Alumni

• Grads in spotlight for enhancing local arts scene

  Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | By eknight

  

  Image caption: Brock graduates Deanna Jones (BA ’02), left, and Amber Lee Williams (BA ’20) are two of five alumni who were recently honoured with arts awards from the City of St. Catharines.

  Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | by Gillian Minaker

  According to Deanna Jones (BA ’02), a thriving local arts scene allows for people to connect by sharing stories and perspectives in innovative, creative and provocative ways.

  Jones was one of five Brock graduates honoured across five categories for their creative talent and community engagement during the St. Catharines Arts Awards held Nov. 3 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (FOPAC).

  A Dramatic Arts graduate and actor, writer and director, Jones was the recipient of the 2024 Making a Difference Award. The co-founder of Suitcase in Point Multi-Arts Company is a firm believer in the power of the arts to bring about conversation, build understanding and create expressive outlets for change.

  “A dynamic arts and culture sector also provides opportunities, including paid work for artists who contribute significantly to the local economy and quality of life for people who live there,” she said.

  Jones said her experience at Brock significantly shaped who she is today, especially as the place where she connected with her future creative collaborators.

  “As students, we were provided a platform to take risks and challenge ourselves,” she said. “I continued my education through professional experience and travel in other places and cultures that added to the foundation that was laid at Brock.”

  For Visual Arts graduate Amber Lee Williams (BA ’20), winner of the 2024 Emerging Artist Award, art enriches community.

  “For me, art is about making meaningful connections. It’s a way to share my thoughts and feelings while inviting others to respond and share their own perspectives,” she said.

  Williams said her experiences at Brock, where she felt supported and encouraged by professors and the University community, gave her the confidence and drive to pursue a career in fine arts.

  In addition to her own interdisciplinary creative practice centred in photography, Williams now works with many local community organizations like Niagara Artists Centre and Willow Arts Community delivering workshops and classes exploring photo-based mediums.

  “Art brings joy and meaning to my life, even in the smallest, everyday moments. I am honoured and excited to help expand the arts community in Niagara region — and to give back to a community that has offered me so much support,” she said.

  Linda Carreiro, Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts, said Brock has been successful in providing a strong foundation for students to pursue their careers.

  “This path may take many forms, but we’re always pleased to see when people continue making meaningful contributions to the arts,” she said.

  Jessica Wilson, Culture Supervisor for the City of St. Catharines, said the city is enriched by artists, educators, and supporters whose dedication and creative expression build a vibrant cultural landscape that connects and uplifts the whole community.

  “This year’s Arts Awards recipients exemplify the profound impact the arts have on St. Catharines,” Wilson said.

  “The artistic talent in this city continues to impress me and creates a huge sense of pride in our local artistic scene,” Mayor of St. Catharines Mat Siscoe said. “Their efforts continue to grow our cultural sector and have made St. Catharines the vibrant centre of culture in the Niagara region.”

  The full list of Brock grads who received 2024 St. Catharines Arts Awards includes:

  • 2024 Emerging Artist Award — Amber Lee Williams (BA ’20)
  • 2024 Established Artist — Cole Lewis (BA ’04, MA ’08)
  • 2024 Arts in Education Award — Brenna McAllister (BA ’00, BEd ’02)
  • 2024 Making a Difference Award — Deanna Jones (BA ’02)
  • 2024 Patron of the Arts Award — Annette F. Urlocker (BA ’73)

  Tags: alumni, City of St. Catharines, communication popular culture and film, Department of Dramatic Arts, Department of Visual Arts, Education, faculty of education, faculty of social sciences, Graduate Studies, humanities, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MIWSFPA, St. Catharines Arts Awards
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, In the Media

• Early success sets stage for DART grad’s bright future

  Thursday, July 18, 2024 | By eknight

  

  Image caption: Chiamaka Glory (left) and Jasmine Case (BA ’20) in Young People’s Theatre production of Truth by Kanika Ambrose.

  THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2024 | by Gillian Minaker

  Brock graduate Jasmine Case (BA ’20) is making waves in the Canadian theatre scene by bringing stories of diversity to life for audiences, garnering the attention of national arts and culture media and earning a highly esteemed acting award in the process.

  Case was recently honoured at the 2024 annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards winning the award for Outstanding Performance by an Individual in the Theatre for Young Audiences Division for her compelling performance in Truth by Kanika Ambrose, a world premiere at Young People’s Theatre in Toronto.

