See this introduction to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University in St. Catharines ON, with scenes from the events of the official opening of the new facility on September 18, 2015.
News
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Informal Open House at the MIWSFPA Nov. 28
The nationally ranked Brock Badgers men’s and women’s basketball teams will make history Saturday, Nov. 28 when they play the first-ever Brock basketball games at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.
On this occasion, the adjacent Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will be opening its doors to visitors between 4 – 7 pm. Plan to visit the school for a quick tour before or after you catch the games beginning at 5:00 and 7:00 pm.
Tickets for the doubleheader will go on sale Nov. 12 through Ticketmaster, though a pre-sale is now available using the promotional code Badgers. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youths, students and seniors with premium courtside VIP seats also available. In addition, there are 1,000 tickets set aside for Brock University students, who get free admission to home games with their student fees.
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St. Catharines celebrates opening of ‘transformative’ downtown arts school
Brock University ambassadors provided a tour of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts following the grand opening proceedings.
(Source: Niagara This Week, September 21, 2015 | By Mike Zettel)
ST. CATHARINES – There was excitement in the air Friday in front of the former Canada Hair Cloth building as hundreds gathered under and around a large tent to celebrate a new purpose for the 19th century textile factory.
The culmination of a work begun more than eight years ago, Brock University and the City of St. Catharines officially opened the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. The building, which, skillfully designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, incorporates much of the former factory, including its brick, wooden and steel beams and large windows, while adding state-of-the-art elements.
It houses the dramatic arts, music, and visual arts departments, as well as the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture. In all, 50 full-time faculty members, part-time instructors and staff will join about 500 students in the $45.5-million facility.
Brock president Jack Lightstone traced the path leading to last week’s opening, saying it began with a vision by former chancellor Ray Moriyama and former dean of humanities Rosemary Hale, who say the potential for the old industrial site located right in the heart of the downtown.
The school complements the soon opening FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, with students going back and forth between the two adjacent facilities.
Lightstone said the decision to move downtown was made at Brock under the condition the university would not be making a standalone building but rather one that works within a new vision for the downtown as a hub of arts, culture, entertainment and digital media.
“Right from the very beginning it was conceived we would use each other’s buildings in a symbiotic and dynamic way,” he said.
The beginnings of the project were also accompanied by an inevitable skepticism, Lightstone said, noting he was reminded all too often of the many failed plans for revitalizing the downtown.
Those voices were largely silenced, though, he said, by the generous and “transformative” gift by Norris and Marilyn I. Walker of $15 million to establish the school.
“When they made that commitment, everyone knew we had no choice but to make it happen,” he said, calling it a “catalytic moment.”
MPP Jim Bradley, who Lightstone referred to as the minister of Niagara and Brock, said the school has added to a new feeling of optimism for downtown St. Catharines.
“Today it stands as a testament to our manufacturing past and as an example of our economic renewal and creative spirit in our community,” he said.
Mayor Walter Sendzik noted there were many who made the vision for the school a reality, and he singled out the previous council under former Mayor Brian McMullan for ensuring the building, which had to be expropriated, was available for Brock.
However, he said three people, Lightstone, Hale and Walker, were crucial to its success.
“Take one of those involved out of the equation, and I don’t think we’re standing here today,” he said.
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GRAND OPENING: The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at 15 Artists’ Common, Downtown St. Catharines
The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and the Department of Dramatic Arts celebrated the grand opening of the new facility on Friday, September 18th, 2015. Hundreds of people from the community were on hand to share the milestone. Below, we’ve collected some videos and news items from that event:
Read the article in the Brock News, complete with short video tours.
See this short report by TVCOGECO Niagara on the occasion of the Grand Opening Ceremony:
See the report “Brock celebrates new school in heart of the city” in the St. Catharines Standard, featuring two short videos about the school and Marilyn I. Walker:
Listen to the report about the new MIWSFPA facility’s grand opening from the The Brock News podcast Episode 1, one in a series of podcasts being produced at the University, showcasing interesting people, research and news. The segment on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts can be found at cue 1:40 – 3:54. We’ve provided a clip here.
