Events

• Blood Relations

  Tuesday, October 12, 2010 | By Nikki Prudden

  Written by Sharon Pollock

  Directed by Danielle Wilson
  Designed by Kelly Wolf

  November 11, 12, 13, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
  Student Matinee: Friday, November 12, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.

  “Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks…” In June of 1893, Lizzie Borden stood trial for the brutal murders of her father and stepmother, thus inspiring the popular children’s rhyme. Borden was acquitted but the crime was never solved. So did she, or didn’t she?

  Held at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, call the Centre for the Arts Box Office, 905-688-5550, ext. 3257 for tickets.
  Adult $15 / Seniors $12 / Students $12 / Groups $10 / eyeGo $5
  Presented by the Department of Dramatic Arts.

  Please see the MEDIA RELEASE

  High School teachers and Educators: A description of the play and the performance is available for download (3 mb, PDF). Subjects include: The Play, Artistic Direction, Curriculum Ties, Student Matinee Booking, Study Guide/School Outreach.

  Blood Relations: A Primer, is an introduction to our production, written by our Dramaturge and Fourth Year DART student, Spencer Smith. Included are: 1. Production Synopsis; 2. Lizzie Borden: The Legend; 3. Veins of Blood Relations; 4. Director’s Notes; 5. Sharon Pollock: The Playwright; 6. Collaboration; 7. List of Figures; 8. Bibliography.

  Download your PDF copy of Blood Relations: A Primer (PDF, 10.3 MB, remotely hosted)

  Tags: Blood Relations, Danielle Wilson, Kelly Wolf, Lizzie Borden, Mainstage, plays, Sharon Pollock
  Categories: Events, Plays

• Lyric Canada 2010

  Sunday, September 12, 2010 | By Brock University

  LyricCANADA 2010 – Thursday, October 21 through Saturday, October 23, 2010.

  Brock University, St. Catharines ON (daytime program)
  Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake (evening program)

  Lyric Canada 2010 is an inaugural international conference consisting of one Keynote presentation, two Plenary presentations, Moderated Roundtable, 14 presentations by scholars and practitioners, and 15 Showcase presentations involving composers, librettists and performers.

  Lyric Canada 2010 will bring together creators of lyric theatre in Canada and abroad with scholars whose research does or could encompass their work. In this context the term “lyric theatre” encompasses a wide range of dramatic works in which sung text is an integral part. Thus it includes cabaret, musicals, operetta, opera and all points in between.

  By uniting a transnational group of researchers and creators of lyric theatre, we intend to develop a network from which to draw inspiration, expertise and experience for anyone pursuing research or production of this unique art form.

  Why is this an important event?
   This is an innovative ground-breaking project that nobody else is doing.
   For the Department of Dramatic Arts and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts this conference broadcasts Community Outreach and collaboration with the Shaw Festival, our major international collaborator in cultural creation and industry in the Niagara Peninsula.
   We are fostering the development and enrichment of Pedagogical Experiences and Institutional Relationships.
   We are bringing internationally known Composers and Writers to share their creative intelligence and experience with the Brock and Niagara communities.

  SHOWCASE PRESENTATIONS AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL

  A special component of the conference program will be the presentation of new and recent works in the Lyric CANADA 2010 Showcase. The Shaw Festival is a major collaborator in this project, facilitating three evenings of presentation of new and recent works in the Lyric Canada 2010 Showcase program in the Studio Theatre at the Shaw Festival. Details of the Showcase program are available on the website lyriccanada.ca. The program includes:

  Leslie Arden One Step Forward 
  Tapestry New Opera: Tapestry’s Creative Process: Marjorie Chan, Writer in Residence as hostess; A writer/composer team from the most recent LIBLAB; 2 Opera Briefs (10 minutes)
  Paul Sportelli, Jay Turvey, and members of the Shaw Company Maria Severa
  Bram Gielen, Tracy Michailidis, with the Summerworks hit Biggish Kids
  among other established and new artists on the Canadian and American lyric theatre scene.