  Based on the novel The Gospel Truth by Caroline Pignat and directed by Sabryn Rock, Truth follows the journey of a courageous young Black girl named Phoebe, played by Case, struggling to find freedom while living on a tobacco plantation in Virginia in 1858.

  

  Jasmine Case (BA ’20) recently received the 2024 Dora Mavor Moore Awards in the Theatre for Young Audiences Division for her performance in Truth by Kanika Ambrose.

  “The history of the United States and Canada is forever marred by the many Black and Indigenous stories erased and forgotten. Often, our stories don’t get rewritten by us; with Kanika Ambrose writing the play and Sabryn Rock directing, I knew I was in good hands,” Case said.

  .

  Diverse representation has only recently started to improve and, as a Black woman, Case rarely saw people like her on stage when she was growing up.

  Thinking of the kids who would be sitting in the audience learning and being fascinated by the world while feeling the emotions of her character sold Case on the role.

  “By going through this journey as Phoebe, I hoped people would walk away with a slightly deeper understanding or empathy for those who dealt with similar hardships,” she said.

  Case first discovered her love for the stage during Brock’s Dramatic Arts (DART) program  when she auditioned for her first mainstage production King Ubu at the University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts .

  “It was that production, and how I felt on stage, which made me truly fall in love with acting as a career. I had always wanted to act — I was always the kid up on any stage I could get on — but I just never thought that I would have a successful career in it, or a Dora award for that matter” Case said.

  From that point on, Case motivated herself to be the best actor she could be, harnessing the support of DART faculty, students and classmates.

  “It was Brock that showed me theatre wasn’t just a pastime or a hobby, it was actually something I could do as a career,” Case said.

  After graduation, Case was accepted into the prestigious National Theatre School (NTS) where she studied for three years before deepening her creative practice by participating in workshops with heavy-hitting theatre companies including Tarragon Theatre and Persephone Theatre.

  Since then, Case has been in several theatre productions including The Fiancée at Chemainus Festival Theatre, Truth at Young People’s Theatre and most recently the Canadian premiere of seven methods of killing kylie jenner, a Globe and Mail Critic’s Pick, by Jasmine Lee-Jones at Obsidian and Crow’s Theatre.

  As Case celebrates the significant accomplishment of receiving a Dora nomination and award — from Canada’s oldest and largest professional theatre awards celebrating excellence on the stage — she has new productions and creative works on the horizon.

  Professor David Fancy said the Department of Dramatic Arts is delighted with her success so far.

  “Jasmine’s contributions during her time in DART at Brock were marked by generosity, talent, and insight,” he said. “We can’t wait to see what comes next on Jasmine’s impressive career trajectory.”

  Tags: alumni, Alumni Insider, alumni relations, DART, Department of Dramatic Arts, Dora Awards, Dramatic Arts, humanities, Jasmine Case, MIWSFPA
  Categories: Alumni, News, Uncategorised

• Announcing DART Open Studies and Summer Institute

  Thursday, May 02, 2024 | By gminaker

  

  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

• Brock co-led team awarded $2.5M for project giving minoritized voices centre stage in transforming theatre education

  Monday, September 04, 2023 | By gminaker

  

  Pictured above: The cast of Brock’s 2022 Mainstage production ‘Red Bike’ by Caridad Svich, directed by Mike Griffin. Mainstage productions will be among the focus of Brock Dramatic Arts faculty, including Griffin, as they develop more inclusive approaches to teaching theatre as part of the new partnership project, Staging Better Futures/ Mettre en scène de meilleurs avenirs (SBF/MSMA).

  Red Bike, production principale (Mainstage) de l’Université Brock en 2022, écrite par Caridad Svich, mise en scène par Mike Griffin au Marilyn I. Walker Theatre. 

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 04, 2023

  Deneh’Cho Thompson, a displaced and dispossessed member of the Pehdzeh ki Nation, became an academic because he wanted others to have a better experience with theatre education than he did.

  Responding to experiences such as Thompson’s, a Brock University co-led research project is putting the spotlight on minoritized voices.

  Staging Better Futures/Mettre en scène de meilleurs avenirs (SBF/MSMA) is the first national, cross-sectoral partnership approach to decolonizing, anti-racist, equitable, diverse and inclusive systemic change ever undertaken in post-secondary theatre education in Canada.

  On Tuesday, Aug. 29, it was announced the project has been awarded a $2.5-million Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant. Contributions from partner organizations bring the project budget to more than $5.5 million, with Brock making the largest partner organization contribution of $1.57 million in cash and in-kind contributions over seven years.