Brock University ambassadors provided a tour of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts following the grand opening proceedings.
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Downtown parking for MIWSFPA opening ceremony
(Source: The Brock News, Thursday, September 17, 2015 | by Kevin Cavanagh. Photo: A parking map for the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts grand opening.)
Guests attending the opening of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts — which starts at 3 pm on Friday, Sept. 18 — should allow a minimum 15 minutes to find parking in downtown St. Catharines and walk to the school.
Please note there is no parking at the Walker School campus, due to the temporary structure installed for the opening ceremony.
However, there are numerous downtown sites that have hourly parking and are a short walk from the MIWSFPA.
Use this legend for the accompanying map:
- Garden Park / Carlisle Street Garage — 71 Carlisle Street
- Garden Park Lot — 11 Garden Park
- St. Paul Street parking lot
- Ontario Street Parking Garage — 8 Ontario Street
- Market Square Lot — 50 Church Street, accessible from King or James Streets
- Central Library Lot — accessible from King or Carlisle Streets
On the map, pedestrian access from St. Paul Street to the Walker School is designated by blue lines.
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Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts Alumni Homecoming
Event date: September 18, 2015, 5 pm – 11 pm
***PLEASE SEE THIS NEWS UPDATE ABOUT PARKING ON SEPTEMBER 18TH***
Alumni of the Arts and Culture, Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts programs and our friends and guests from the Niagara Region and GTA are cordially invited to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Homecoming and Grand Opening!
Please join us for an evening of captivating artwork, exciting performances and beautiful music. Grab a glass of wine, take yourself on a tour of the incredible new MIWSFPA facility and spend some time reconnecting with classmates, professors and friends from the Departments of Dramatic Arts, Music, and Visual Arts, and our Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture.
Official opening ceremonies begin at 3:00; Open house begins at 5:00 pm; VISA Art Gallery Alumni exhibition opens at 5:00 pm; VISA Alumni Dinner, 6:30 – 8 pm at Gord’s Place, 84 James Street; MUSI programming across the evening in multiple venues at 15 Artists’ Common; Cabaret in the DART Theatre at 7:30 pm.
Affiliated events also include:
Tale of a Town St. Catharines
Addressing the Voidand
Confluence Field Trip #1, a fifteen minute walk from Rodman Hall to MWSFPA along the Merritt Trail and McGuire St.. for more information see: confluencefieldtrips.ca
Hope to see you there!
See the Facebook event by clicking here.
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE to reserve a seat at the VISA Alumni dinner!
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE for the DART theatre CABARET!
For more information about the Homecoming Weekend program at Brock University, to register for events and to learn about shuttle bus service to the region be sure to visit
https://brocku.ca/alumni/celebrate-homecoming-2
***Please note this event will take place at our new address at 15 Artists’ Common, also known as the former Canada Haircloth Building, in downtown St. Catharines. ***not at 500 Glenridge Avenue ***Here is a link to a Google street view from June, when our address was known to be IceDogs Way, and here is a Google map for directions to the facilities.
Please see the Brock University Campus Map here: https://brocku.ca/blogs/campus-map/miwsfpa/
We are adjacent to the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre and the Meridian Centre.