  Tickets to the Showcase performances are available through the
  Centre for the Arts Box Office at Brock University boxoffice.brocku.ca
  (search for lyric)
  905.688.5550 x 3257 (within local region only) or 1.866.617.3257 (outside local region)
  Cost: $25.00 for one evening program; $65.00 for all three evening programs

  PLENARY SPEAKERS

  Stewart Wallace (the composer of Harvey Milk and The Bonesetters Daughter) is coming from Texas en route to China to present the Keynote speech: FATE! LUCK! CHANCE! Adventures in Opera Making

  Sarah Schlesinger, Chair of Graduate Musical Theatre Writing at the Tisch School of Arts (NYU), Sarah is a multiple award-wining lyricist and librettist – her works include The Ballad of Little Joe, Prairie Songs, and Swing Shift. Sarah will be speaking about nurturing and training the next generation of writers and composers in lyric theatre. We are also programming a pedagogical experience between herself and students of the Departments of Music and Dramatic Arts wherein students of Brock can learn from this powerhouse writer in lyric theatre in an intensive workshop moment.

  Our very special guest Canadian Plenary speaker is Jim Betts, Canadian composer, lyricist, and librettist (Colours in the Storm, Thin Ice, Shooting of Dan McGrew), and author of Field of Stars: Songs of the Canadian Musical Theatre (2004) and Field of Stars: More Songs of the Canadian Musical Theatre (2008) (Toronto: Northern River Music). Jim’s provocative presentation is entitled Why Canadians Can’t Write Musicals (And Why Almost No One Else Can, Either)

  PANEL PRESENTATIONS

  Thirty panel presenters from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States complete the wealth of the panel program to be presented at Brock University.

  A selection of the three-day program includes:

  JOINT SESSION:
  Robert Walsh, composer will present From the Ashes: The development of lyrics in The Forbidden Phoenix, with Wayne Strongman and Tapestry New Opera, Toronto speaking about their production Iron Road

  JOINT SESSION: Kathryn Harvey, University of Guelph’s L. W. Conolly Theatre Archives and Francesca Marini, Stratford Festival, ON, will speak about the challenges of archiving performance, particularly musical theatre, and the wealth of their respective archival collections.

  Mel Atkey, London-based author of Broadway North: The Dream of a Canadian Musical Theatre will speak about his new volume: A Million Miles from Broadway: Musical Theatre from a Universal Perspective

  Julie Salverson, Queen’s University, ON will present Opera meets clown and the Atomic Bomb . . . The development of Shelter 

  Sheldon Rosen, Ryerson University, and Darren Russo, McGill University, will present Hansel & Gretel: Typographic Play

  Please see the online programme schedule at lyriccanada.ca

  The Conference may be attended in whole or in part. Members of the public are welcome to the conference or only attend the evening performances at the Shaw Festival.

  Conference Registration is available at the conference website lyriccanada.ca
  Cost: $150.00 to 290.00 depending upon program and including the Showcase program.

  questions or inquiries, please contact:

  Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University
  Niagara Region | 500 Glenridge Ave. | St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1
  mbalsom@brocku.ca | T 905 688 5550 x4765 | F 905 378 5712

  Your hosts for LyricCANADA 2010:

  Professors Virginia Reh (Dramatic Arts)
  vreh@brocku.ca

  David Vivian (Dramatic Arts/Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture)
  dvivian@brocku.ca

  LyricCANADA 2010 is produced with the generous support of:

  Brock SSHRC Institutional Grant (BSIG)
  The Humanities Research Institute of Brock University
  The Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  The Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture
  The Department of Dramatic Arts
  The Department of Music
  Centre of Teaching, Learning and Educational Technologies, at Brock University

  and our special collaborator
  The Shaw Festival

  Hospitality vehicle provided by St. Catharines Mazda

  website: lyriccanada.ca
  general enquiries: info@lyriccanada.ca

  Tags: Lyric Canada, Lyric Canada 2010, Shaw Festival
  Categories: Announcements, Events, News

• In the Soil: Niagara’s Homegrown Arts Festival 2010

  Wednesday, May 05, 2010 | By Brock University

  

  DART students, graduates, and faculty participated in the second annual In the Soil: Niagara’s Homegrown Arts Festival. The festival featured 70 events in 11 venues in St. Catharines and area.