  The funding announcement — made by Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, on behalf of François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Mark Holland, Minister of Health — included more than $960 million supporting more than 4,700 researchers and research projects across Canada.

  Jennifer Roberts-Smith, Professor and Chair of Dramatic Arts (DART) at Brock, is co-leader of SBF/MSMA along with Nicole Nolette, University of Waterloo Associate Professor of French Studies and Canada Research Chair in Minority Studies. They observed that while Canadian universities and colleges have been working on local equity initiatives, there is no platform yet for sharing valuable information on providing an equitable and welcoming environment for minoritized theatre students and educators.

  Thompson dropped out of high school and college and took more than 10 years to finish his undergraduate degree because of the systemic racism he experienced. He is now a member of the governance committee on the project.

  Even while he was a student, as interest increased in Indigenous theatre, Thompson found people, including faculty and mentors, looked to him to provide Indigenous expertise.

  But “I was alone,” he said of his time studying in Vancouver. “I didn’t have supports in the university or in my program. I didn’t have anyone I could look up to.” Thompson has since become an Assistant Professor and co-ordinator of the wîcêhtowin Theatre Program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Drama.

  SBF/MSMA’s key areas of focus are racialization; Indigeneity; gender diversity; disability; and linguistic minoritization. The project’s guiding principle is that it centres the voices of students and educators with lived experiences of exclusion, such as Thompson.

  Brock DART students Hayley King and Benoit St-Aubin echo Thompson’s calls for greater representation of faculty from historically under-represented backgrounds in theatre departments.

  “In attempts to sympathize with and accurately represent the experience of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) students onstage, non-BIPOC individuals fall prone to tokenism and misrepresentation,” said King, who is of biracial Black and South Asian descent. “Having someone in the department with the same lived experiences as these students can serve as a voice for them when injustices are committed.”

  For St-Aubin, who is from the Niagara region and whose first language is French, it’s also important to decolonize curriculum and repertoire.

  “Historically, Canadian theatre has subscribed to Eurocentric ideologies, which has skewed the education we receive,” they said. “By introducing non-Western, non-European theatre practices to students, our department can shape us into well-rounded theatre practitioners and academics.”

  Roberts-Smith said there needs to be a transition “from small-scale solutions within our own institutions to thinking collaboratively about how we do post-secondary theatre education more equitably across Canada.”

  In the course of preparing the grant, the project leaders developed a wide network of collaborators with lived experience of systemic inequity and expertise in combating it. The fully bilingual project now involves more than 90 participants across Canada, with representation from colleges, universities, theatre companies, arts services organizations, a student caucus and a freelance artist-educator consultancy. There are seven Brock faculty members involved in the project, mostly from Dramatic Arts.

  “Receiving this prestigious, highly competitive award is an outstanding achievement,” said Brock University Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon.

  “The research team’s success demonstrates the need for systemic practices and structures in dramatic arts education to be transformed so that knowledge and expertise from minoritized artist-educators form a core part of the education,” he said.

  The Partnership Grant covers a period of seven years.

  Partnership Grants are the largest that SSHRC offers, supporting formal partnerships between academic researchers, businesses and other partners that will advance knowledge and understanding on critical issues of intellectual, social, economic and cultural significance.

  In addition to the Partnership Grants, SSHRC announced Tuesday that seven Brock researchers were awarded a total $965,636 in Insight Grants, which support research judged worthy of funding by fellow researchers and/or other experts. The University also received more than $4.8 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for a variety of projects.

  Une équipe codirigée par l’Université Brock reçoit 2,5 millions de dollars pour un projet visant à placer les personnes minorisées au cœur de la transformation de l’enseignement du théâtre

  Deneh’Cho Thompson, membre déplacé et dépossédé de la Nation Pehdzeh ki, est devenu universitaire afin que d’autres vivent une meilleure expérience de l’enseignement du théâtre que la sienne.

  En réponse à des vécus comme celui de Thompson, le projet de recherche, mené conjointement par l’Université Brock, souhaite mettre en lumière les voix des personnes minorisées.

  Staging Better Futures/Mettre en scène de meilleurs avenirs (SBF/MSMA) se veut le premier projet partenarial national et intersectoriel visant un changement systémique à des fins de décolonisation, d’antiracisme, d’équité, de diversité et d’inclusion dans l’enseignement postsecondaire du théâtre au Canada.