***PLEASE SEE THIS NEWS UPDATE ABOUT PARKING ON SEPTEMBER 18TH***
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Hear ye! Hear ye! the excellent program for our event on September 18th!VISA Painting Studio
location: MW 416
4:00-9:00 pm
Open house Exhibition
and
Musical performances in the VISA Painting Studio by:
Brock Jazz Band
Carly Manley
Danny Lamb Trio
Grace Notes String Ensemble
Brock Beatles BandVISA Drawing Studio
location: MW 406
4:00 – 9:00 pm
Open house Exhibition
and
Musical performances in the VISA Drawing Studio by:
Sabrina Xin Liu, piano
Leanne Vida, piano/vocal
Andrea Nolan, piano/vocal
Neva Tesolin, piano/vocal
Leland, piano/vocal
Melissa-Marie Shriner, piano/vocal
H. Campbell, piano/vocalVISA Gallery
First floor at the Main Entrance, 15 Artists’ Common
MW 159
5:00-7:00 pm
Opening Reception for the Alumni exhibition
and
Musical performances in the VISA Gallery by:
Grace Snippe, cello
Brody Smith, guitar
Allison Scholtens, violin
Tyler Merza, guitarClassical Recital in the MUSI Vocal Studio
location: MW 104
6:00 – 9:00 pm
Christina Lerose, piano
Leanne Vida, soprano
Jorgo Kalo, piano
Victoria Hoshowsky, soprano
Negin Rezaei Asl, piano
Caroline Nicole Corkum, soprano and Alexandre Soulodre, piano
Serena Atallah, piano
Erika Versluis, soprano and Tyler Versluis, piano
Sabrina Xin Liu, piano
Leanne Vida, soprano and Jorgo Kalo, pianoDART Theatre Cabaret!
Location: DART Theatre
MW 262
7:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Hosted by Cass Van Wyck and Rox Chwaluk
Guests are welcome to come and go.
In order of performance:Arms Up Comedy: Caitlin English, Jacqueline Costa, Eric Frank, Chris Boyle
Attic Window Theatre, In Real Life: Collin Glavac, Colin B. Anthes, Eduardo DiMartino, Nicola Franco, Hayley Rose Malouin
Piano and Vocal: Lee Stewart
Brock Improv Alumni: Richard Varty, Rox Chwaluk, Brandon Pachan, Alana Perri.
Piano and Vocal: Melissa-Marie Shriner and Grace Snippe
One Four One Collective, Stuck in Horse- Send Help! : Evan Mulrooney and Kevin Chew
Piano and Vocal: Neva Tesolin
MOVE! : Alex Kazam, Adrien Hurst, Jerry Prom, Mitchell Peebles, Caleb Fast, Mikey Henley
Music by Alejandro Del Pino
The Labour of Forrest Nympho: A Drag Birthing: Geoffrey Heaney
Piano and Vocal: Andrea Nolan
Empty Box Theatre, Waiting for Alonzo: Hayley Rose Malouin, Victoria Cutler, Sean Rintoul
Piano and Vocal: Holly Campbell
Garden City Improv: Collin Glavac, Ross Mosher, Jamie Roboz, David Bernard, Hayley Malouin, Jonas McLean
Guitar and Vocal: Aaron Berger
Open Mic!
FOX TRAIL: Iain Lidstone, Marcus Schwan, Brent Cairns, Adam Wood, Alannah Garrett
~the end~Special events not to be missed!:
New Work in Progress: Addressing the Void
by Maggie Hunter and performed by Abby Rollo, Gemma Bordonaro and Jacqui Noel. (DART)
location: Studio D MW 256.
6:00 pm, 6:30 pm and 7:00 pmSpecial Installation of Tale of a Town St. Catharines. Listening Booths by FIXT POINT and Suitcase in Point Theatre Company.
Various locations in the MIWSFPA.Confluence Field Trip #1, a fifteen minute walk from Rodman Hall to the MIWSFPA along the Merritt Trail and McGuire St.
Artist: Elizabeth Chitty. Participants are invited to participate in this self-guided tour of a section of the Twelve Mile Creek valley. For more information see: http://confluencefieldtrips.ca/ -
Art is in the City
MEDIA RELEASE
R00125
2 September 2015
Brock University — Communications & Public AffairsArt is in the City
As Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts opens a new era in its new urban setting, it is launching a performance series to celebrate the bond between the community and the new arts centre of excellence in downtown St. Catharines.
The series Imagining the City – part of the Walker Cultural Leaders Program, 2015/16 – consists of performances, exhibitions, concerts and conferences, all themed around ideas of the urban, and the relationship between the City and the University.
“Our goal is to invite the community to engage with us in a series of celebratory events, 40 or more, that run the course of the academic year,” said Derek Knight, MIWSFPA Director. “Formal or improvised, these activities will take place in our dynamic new building and in venues across the City, from the café to the concert hall, the theatre to the gallery, the outdoor environs to the street itself. What a wonderfully immersive way to bridge between our communities and to strengthen our ties.”