  Click on the logo for more information.

  Tags: In the Soil
  Categories: Events

• Theatre at Brock embraces BIG LOVE

  Wednesday, January 27, 2010 | By Brock University

  

  From left: Sadie Isaak, Rebecca Durance-Hine, Jacqueline Costa. Photo credit: Bethany Scholl

  Performance Dates:

  Thurs., Feb. 11, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
  Fri., Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
  Sat., Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

  Location: Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue in St. Catharines, Ontario

  Tickets: $15 adults; $12 seniors & students; $10 groups; The Department of Dramatic Arts is proud to be a partner of eyeGo to the Arts, encouraging high school students to attend live performing arts through an innovative $5 ticket program.
  Announcing $5 Friday! – attend the matinee performance on Fri., Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. for only $5 – available to holders of Brock ID cards.
  Available at the Centre for the Arts Box Office, 905-688-5550, ext. 3257, or e-mail boxoffice@brocku.ca.

  Charles Mee’s contemporary look at Aeschylus’s Greek tragedy The Suppliant Women is an astonishingly fresh take on an age-old story: love versus power.

  BIG LOVE tells the story of fifty brides (all sisters) who flee from arranged marriages to fifty grooms (their cousins) who pursue them across the sea to Italy. Three of the brides seek asylum in an Italian family’s villa. When their hosts are unable to negotiate their way through the moral predicament and allow the forced marriages, the brides make a murderous pact to kill their husbands on their wedding night. One of them fails to kill. Who betrayed whom?

  Director Gyllian Raby states, ”I am drawn to the play because it has the scale of a Greek tragedy, but it is dressed in the global culture of today. Mee invites a wild post-modern performativity, but his story is so deeply sourced in western culture that it is very accessible.” Designer Karyn McCallum has set our production in an installation suggestive of a temple-gymnasium where the body wrestles with the spirit. Mattel’s gendered Ken and Barbie dolls hang from the lighting grid and punch-bag mannikin forms are anchored to the stage floor. A deeply passionate movement score with choreography from Gemini nominated Director and Award winning Choreographer Allen Kaeja conveys chaotic savagery and the tenderness of love, as well as the dark endurance of the survivor.

  BIG LOVE showcases the talents of students in Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts undergraduate acting classes: Rebecca Durance-Hine, Jacqueline Costa, Sadie Isaak, Rob MacMenamin, Corey Mehlenbacher, Trevor Ketcheson, Jen Bender, Chris Boyle, Michael Pearson, Eric Frank, Dylan Mawson and Kasey Dunn.

  BIG LOVE exhibits the extremes of passion as it explores two impossibilities: love and forgiveness. Performed on stage at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University, performances are held on Thurs., Feb. 11, 2010 at 7:30 p.m., Fri., Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sat., Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

  Such productions by the Department of Dramatic Arts are a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and the breadth of talent and creativity at Brock University.
  Media Day: Thurs., Feb. 4, 2010 at 6 p.m. held at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University.

   

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  Tags: Big Love, Mainstage, plays
  Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, Plays

• Big Love

  Monday, January 11, 2010 | By Nikki Prudden

  

  By CHARLES MEE
  Director: Gyllian Raby
  Scenographer: Karyn McCallum
  Click here for Media Release  in PDF format, or here to see it online.