  Le mardi 29 août, l’octroi d’une subvention de partenariat de 2,5 millions de dollars du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines (CRSH) pour ce projet a été annoncé. Les contributions des organismes partenaires portent son budget à plus de 5,5 millions de dollars. La contribution de l’Université Brock est la plus importante, soit 1,57 million de dollars en espèces et en nature sur une période de sept ans.

  L’annonce officiellement a été faite aujourd’hui par Randy Boissonnault, ministre de l’Emploi, du Développement de la main-d’œuvre et des Langues officielles, au nom du ministre de l’Innovation, des Sciences et de l’Industrie, François-Philippe Champagne, et du ministre de la Santé, Mark Holland. Ce financement fait partie d’une enveloppe dépassant les 960 millions de dollars pour soutenir plus de 4 700 projets et équipes de recherche à travers le pays.

  Jennifer Roberts-Smith, professeure et directrice du Département d’art dramatique (DART) de l’Université Brock, codirige SBF/MSMA avec Nicole Nolette, professeure agrégée en Études françaises à l’Université de Waterloo et titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en études des minorités. Toutes deux ont remarqué les efforts des universités et des collèges canadiens pour mettre en œuvre des initiatives locales en matière d’équité. Cependant, aucune plateforme ne permet de partager des informations précieuses sur la création d’un environnement équitable et accueillant pour le corps étudiant et les pédagogues en théâtre issu·e·s de minorités.

  Thompson a abandonné ses études secondaires et supérieures et a mis plus de dix ans à obtenir son diplôme de premier cycle en raison du racisme systémique. Aujourd’hui, il est membre du comité de gouvernance du projet.

  Ce dernier était aux études à l’époque de l’engouement grandissant pour le théâtre autochtone. M. Thompson a alors constaté que certaines personnes, y compris des professeur·e·s et des mentor·e·s, se tournaient vers lui pour son expertise à titre de personne autochtone.

  Mais « j’étais seul, » dit-il à propos de son séjour à Vancouver. « Je ne recevais pas de soutien de mon université ou de mon programme. Je n’avais personne vers qui me tourner. » Depuis, M. Thompson est devenu professeur adjoint et coordinateur du programme de théâtre wîcêhtowin au Département d’art dramatique de l’Université de Saskatchewan.

  Les principaux domaines d’intérêt de SBF/MSMA concernent la racisation, l’autochtonie, la diversité des genres, le handicap et la minorisation linguistique. Le projet a pour principe directeur de faire entendre les voix d’étudiant·e·s et de pédagogues ayant vécu l’exclusion, comme M. Thompson.

  Hayley King et Benoit St-Aubin, étudiant·e·s à l’Université Brock, font écho aux appels de Thompson en faveur d’une plus grande représentation de professeur·e·s issu·e·s de milieux historiquement sous-représentés dans les départements de théâtre.

  « En essayant de sympathiser avec les personnes noir·e·s, autochtones et de couleur (PANDC) et de représenter fidèlement leur expérience sur scène, les personnes non-PANDC sont sujettes à une représentation symbolique et erronée, » a déclaré King, d’origine biraciale noire et sud-asiatique. « Le fait d’avoir au sein du département quelqu’un avec les mêmes expériences que ces étudiant·e·s leur assurent d’être entendu·e·s lorsque des injustices sont commises. »

  Pour St-Aubin, qui est originaire de la région de Niagara et dont la langue maternelle est le français, la décolonisation du programme d’études et du répertoire s’avère tout aussi importante.

  « Historiquement, le théâtre canadien a souscrit à des idéologies eurocentriques, ce qui a faussé notre éducation, » a-t-iel déclaré. « En présentant aux étudiant·e·s des pratiques théâtrales non occidentales et non européennes, notre département peut former des praticien·ne·s du théâtre et des universitaires bien équilibré·e·s.

  Selon Mme Roberts-Smith, il faut passer « de solutions à petite échelle au sein de nos propres institutions à une réflexion commune sur la manière de dispenser l’enseignement postsecondaire du théâtre de manière plus équitable dans l’ensemble du Canada. »

  Au cours de la préparation de la subvention, les responsables du projet ont développé un vaste réseau de collaborateur·trice·s avec une expérience vécue de l’iniquité systémique et une expertise dans la lutte contre celle-ci. Le projet entièrement bilingue compte aujourd’hui plus de 90 participant·e·s à travers le Canada, dont des collèges, des universités, des compagnies de théâtre, des organismes professionnels, un caucus d’étudiant·e·s et un groupe d’artistes pédagogues indépendant·e·s. Sept membres du personnel de l’Université Brock participent au projet, notamment dans le domaine de l’art dramatique.

