Events

  • Creative collaboration sets stage for new student play

    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 

    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.

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    Categories: Current Students, Performance Season, Plays

  • DART Invitationals provide a unique audition process at Brock

    Image caption: Participants of Brock University’s Dramatic Arts March Invitational create and explore a piece of theatre together.

    Thursday, March 20, 2025 | by 

    High school students across Canada are preparing for Brock University’s upcoming DART Invitationals.

    DART, an acronym that refers to the Dramatic Arts program at Brock University, recently held their first annual invitational of the year on March 1. Students who received a conditional offer of admission to the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Dramatic Arts or Bachelor of Arts (Honours)/Dramatic Arts Concurrent Education programs were invited to attend the invitational, held at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), as a part of their admissions process.

    Unlike other, more traditional auditions, students who attended the invitational participated in a series of workshops that allowed them to develop introductory skills in performance, creation, design and production. The day gave students an opportunity to use what they learned to work together and create a piece of theatre with their peers.

    In preparation for the second invitational on May 3, The Brock Press spoke to DART student Adia Buckle — who participated in the process in May 2024 — about her experience being a part of the event.

    Buckle said while she got nervous driving herself from her hometown of Hamilton, she was “so excited to create.”

    The day started with a series of activities that allowed Buckle and her fellow classmates to get comfortable in the space they would be working in. The attendees, having been asked to read Sophocles’ play Antigone, all came with an essay they had prepared about the work. Their reading and writing helped guide them, inspiring many of the pieces they worked on throughout the day.

    This work was facilitated by upper-year student volunteers, professors and other Brock staff, allowing students like Buckle the opportunity to meet some of their future DART peers. David Vivian, a professor in the Dramatic Arts department at Brock, said he thinks professors and the current students are the heart of the DART invitational experience.

    “The Chair of the Department, Jennifer Roberts Smith, and the Invitational team of faculty and students, begin the day with presentations to the applicants and their parents and guardians about the program […] and then about the ideas that circulate in and inform our understanding of the play that we have asked our applicants to come prepared to investigate and explore during the day [of the invitational],” said Vivian.

    By allowing students to work with their prospective instructors, Vivian believes DART places all their applicants on a path to success for when they arrive in September. The process also allows students to get acquainted with the campus.

    “I had an opportunity to meet some of my future classmates,” said Buckle, an experience that gave her and her peers something to talk about when classes started in the fall. “Even figuring out where the bathrooms were prior to the first week of school was a comfort to me in those first days of university where everything was a little scary.”

    But most meaningful to Buckle was the experience she had working with her group to create a piece of theatre. “The moment where all of us were excitedly brainstorming, our passion at an all-time high,” said Buckle, “that is my favourite part of theatre creation.”

    While Buckle has spent much of her life working in the theatre world, she said the adrenaline of that moment is what draws her back to the work time after time. Getting to work alongside fellow artists and creatives helped cement her choice to pursue studies in dramatic arts at Brock University.

    Creating this feeling is the goal for Vivian and the other event organizers, as Vivian said participants often report that the experience helped them make sure they were making the right choice.

    “[Students] often remark that our methods and the context of learning at the MIWSFPA are different than what they’ve experienced when applying for other programs,” said Vivian, “and that by participating in the Invitational, they’ve discovered something that is unique and attractive to them.”

    Vivian, much like the students who attend the invitational, has found that his favourite part of the process is getting to learn about applicants’ dreams and hopes for the future, as well as what matters most in their lives.

    “Our applicants never fail to impress us with the depth and breadth of their passion for making theatre,” said Vivian, “whether by teaching theatre to youth in their future careers as teachers, as theatre artists, content generators, scholars and researchers, [or] as entrepreneurs and community leaders who want to make change in our world.”

    The work that Vivian and his colleagues are doing is important and timely, shaping young artistic minds to ensure the future of dramatic arts is in exceptionally good hands.