  Performance 1 (Opening): Thursday February 11, 7:30 pm
  Performance 2: Friday February 12, 1:00 pm
  (group and student Matinee)
  Performance 3: Friday February 12, 7:30 pm
  Performance 4: (Closing): Saturday February 13, 7:30 pm

  DART’s February production, Big Love, is American Charles Mee’s contemporary update of Aeschylus’ The Suppliants. First performed circa 423 BC, The Suppliants is one of the oldest plays in the world and the only play to survive from the trilogy in which it originated. Aeschylus titled the trilogy The Danaids after the daughters of Danaius who are also the protagonists of his play.

  Big Love took America by storm in 2000 to 2003 precisely because Mee is in tune with his age. It is not just the ideas and the exhilarating physicality within Mee’s plays that caught the attention of America, but also his use of freeware. Posting the script online provided an open invitation for people to re-make the play however they would like.

  The intensity of the scenario bursts the bounds of rational discourse and must sometimes be danced, sung, howled and fought out. Designer Karyn McCallum has set our production in an installation where Mattel’s gendered Ken and Barbie dolls hang from the lighting grid and punch-bag forms are anchored to the stage floor. Together, they reach for one another in an uneasy balance. Some of the music proposed by Mee will be used in the production but paired with contemporary pieces selected for this version. A deeply passionate movement score with some choreography from Allen Kaeja (of Toronto’s independent dance company Kaeja d’dance) moves the play through an exhaustive demonstration of the gender anxieties felt by men and women alike, to a finale that lies beyond justice. The production aims to move seamlessly from pop culture to philosophy to physical extremes. This is in an attempt to convey the chaotic savagery of love, the dark psyche of the survivor and, at the end, the impossibility of justice or forgiveness.

  Educators and Counsellors:
  Big Love : A Primer, is an introduction to our production, written by our Director, Gyllian Raby
  Download your PDF copy of Big Love: A Primer

  Big Love is an intellectually and theatrically challenging show recommended to the campus community (and with teacher guidance to students in grade 11 or 12) who are interested in law, philosophy and/or classics. Students can study and discuss Big Love (which Mee has posted free online!) prior to attending the production. This will enable students to look beyond the pop-culture surface and see the underlying issues that echo yet vary from its classic antecedent.

  Photos:

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  Video:

  Click on the screenshot to the left to watch a video about our production, including an interview of the Director and DART Professor, Gyllian Raby, by DART student, Tanisha Minson (produced by Brock TV).  (NOTE: link currently broken. We are tracking down the original video.)

  Tags: Aeschylus, Big Love, Charles Mee, Gyllian Raby, Karyn McCallum, Mainstage, The Danaids, The Suppliants
  Categories: Events, Plays

• A Little Night Music

  Monday, October 12, 2009 | By Nikki Prudden

  

  Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM
  Book by HUGH WHEELER
  Suggested by a film by Ingmar Bergman

  Director: Virginia Reh
  Scenographer: David Vivian

  Three households, three generations, twisted love triangles, upstairs/downstairs come together for “A Weekend in the Country”. Tangled romance and passion in the relentless daylight of the northern midsummer night, all in 3/4 waltz time. The musical, probably best known for the song “Send in the Clowns”, is based on Ingmar Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night, which was set in turn-of-the-20th century Sweden. A fresh young approach from major collaboration between the Departments of Dramatic Arts and Music. A whirl of intoxicating music, dance and witty lyrics.

  Performance 1 (Opening): Thursday Nov. 12th, 7:30 pm
  Performance 2: Friday November 13th, 1:30 pm (group and student Matinee) ***new time/ new price!***
  Performance 3: Friday November 13th, 7:30 pm
  Performance 4: (Closing): Saturday November 14th, 7:30 pm

  Educators and Counsellors:
  A Little Night Music: A Primer is an introduction to our production, written by our Director, Virginia Reh
  Download your PDF of A Little Night Music: A Primer.

  To prepare this gem of lyric theatre the director and company of actors and singers recently took their questions right to the source. Using a video conference link-up from the famed Friars Club in Manhattan, the Canadian actor and director Len Cariou answered our students probing questions about the development of A Little Night Music for the 1973 Broadway premiere.

  Photos:

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  Video:

  Click on the screenshot to the left to watch a video about our production, including an interview with DART actors Becca Pleschke and Jordan Imray, and with the Director and DART Professor, Virgina Reh (produced by BrockTV). (NOTE: link currently broken. We are tracking down the original video.)

  Tags: A Little Night Music, David Vivian, Mainstage, Stephen Sondheim, Virginia Reh
  Categories: Events, Plays

• DART Students participate in the annual General Brock Soiree

  Saturday, November 08, 2008 | By Brock University

  Every October DART students participate in a special General Brock Soirée.  In 2008 the event was held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.  This is now a not-to-be-missed regional event held in the new Guernsey Market at Brock University’s Main Campus in St. Catharines, Ontario.

  Tags: Brock University, General Brock Soiree, Guernsey Market, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Soiree
  Categories: Events

• MEDEA

  Monday, November 03, 2008 | By Brock University

  

  click on the poster above to download your own copy. Medea Media Release: download here (PDF)

  by Euripides
  directed by Natalie Alvarez. scenography by David Vivian.

  November 13, 14, 15, 2008 @ 7:30 p.m.
  November 14, 2008 @ 11:30 a.m. Student Matinee

  An ancient Greek tragedy crashes against the shores of modern life and lingers in televised ruins.

  A riveting retelling of Euripides’ Medea set in a multi-media talk-show environment, with a musical guest appearance, live cameras, and haunting visual effects.

  Backstage Workshop, Performance, and Talk-Back Package:
  Student groups can book a Medea field-trip package that begins with a pre-show workshop led by members of the Medea creative team, faculty, and students of the Department of Dramatic Art’s Drama in Education and Society Stream.
  see here for more information: Medea Field Trip package (PDF)

  Medea Teaching Module:
  A series of thematic topics followed by discussion questions and exercises that high school teachers may use in preparation for their field trip to the Department of Dramatic Art’s production of Medea.
  download here: Medea Workshop (PDF)

  Medea promo for students (PDF file)

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  Media:

  Watch the slideshow for Medea featuring images from the production and narration provided by Natalie Alvarez, the Director of Medea:

   

  Listen to the Director of Medea, Natalie Alvarez, introduce you to the show:

  Tags: Euripides, Mainstage, Medea, plays, talk-back, teaching module, workshop
  Categories: Events, Plays

• DART 2008-09 Season

  Sunday, September 07, 2008 | By Brock University

  

  DART’s 2008/2009 season!

  November 13th, 14th, and 15th, 2008:
  Medea
  by Euripides
  . . . an ancient Greek tragedy crashes against the shores of modern life and lingers in televised ruins . . .
  Directed by Natalie Alvarez
  Designed by David Vivian

  February 12th, 13th, and 14h, 2009:
  Smash!
  Anarchic Comedy by Jeffrey Hatcher
  based on the novel by Bernard Shaw
  Directed by Gyllian Raby

  Come join us!

  Tags: 2008-09, Mainstage, Medea, smash!
  Categories: Events, Plays

• The Skriker

  Saturday, February 02, 2008 | By Brock University

  by Caryl Churchill
  directed by David Fancy, scenography by Kelly Wolf.

  Set in the throes of contemporary environmental degradation, Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker features the Earth speaking back to human beings in terrifying ways. Join the haunting!

  We have developed a Study Guide about the production – click on the link below: (be sure to use a recent version of Acrobat Reader)

  Study Guide for The Skriker

  February 14, 15, 2008 @ 7:30 p.m.
  February 16, 2008 @ 2:00 p.m.

  There is a Student Matinee at 11:30 AM on Friday, February 15, 2008. Please contact Marie Balsom for more information, at 905-688-5550 x 4765; e-mail: mbalsom@brocku.ca

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  Tags: Caryl Churchill, Mainstage, The Skriker
  Categories: Events, Plays