold at the door for an additional $5.
Avanti Chamber Singers, Boundless, Brock University, choir, choral, Choral Series, department of music, downtown St. Catharines, Dr. Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, St. Thomas Anglican Church, The Brock News, Viva Voce Choral Series, Viva Voce!
Categories: Department/Centre News, Events