    Read the article directly here: https://brockpress.com/dart-invitationals-provide-a-unique-audition-process-at-brock/

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future students, News

  • Brock to make splash with Metamorphoses mainstage

    Image caption: Brock University’s Dramatic Arts mainstage performance of Ovid’s Metamorphoses opens this Friday, Feb. 28 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre.

    Monday, February 24, 2025 | by 

    Creative minds in Brock University’s Faculty of Humanities have joined forces to bring an epic ancient Roman poem to life on stage.

    The Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) will present playwright Mary Zimmerman’s award-winning adaption of Metamorphoses — complete with a challenging stage element sure to make waves with audiences.

    The play, which includes a large pool of water central to the production, opens Friday, Feb. 28 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre stage in downtown St. Catharines.

    Though the original literary work dates back more than 2,000 years, Metamorphoses continues to capture imaginations across creative and academic disciplines. Written in Latin by Ovid, a Roman poet exiled by emperor Augustus in 8 CE, the collection of myths explores themes of transformation, beauty and struggle in the ancient world.

    “Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation shows how powerless people are empowered through Ovid’s stories, and we hope the hilarity and poignant drama will open similar transformations for audiences,” said retired DART Associate Professor Gyllian Raby, who is directing the production.

    Adam Rappold, Assistant Professor of Classics and Archaeology, teaches a course dedicated to Ovid’s Metamorphoses and worked on the mainstage as Dramaturge —  an expert in the interpretation and composition of theatrical works, often advising on the text and how it is represented on stage.

    Rappold advised on the poem’s literary devices and shared insights with the cast about storytelling and the construction of myths.

    “Contemporary artists and scholars have re-examined the rebelliousness of Ovid’s poem and rediscovered the critique of the Roman Empire, revealing the full compassionate range of the exiled Ovid’s vision,” he said.

    Raby says that theatrically, this has been the most challenging play she has tackled to date. She credits the production team at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts for rising to the occasion.

    The DART cast and production crew created a technically advanced and visually stunning stage environment, including the large pool of water famously called for by Zimmerman’s adaptation.

    DART Technical Director Gavin Fearon said throughout rehearsals, the production crew have continued to discover new aspects of the pool’s impact on every element of the show including choreography, props and lighting.

    “Students in every role are navigating challenges introduced by the water,” he said. “The costumes team in particular, needed to track wet and dry quick changes in under 30 seconds.”

    Audiences will also experience original music of composer and DART sound design Instructor Joe Lapinski (BA ’99) who has drawn inspiration from the ancient Greek philosophical idea that celestial bodies make music, known as the “music of the spheres.”

    Voice Instructor and soprano Leanne Vida in the Department of Music coached individual singers in the production, including fourth-year actor Maddox Keller, who also took on the role of Choral Conductor.

    Metamorphoses opens Friday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines. Performances will also take place Saturday, March 1; Friday, March 7; and Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 2.

    General admission tickets are $25 and tickets for students and seniors are $20. Visit Brock University Tickets to reserve seats.

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    Categories: Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, News, Performance Season, Plays

  • Dramatic Arts welcomes celebrated theatre leader for mainstage production

    Image caption: Simone Cinapri (left), a fourth-year Concurrent Education student with teachables in Dramatic Arts (DART) and History, rehearses on stage at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre with guest Director Soheil Parsa and second-year DART student Lennon Paul (right) in preparation for DART’s mainstage production of Scorched.

    Director and writer Soheil Parsa is bringing his award-winning theatre expertise and artistry to Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Parsa, co-founder and former artistic director of Modern Times Stage Company in Toronto, is directing Scorched, a bold, innovative play written by Wajdi Mouawad, for the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) fall mainstage production. Parsa was Dramatic Arts Walker Cultural Leader for the 2023-24 season.

    With set and costume design by DART Associate Professor and Scenographer David Vivian, the deeply political and philosophical play explores fate, retribution and the human capacity for violence and destruction.