Knight said events will build on the creativity and vision of faculty, students and the professional talents of many sister organizations and collaborators. “The idea that the city is a crucible for creative interaction and collective reflection, is a powerful concept and demonstration of the arts at their most compelling,” he said.
The series will be dynamic and original and appeal to a variety of people, whether they are fans of theatre, musical performances, exhibitions or discussions.
Imagining the City will bring Brock, the downtown and the greater Niagara community face-to-face with leading arts professionals and educators, with events occurring at the MIWSFPA, Rodman Hall, and venues within the developing creative arts hub of St. Paul Street.
“At this crucial moment in the revival of our downtown the vitality of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts is manifest in programs such as the Walker Cultural Leader Series,” Knight said.
The series will consist of more than 40 wide-ranging events, including:
- performances of First Nations writer Marvin Francis’ epic poem City Treaty, adapted for the St. Catharines setting (September);
- a Guitar Extravaganza concert featuring faculty, alumni and aficionados of the classical guitar in the local community (November);
- Confluence, a walking project and virtual reconstruction by acclaimed artist Elizabeth Chitty offering the student community and public an opportunity to explore the environs beyond our new building (January);
- a collaboration between the Shaw Festival and the Department of Dramatic Arts on a staged reading of George Bernard Shaw’s play Major Barbara, entitled Major Barbara/Major Predictions(February);
- a concert by the Department of Music’s Wind Ensemble in St. Catharines’ Market Square (March).
The full program can be found here. Stay connected on social media by following @miwsfpa and #itc.
All events for Imagining the City are free, and open to the public (the only exception being Poor by Essential Collective Theatre, co-presented by FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre with production assistance by DART).
For more information or to arrange interviews: Marie Balsom, Communications Coordinator, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University [email protected], 905.688.5550 x4765
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Brock Mobile App available.
Brock University has recently released a mobile resource app that lets Brock students, staff, and faculty quickly access campus and local resources 24/7. For more information on this useful app and how to download it click HERE.apps, Brock Mobile, Brock University, mobile app
Categories: Announcements, Current Students, News -
Looking for a Humanities Context Credit? DART 1F95
Drama in Education & Applied Theatre I
Releasing your Creative SideThrough collective creation and collaboration with classmates students learn how drama can be used for social change, team building, and as a learning tool. Students can experience the meaning of social commitment through dramatic creations that provoke, inform, celebrate, and respond to local and global events.
DART 1F95
9:00-‐10:00 (Seminar)
+
10:00-‐1:00 (Studio/Lab)
(W or R)
(See calendar for details)contact [email protected] for more information
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DART, MUSI and MARS present in Toronto at PLS (Poculi Ludique Societas) Festival of Medieval Theatre
COLLEAGUES, STUDENTS, FRIENDS & FAMILY, If you were in Toronto in early June you were fortunate to see a performance of:Visitatio Sepulchri
(the Visit to the Sepulchre)A 12th-CENTURY EASTER MUSIC DRAMA
acting version transcribed and translated
by W. L. Smoldon from the ‘Fleury Playbook’A collaboration between:
Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies,
Department of Dramatic Arts, Department of MusicPart of the PLS (Poculi Ludique Societas) Festival of Medieval Theatre.
When: Saturday, June 6, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 7, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Trinity College Chapel University of Toronto, 6 Hoskin AvenueMusic Director: Dr. Brian Power, Department of Music
Stage Director: Professor Virginia Reh, Department of Dramatic Arts
The company of Visitatio Sepulchri in the Trinity College Chapel. Photograph by Mrs. Chin Tso.
Hear ye! Hear ye! the excellent program for our event on September 18th!
MEDIA RELEASE
Brock University has recently released a mobile resource app that lets Brock students, staff, and faculty quickly access campus and local resources 24/7. For more information on this useful app and how to download it click 
Drama in Education & Applied Theatre I
COLLEAGUES, STUDENTS, FRIENDS & FAMILY, If you were in Toronto in early June you were fortunate to see a performance of: