Image caption: Fourth-year Dramatic Arts students and members of Peregrine Theatre Co. look for hope and amidst life’s challenges in their new play Mementos. From left are Megan Mastantuono, Simon Bell, Oliver Webb Wilkinson and Maddox Keller.
Friday, April 04, 2025 | by The Brock News
Aspiring theatre artists at Brock are mining the complexity of human experience in an original production premiering at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre.
Mementos, a new play conceived and created by students in DART 4D56 Collaborative Play Development, is the result of a year-long creative exploration into the world theatre-making from the initial inspiration to final presentation.
Through fragmented storytelling that builds a wider narrative arc, Mementos captures the beauty — and ugliness — of what it means to be human. Audiences take on an active role of “onlooker” as pieces of character’s lives, full of love, loss and uncertainty, unfold on stage.
DART 4D56 gives students the opportunity to develop their artistic voices, showcase their work and gain knowledge from industry professionals by taking on the roles of a small theatre company. The ensemble, Peregrine Theatre Co., is comprised of seven students each contributing to the final production in creative and technical ways.
Fourth-year student Megan Mastantuono, Mementos Associate Director and Head of Wardrobe, said working with a small company meant collaboration was key.
“As an ensemble, we’ve done a lot of writing together to create the final play. Through writing different pieces of the production, I have discovered new things about myself. It is an emotionally charged show for all of us,” she said.
Fourth-year student Maddox Keller, Peregrine Theatre Co.’s Head of Sound Design who also performs and leads the ensembles marketing and promotion, said his most valuable takeaway is embracing the idea that developing artistic work is never finished.
“No matter how you slice it, your first draft will never be the complete product. Things will change, things will get cut, things won’t always work on the first try — and that’s OK. The work will continue to grow and develop because of these stumbles,” he said.
The first iteration of Mementos was shown in November at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) under a different name: Picking Up the Pieces. The first draft of the script was created using a variety of devising experiments and exercises, challenging the cast to create material based on personal experience and interests.
Mementos explores themes from Picking Up the Pieces, such as loss and societal commentary, refining and expanding ideas to create an immersive and impactful performance for audiences.
Fourth-year student Oliver Webb Wilkinson — Mementos’ Costume Designer, Performer, Scripter and Graphic Designer — reflected on how working on the show has impacted the group’s artistic development.
“Mementos is a big experiment for all of us. Through nonlinear storytelling we examine human connection, the balance of hope and existential worry, and what we carry with us from our pasts,” he said. “I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished thus far as a company, and I can’t wait for folks to see it.”
Mementos runs from Thursday, April 10 to Saturday, April 12 at the MIWSFPA. Tickets can be purchased through Brock University Tickets.