    Scorched tells the story of Nawal, a woman who fled a country tormented by violence, and her twins, Janine and Simon, who were raised in Quebec. Following Nawal’s death, the twins must return to their mother’s war-torn country to carry out her last wishes and deliver letters to their father, believed dead, and a brother they didn’t know they had.

    Parsa said Scorched strongly resonates with the events shaping the world today.

    “In this remarkable poetic piece, Mouawad explores the darker sides of human nature, contemporary barbarism, dehumanization in the face of war, friendship, separation, love and loss,” he said.

    Fourth-year Concurrent Education student Simone Cinapri, who plays the role of Janine, said Parsa guided the cast and creative team through the challenging script with patience and wisdom.

    “Beyond developing my skills as an actor, this experience has taught me about dedication, communication and creativity, lessons I will carry with me beyond my time at Brock,” she said.

    Cinapri explored how to bring characters like Janine to life — characters Parsa described as archetypal beings representing the essence of human hope, struggle and failure — as a tribute to women who have been affected by war and sexual violence.

    “By exploring the cycle of violence experienced by immigrant families in the play, I have drawn connections to my own family who faced many barriers to live in Canada today,” she said. “I am so grateful for DART’s dedication to providing memorable learning opportunities through mainstage productions.”

    Vivian, who attended National Theatre School with Mouawad, said the DART students involved in the production have “carried the characters in the play very carefully in our hearts these past few months.”

    “Digging deep into the histories and destinies of a multi-generation family led by women of great humanity has been simultaneously a privilege and a challenging responsibility for the artists of DART,” he said.

    Scorched opens Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines. Performances will also take place Saturday, Nov. 2, Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3.

    General admission tickets are available for $25 and tickets for students and seniors are available for $20. Visit the DART event website to reserve tickets.

    The public is also invited to a mini symposium on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Film House (FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre) for an engaging conversation with lead creatives from the production and guest scholars from Brock’s Faculties of Humanities and Applied Health Sciences. Free registration, ticket required.

    Content Advisory: The production contains mature content and is only recommended for individuals aged 16 and up.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Media Releases, News, Performance Season, Plays

  • Groundbreaking artists bring inspiration to Niagara

    Image caption: Award-winning multidisciplinary artist Jani Lauzon (left) and artist and scholar Camille Turner will bring their creative expertise to Brock this fall as part of the 2024-25 Walker Cultural Leader Series.

    Friday, August 30, 2024 | by 

    From nurturing Indigenous-settler reconciliation through theatre creation and exposing silenced Black histories through an immersive art exhibition, Brock is bringing unique, hands-on learning experiences to the campus and wider community this fall.

    As the University kicks off its 60th anniversary celebrations, a new season of compelling cultural events, workshops and lectures launches in September as part of Brock’s 2024-25 Walker Cultural Leader (WCL) Series presented by the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Supported by the generosity of the late Marilyn I. Walker, the series enriches local creative and intellectual life by inviting recognized cultural leaders, top researchers, scholars, professionals and visiting artists from all disciplines to Brock’s downtown arts school.

    MIWSFPA Director and Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts Linda Carreiro said the significant impact of arts and culture at Brock, and society at large, is highlighted by the work of renowned visiting artists and scholars in this year’s lineup.

    “It’s always such a pleasure to host cultural leaders with deep knowledge and expertise who are so willing to share their talents with the local community,” Carreiro said. “Our Walker Cultural Leaders provide not only examples of artistic excellence, but this year’s series also facilitates important conversations about respectful and meaningful collaboration, inclusion, reconciliation and redress.”

    The series begins Saturday, Sept. 7 with creative workshops, led by celebrated Montréal-based visual artist Marc-Alexandre Dumoulin, exploring art making and how art is defined.

    In October, award-winning artist and scholar Camille Turner, whose work combines Afrofuturism and history, will bring her Afronautic Research Lab project to the MIWSFPA Visual Arts Gallery in an immersive exhibition. She will also provide a workshop, Afronautic Research Methodology, to students and members of the public on Saturday, Oct. 5, with advance registration required.