  « Recevoir ce prix prestigieux et hautement compétitif est une réussite exceptionnelle, » a déclaré Tim Kenyon, vice-président chargé de la recherche à l’Université Brock.

  « Le succès de l’équipe de recherche démontre la nécessité de transformer les pratiques et les structures systémiques de l’enseignement de l’art dramatique afin que les connaissances et l’expertise des artistes pédagogues minorisé·e·s fassent partie intégrante de l’enseignement, » a-t-il déclaré.

  La subvention de partenariat couvre une période de sept ans.

  Les subventions de partenariat, les plus importantes offertes par le CRSH, favorisent la collaboration entre les chercheur·euse·s universitaires, les entreprises et d’autres partenaires afin d’approfondir les connaissances sur d’importantes questions d’ordre intellectuel, social, économique et culturel.

  De plus, le CRSH a annoncé ce mardi l’octroi d’un total de 965 636 $ en subventions Savoir à sept chercheur·euse·s de l’Université Brock, pour soutenir des projets proposés par des pair·e·s et/ou d’autres expert·e·s. L’Université a également obtenu plus de 4,8 millions de dollars du Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada pour financer divers projets.

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  Tags: Benoit St. Aubin, DART, Deneh’Cho Thompson, Dramatic Arts, Hayley King, humanities, Jennifer Roberts-Smith, Karen Fricker, Mike Griffin, MIWSFPA, Nicole Nolette, office of research services, ORS, Partnership Grants, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, SSHRC, Staging Better Futures/Mettre en scène de meilleurs avenirs, Tim Kenyon
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future students, In the Media, Media Releases, News

• New summer workshop puts students at centre of creative process

  Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | By gminaker

  

  Image caption: Dramatic Arts (DART) Research Assistants Geneviève Batista (left) and Ezri Fenton participated in the DART Summer Institute of Performance Research workshop session ‘Anthr-Apology.’

  Brock arts students have been honing their creative skills and working alongside professional theatre artists through a new summer workshop series presented by the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART).

  The inaugural DART Summer Institute of Performance Research ran from May 29 to July 7 at the University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

  Conceptualized by DART Chair and Professor Jennifer Roberts-Smith, the workshop allowed students to be at the centre of the creative process as professional theatre-makers, artists and DART faculty explored performance ideas, working scripts and scenic possibilities for future work.

  Roberts-Smith said DART’s Summer Institute was founded to expand opportunities for what the department calls ‘vertically-integrated’ experiential learning.

  “It’s ‘vertical’ because members of the DART community at all career stages are learning together,” she said. “Collaborative research means we’re asking questions that none of us — not even the most seasoned professionals and faculty — know how to answer.”

  Roberts-Smith said the model sees students’ perspectives and contributions as just as important as workshop leaders.

  Anthr-Apology, a session led by DART Professor David Fancy and DART Scenographer and Associate Professor David Vivian, explored the creative possibilities of a new performance collective, with the first stage of presentation slated for 2024, building on creative research undertaken on the fall DART Mainstage production AnthropoScene.

  Fancy and Vivian are motivated by exploring the ways in which theatre and performance as art forms can be truly responsive to the climate crisis.

  “The project is based on the idea that the world needs a truth and reconciliation commission for all humans and their relationship with one another, as well as their individual and collective relationships with the planet,” Fancy said.

  Vivian said the workshop also generated opportunities for participating graduate- and senior-level MIWSFPA students “to bridge their undergraduate studies to the next level of scholarship and professional opportunities.”

  In another session, Packing a Punch, students worked directly with theatre artist Trevor Copp, Artistic Director and Founder of Tottering Biped Theatre (TBT). Students participated in the creative process of developing TBT’s new multimedia live-action play, Mr. Punch, adapted from a lesser-known Neil Gaiman graphic novel.

  “It was a brilliant week. In the end, what we really found was momentum and artistic excitement about this piece and its possibilities,” Copp said.

  Evalyn Parry, DART’s 2022-23 Walker Cultural Leader and award-winning queer performance-maker, theatrical innovator and artistic leader, led a workshop engaging with choral performance and text from their master’s research-creation thesis, “An Unsettled Account,” reflecting on queer arts leadership, decolonial futures and systems change.

  “Together with my longtime collaborator Karin Randoja (music director for the workshop), rich discoveries were made about how the choral arrangements — both sung and spoken — work on the page and translate into the bodies and voices of singers and actors,” Parry said.

  DART Instructor Mike Griffin, Faculty of Humanities’ 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award recipient, workshopped ideas for his DART winter mainstage production, The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy. An original new work written and directed by Griffin, the play explores brain injury and related mental health issues.

  “This has been a great laboratory experience for the development of Molly. The show is primarily movement-based and so we have had a productive week of getting up on our feet and physically working through and testing ideas. A highlight was seeing how deeply connected to the work the students became after such a short period of time. It really speaks to the value of this kind of intensive work,” Griffin said.

  “A set of very strong projects with exciting futures emerged from the inaugural Summer Institute,” Roberts-Smith said. “DART students brought fresh and wise perspectives essential to the success of each project.”

  Tags: DART, DART Summer Institute, David Fancy, David Vivian, Dramatic Arts, evalyn parry, humanities, Jennifer Roberts-Smith, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts, Mike Griffin, MIWSFPA, Tottering Biped Theatre, Trevor Copp
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future students, News, Performance Season, Plays, Uncategorised

• IBPOC Critics Lab introduced to diversify criticism industry

  Monday, April 10, 2023 | By ckim2

  

  Jay Emmanuel as Shiva with the company of Why Not Theatre’s production of Mahabharata that played at the Shaw Festival in March. Photo by David Cooper.

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  From the spectacular recent staging of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata at the Shaw Festival, to upcoming productions of Indigenous playwright Frances Koncan’s Women of the Fur Trade at the Stratford Festival and the world premiere re-imagining of Scott Joplin’s lost opera Treemonisha in this summer’s Luminato Festival, work by artists of colour in the Canadian performing arts is thriving.

  Lacking on the scene, however, are critics from diverse backgrounds to respond to these and other productions.

  A new initiative co-organized by Dramatic Arts Adjunct Professor Karen Fricker intends to fill this gap. The IBPOC Critics Lab is an initiative of Intermission magazine, where Fricker is editorial advisor, and the Stratford Festival, in association with the Honduran theatre critic Jose Solís, who piloted this model of training in the US.

  The Critics Lab is a space for Indigenous, Black and People of Colour to explore and develop theatre criticism skills. Eight emerging critics will participate in the Lab, which includes six sessions on Zoom and a face-to-face residential session at the 2023 Stratford Festival. Solís is developing the curriculum and will teach alongside Canadian critics and editors of colour including Glenn Sumi and Joshua Chong.

  “Opening up criticism to those who might not have thought there was a place for them in the field is very important to me and others in the field. It’s very exciting to bring Jose Solís’s pioneering work in this area to Canada for the first time,” said Fricker, who is co-organizing the lab with the Stratford Festival’s publicity director Ann Swerdfager, a former journalist.

  The program is open to Canadian residents who have not yet written but wish to pursue theatre criticism or those who already have some experience in the field. Participants will have the opportunity to explore criticism through writing as well as less traditional methods such as social media, podcasts, and more.

  Tags: Ann swerdfager, bipoc, ibpoc critics lab, intermission magazine, jose solís, Karen Fricker, mahabharata, MIWSFPA, Stratford Festival
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Performance Season, Plays, Shaw Intern Blog, Uncategorised, Visiting Artists

• Vampires descending on downtown arts school for Brock’s mainstage production

  Thursday, March 02, 2023 | By ckim2

  

  The cast of A Vampire Story prepares the finals scenes of their upcoming performance, which premieres Friday, March 3.

  ---

  Originally published in The Brock News | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2023 | by Charles Kim

  The undead will make their debut next month in downtown St. Catharines.

  Moira Buffini’s A Vampire Story, the mainstage production from Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts, opens at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre Friday, March 3.

  The show follows Ella, a vampire who is new to a small town that has been plagued by disappearing high school students and teachers.

  Seeking to become more human, she decides to stop drinking blood and to be honest about her undead state, her vampire mother and her horrific past.

  But Ella’s honesty isn’t well received by the community. Her life is upended as she is ostracized and hunted — all while falling in love and sorting out her priorities in a small town where the residents are as bizarre and insatiable as the vampires who live among them.

  Led by Director and Adjunct Professor Gyllian Raby, the adaptation of A Vampire’s Story finds a perfect balance between the play’s gothic and comedic nature.