    Gemini award recipient Jani Lauzon, a multidisciplinary artist of Métis, French and Finnish ancestry, will take the stage at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre’s Film House on Wednesday, Oct. 2 for a public talk alongside Kaitlyn Riordin. The two co-authored the play 1939, which takes place in a fictional residential school in northern Ontario.

    Lauzon will continue to work with Dramatic Arts (DART) students, faculty and theatre production staff throughout the year in workshops on Indigenous productions in preparation for an upcoming DART mainstage production led by Métis DART faculty member Matthew MacKenzie.

     

    In the winter, Chicago-based composer, performer and music educator John Robert Matz will be in residency at Brock for a “sound jam” in partnership with Digital Humanities where participants will create video game prototypes using sound in innovative ways.

    Matz will also give a public lecture at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre about his experience of being invited to compose the score for the game Tchia (Awaceb2023) by members of New Caledonia, offering perspective on ethical, cross-cultural collaborations with Indigenous communities.

    Many of the WCL Series events are open to the public. Visit the MIWSFPA WCL website for more information on the visiting speakers and registration information.

    “Marilyn I. Walker’s generous gift continues to support impactful programming for our students and for the public who take part in the events,” Carreiro said.

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    Categories: Events, News, Uncategorised

  • Creativity abounds at inaugural voice conference

    A group of professional voice and speech educators recently came together at Brock to share ideas and ignite discussion about the field of voice work in the arts.

    The newly formed National Voice Association/Association Nationale De La Voix (NVA/ANV) conference took place at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts on June 8 and 9.

    With the theme of ‘Beginnings’ guiding the sessions and events, NVA/ANV welcomed organization members and non-members to attend events spanning a diverse offering of topics meant to spark inspiration among attendees.

    Following a Welcome Song shared by Strong Water Singers, sessions and workshops ranged from play readings, breath​ release work, exploring nuances of voicework and script-based theatre practices, and an opportunity to pose questions related to the future of the profession.

    At the core of the event was a shared interest to listen to the stories of voicework professionals from diverse cultures and backgrounds.  Guests attended from across the country including British Columba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Ontario, as well as many Canadians teaching in New York, Michigan, and California.

    Danielle Wilson, Dramatic Arts Associate Professor, said the reach of the organization is already apparent as attendance and interest exceeded expectations.

    “Canada is such a large country geographically, and there is a hunger for conversation and collaboration among voicework professionals in the performing Arts. We are all excited to begin our journey together as a national organization,” Wilson said.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, Uncategorised

  • Voice Work the focus of special edition Canadian Theatre Review

    Dramatic Arts Associate Professor Danielle Wilson’s interest in voice work began with her very first voice class when she began her theatre education. The actor quickly realized how her voice was tied to her identity, and how much power it could have.

    Through her professional practice and creative research, Wilson now aims to broaden the definition of what voice work is and highlight its profound impact on theatre practice.

    Wilson recently co-curated and co-edited a special edition of the Canadian Theatre Review (CTR) dedicated to voice work.

    The special edition investigates voice work within a broad context expanding on the notion that voice work is solely a skills-based subject for performers.

    “Many people may think that voice work is only about projecting your voice, enunciating, and performing accents. While those are fundamental elements, I wanted to look beyond the basics and explore what ‘voice work’ means in all its complexity. The work goes beyond what we sound like when we speak”, Wilson says.

    There are eleven articles in the issue which delve into the ways that voice work intersects with other areas and disciplines such as social justice, cultural and gender identity, feminist philosophy, and performance practice.

    Wilson found it fascinating, and at times challenging, to curate and edit an issue about a discipline so tied to sound and physical presence.

    As part of the issue, Wilson interviewed three prominent voice coaches at the Stratford Festival — the only theatre company in Canada with a dedicated team of voice professionals —  to illuminate what a voice coach does and help expand the common understanding of voice work.

    Another contributor, Jane MacFarlane, explores how theatre-based vocal practice can help people support their gender identity.  MacFarlane offers gender affirming voice classes through a transgender support organization in Calgary.

    Peruvian-born scholar Nae Hanashiro Ávila discusses voice work and performance through a social justice lens and how it can provide a platform for women’s voices to be heard in the public sphere.

    “At the root of voice work is self-expression by helping people embrace who they are. It’s not about developing a brand-new voice but about expanding and deepening your relationship with your voice and all that it can do”, Wilson says.

    “One of my mentors, voice teacher Richard Armstrong, said, ‘If you work on your voice, you work on yourself’. That has always resonated with me.”

    Wilson is also helping to organize and host the inaugural conference for the newly formed National Voice Association which will take place at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts from June 8-9th.

    The CTR special edition is now available on the Canadian Theatre Review website.

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    Categories: Announcements, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, Uncategorised

  • Announcing DART Open Studies and Summer Institute

    The Department of Dramatic Arts is launching the summer of 2024 with a selection of learning and creative theatre-making opportunities at both the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines, at the Stratford Festival, and at theatres in Toronto and the region.  Many of the courses have online learning components.

    Following the Spring Session course, DART 1F01 Acting for Non Majors, a successful online course that began April 29, Dramatic Arts has opened registration to a selection of courses for non-Dramatic Arts students, alumni, students from other universities, and members of the public. This is an especially good opportunity for recent alumni looking to build their professional networks, graduate students looking for research-creation experience, or for other non-DART students looking to get some creative research experience in theatre and/or work on a particular project of interest.

    This includes:

    DART 3P91 Shakespeare in Performance and DART 4P51 Shakespeare: Voice and Text: two-weeks of viewing, studying, and performing Shakespeare with members of the Stratford Festival company in Stratford, Ontario. June 10-22, 2024.

    DART 3P40 Self-Producing: a two week, online intensive preparing students to produce independent projects with producer, writer, and director Matt Mackenzie. Online. June 24-July 6, 2024.

    DART 4P94 Creative and Critical Responses to Theatre: three weeks of viewing and responding to professional theatre in the GTA and Niagara region with theatre critic Karen Fricker.  Online and at the theatres. July 15-Aug 2, 2024.

    DART 3P90 Performance Research Workshop: five weeks of creative research and development workshops with professional theatre companies at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. June 7-July 26, 2024.

    DART 3F90 Performance Research Project: five weeks of staged workshop development with Hamilton’s Red Beti Theatre at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    July 29-August 30, 2024

    Members of the public interested in registering for these courses, including roles as creative researchers in the Summer Institute program, may join us through the Open Studies program. Open studies is a good opportunity for anyone (eg. artists, producers, teachers, recent alumni, mature students) to enhance skills in a particular area, take a course for interest, or try out DART before applying to a degree program. This will be of particular interest to people interested in the self-producing and theatre criticism courses! If you are taking the course for credit, tuition is charged, but the application process is very quick and easy.  Brock University Open Studies is available to people with all educational backgrounds, is part-time study, does not require you to enroll in a full certificate or degree, and has no formal admission requirements. Folks participating in the Summer Institute as creative researchers are not obliged to enrol in a course; they can also apply to participate part -time on just one or a few projects.

    See the Open Studies and Summer Institute flyers for more information.

     

    Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, News, Uncategorised

  • DART students journey to whimsical world in original production

    Pictured above: Fourth-year Dramatic Arts students use lighting effects and props to create shadow puppetry portraying a fantasy world of their creation in their upcoming show Truth & Other Things: A Journey Through Alitheia.

    Fourth-year Dramatic Arts (DART) students have been hard at work creating a new play that promises to transport audiences to a magical world full of surprises.

    Truth & Other Things: A Journey Through Alitheia follows five individuals who are whisked off on a magical journey that challenges their strengths and sense of self. Bound together by fate, the wanderers are put to the ultimate test when asked to rely on someone they struggle to trust: themselves.