  Raby’s success both as a professional director and Associate Professor comes from her extensive experience and her affinity for intelligent, culturally astute comedy. She has worked as a freelance director, dramaturge and playwright/adaptor across the world.

  Her productions of Bernard Shaw’s Passion, Poison and Petrifaction, the jazz/tap musical Fingers and Toes, Nicolai Erdman’s Russian farce The Suicide! and the international clown show hit Don’t Do It – Do It have been widely enjoyed by audiences in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Thailand.

  Raby said A Vampire Story is more relevant now than its debut performance in 2016, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The loneliness and anxiety caused by the pandemic are common motivating factors for vampire and infection stories, she said.

  “We can all identify with characters who are intensely alone amid society. Of course, this explains the success of the vampire genre,” Raby said. “Moira Buffini’s smart, witty play taps into the pop culture genre, relating loss of soul to the need for activist awareness.”

  Assistant Director and fourth-year DART student Lucas Irving said the use of monsters within the show is instrumental.

  “The production offers a fantastic opportunity to explore who and what the monsters in society are and how the definition changes from one period to another,” he said. “Vampires often surface during times of change and we’re certainly in a time of great change.”

  A Vampire Story includes set design by Nigel Scott, costume design by Alexa Fraser and lighting design by Chris Malkowski, with music direction and live band leadership by Joe Lapinski. The production showcases the talents of Brock DART students Hayley King, Simone Cinapri, Maiya Irwin, Thea Van Loon, Alex De Cicco, Cal Webb Wilkinson, Hunter Brown, Nathan Faigundo, Emma van Barneveld, Tyra Hayward, Celine Zamidar, Michelle Shortt, Benoit St. Aubain, Kaitlyn Boyer, Isaiah Alton and Zakk Milne.

  A Vampire Story opens Friday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre inside the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. Tickets are available for $20 for general admission and $16 for students and seniors. Performances will also take place Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 5 at 2 p.m., Friday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. To reserve tickets please visit the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre website.

  Tags: a vampire story, byzanthium, Department of Dramatic Arts, Dramatic Arts, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Gyllian Raby, Lucas Irving, Mainstage, Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIWSFPA, Moira Buffini, production
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Performance Season, Plays, Shaw Intern Blog, Visiting Artists

• Brock artists to draw inspiration from new bursary

  Monday, January 30, 2023 | By ckim2

  

  Through a gift to Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Paul Green and Ginny Medland-Green are supporting students who’ve chosen to pursue a career in the arts.

  ---

  Originally published in The Brock News | FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2023 | by Cialyn Carson

  When Ginny Medland-Green and Paul Green toured Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) early last year, they left impressed by the community that exists for young artists at the downtown school.

  The couple, who have a deep love and appreciation for the arts, moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake seven years ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the cultural richness of the region. Through a recent gift in support of the MIWSFPA, they hope to support the study of the arts for students and showcase the impact their work can and will have on communities such as Niagara.

  “It’s courageous to study fine and performing arts at university and set a goal to be a working artist,” Medland-Green said. “We hope our bursary will inspire students to set both imaginative and practical goals for their capstone project and assist financially in a way that energizes them as they work creatively and tirelessly in what is a very competitive environment.”

  Currently taking applications, the Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary is open to all third-year Honours students enrolled in Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts at the MIWSFPA. The bursary has been established to assist students pursuing a unique opportunity such as travel, an internship or training that will benefit their upcoming capstone project or production, taking place in the 2023-24 academic year.

  “The Greens’ gift is a true investment in the future of our students, our downtown campus and the arts in our community,” said Sonia Dupte, Executive Director, Development and Campaigns. “Through its endowment, it will impact generations of inspiring artists at Brock.”

  From the onset of conversations with Brock and the MIWSFPA about the gift, Medland-Green and Green emphasized the importance of the bursary supporting a learning activity that not only excites the student recipient, but also professionalizes and shapes their career path in the arts.

  Linda Carreiro, Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts, commended the uniqueness of the bursary and the opportunities it will support for students at the downtown arts school.

  “Students at the Marilyn School are lucky to have a variety of awards established to support them throughout their studies,” she said. “The Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary is unique in the way that it really hones in on the learning and professional development that often happens outside of a classroom.

  “Financially supporting students to pursue an opportunity they’ve identified to advance their own learning will not only inspire them towards a career path, but will also instil confidence that their skills are important and they can in fact make a living by pursuing a career in the arts,” Carreiro said.