    Presented by Patchwork Productions (DART 4F56: Advanced Studies in Theatre Practice), the show opens on Thursday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre in downtown St. Catharines.

    Led by Instructor Mike Griffin, DART students formed a vibrant theatre collective over the course of the academic year and have been working on every aspect of staging the show, from conceptualizing the story and writing the script to composing music and choreographing movement.

    The theatre collective chose Patchwork Productions as their name to reflect the process of artistic collaboration they have undertaken as a group since September using movement, music, puppetry and dialogue.

    Fourth-year DART student and Head of Construction Genevieve Batista said that the creative process felt like piecing together pieces of a patchwork to create a cohesive final play.

    “We are telling a story together and helping each other out whenever we can; that’s what this year has been all about,” Batista said.

    “This is a unique experience for everyone involved as we are exploring different media that some of us haven’t touched before,” said Benoit St-Aubin, fourth-year DART student and Associate Director of the production.

    Griffin said this is a significant course for students in Dramatic Arts with the faculty member acting as a mentor and guide for students as they take ownership of all facets of devising and producing a play.

    “This is an invaluable, hands-on experience that prepares them well for their next steps as theatre creators,” he said.

    Truth & Other Things: A Journey Through Alitheia runs from Thursday, March 28 to Saturday, March 30 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. Tickets can be purchased through Brock University Tickets.

    Categories: Events, News, Performance Season, Plays

  • Inaugural theatre festival showcases talents of Niagara student artists

    Image caption: As part of the inaugural Niagara Regional STAR Festival held at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, students from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School staged a short performance in Studio C following a morning of workshops honing their creative skills.

    Elementary and high school students from across Niagara recently gathered at Brock to take the stage and put their theatre skills to the test.

    Hosted by Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) in partnership with the Theatrical Arts Education Association, the inaugural Niagara Regional STAR Festival(School Theatrical Arts Recognition) saw more than 150 students, teachers and theatre professionals gather for a day of workshops, performances and community building on Thursday, Dec. 14.

    The festival allows young people to compete against a rubric created by theatre educators while receiving valuable feedback from professionals in the industry.

    Throughout the day, students participated in workshops led by local theatre professionals and educators exploring topics such as vocal techniques, improvisation and community building.

    A.N. Myer Secondary School student Leah Miller said that it was a fun day learning about different art forms.

    “Having the opportunity to try out new things like improv and vocal skills has been a wonderful experience,” said Miller.

    Students presented skills developed in their school drama classes and performed theatrical pieces in categories including contrasting monologues, musical theatre ensembles, solos and short plays. The categories were adjudicated by theatre experts, including Brock faculty and Dramatic Arts students.

    “The only requirement was that students bring their best efforts. No costumes, sets, lighting or makeup was required, just their best work and theatre blacks,” said Tracy Garratt, Program Leader for the Arts, School Culture and Student Engagement with the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) and Teacher at A.N. Myer Secondary School in Niagara Falls.

    Associate Professor and Scenographer David Vivian, the Brock faculty lead, said the community partnership with the STAR Festival not only offered emerging student artists the opportunity to showcase their talents and creativity, but also to receive feedback fostering creative growth in a supportive environment.

    “The faculty and senior students of the Dramatic Arts program at the MIWSFPA were thrilled with the opportunity to discover the emerging talent of the region and to share our excellent facilities with the high school community,” Vivian said.

    The event was supported by local organizations sharing a common mandate of supporting youth and their families with wellness resources, especially focusing on mental health.

    In addition to the participation of local arts organizations, representatives of the Vancouver Film School (VFS) travelled to Niagara to lead workshops on acting for the camera, strengthening ties between DART’s undergraduate programming and a professional program such as VFS.

    For more information about the event, please visit the Theatrical Arts Education Association website.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future students, News, Performance Season, Plays, Uncategorised