  Interested applicants are invited to submit a short proposal (up to 500 words) and budget for the event, project or opportunity for which they are requesting funding. The submission should also include how the funding will assist in the application of their final-year project or production.

  Comprehensive applications, which include the proposal and budget, can be submitted to Brock’s Awards and Bursaries web page and will be reviewed by an advisory committee. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m.

  Tags: bursary, community engagement, development, Dramatic Arts, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MIWSFPA, Music, visual arts
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, Future students, In the Media, News

• Voice exploration workshop to be hosted at downtown arts school

  Friday, October 21, 2022 | By ckim2

  

  Diane Roberts is the founder of the Arrivals Personal Legacy Process, which draws on 30 years of experience and 12 years of focused artistic research.

  ---

  Originally published in The Brock News | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022 | by Charles Kim

  A new workshop this winter will help participants develop a deeper understanding of and stronger relationship with their voice.

  Breathing New Legacies Forward, a Moving Voice Institute intensive, will be hosted Thursday, Dec. 15 to Sunday, Dec. 18 at Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) in downtown St. Catharines. Led by industry specialists Gayle Murphy, Diane Roberts, Gary Logan and Gerry Trentham, Founder and Artistic Director of Pounds Per Square Inch Performance (lbs/sq”), the four-day workshop explores transformative vocal and physical explorations that extend range and deepen presence.

  “It’s a process that is different for everyone,” says Department of Dramatic Arts Associate Professor Danielle Wilson. “There is a connection between the voice, breath and body that the Moving Voice Institute researches. We are excited to have them come to the MIWSFPA this winter and lead this exploratory retreat devoted to the voice.”

  Through the course of this workshop, participants will examine and experience the connections between voice, text and breath in the morning sessions. In the afternoon, participants will work alongside Roberts, an African-Caribbean Canadian theatre practitioner and educator.

  Roberts is the founder of the Arrivals Personal Legacy Process, which draws on 30 years of experience and 12 years of focused artistic research. This work invites participants to consider ancestry as an essential aspect of evolving authority in their voice and body presence.

  Wilson expressed a deep interest in the process because of the strong ties to her personal research in voice and performance.

  “I wanted to experience the Arrivals Legacy work. Participating in the process is essential because voice work is a somatic practice. Experiencing the work is the research,” Wilson says. “We all have a relationship with our voice and this intensive gives participants an opportunity to deepen their relationship with their voice and own their unique sound, regardless of what they do professionally.”

  Breathing New Legacies Forward will be the first voice workshop since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Wilson says being connected and in the same room as those who are exploring, hearing and finding their voice is truly special. She encourages anyone interested to take this opportunity to discover a deeper connection with their voice.

  This workshop is open to all Brock community members and the public. More information can be found on the lbs/sq” website. Registration is now open, with early bird registration closing on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

  Tags: breathing new legacies forward, Danielle Wilson, DART, Department of Dramatic Arts, diane roberts, Downtown campus, gary logan, gayle murphy, Gerry Trentham, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MIWSFPA, moving voice institute, pounds per square inch, vocal, voice intensive
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News, Visiting Artists

• Distinguished Graduate a class act in Canadian theatre

  Friday, September 30, 2022 | By ckim2

  

  Originally published in The Brock News | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 | by Charles Kim

  Though the spotlight may seem daunting to many people, it’s where Jordin Hall (BA ’10) feels most at home.

  The Brock Dramatic Arts graduate has found much success in his acting career and credits the groundwork he developed at Brock for helping to set his course.

  “Brock set the foundation for me early in my career. I learned how to respect the room, be diligent and work my craft,” says Hall, who was honoured during Brock’s Homecoming weekend as the Faculty of Humanities Distinguished Graduate Award recipient. “Those skills were all transferable and it immediately impacted my career following graduation.”

  Hall received his Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts with a performance concentration from Brock in 2010. Following graduation, he found success as an actor in Toronto, working with many independent theatre companies and performing in leading roles for several Shakespearean productions, including Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Winter’s Tale (Dauntless City Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Seven Siblings Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Humber River Shakespeare Company), and the title role of Othello for Driftwood Theatre.

  

  Carol Merriam, Dean of Brock’s Faculty of Humanities, presents Jordin Hall with the Faculty’s Distinguished Graduate Award at the Alumni Recognition Reception on Saturday, Sept. 24.

  Although he is now confident and eager to perform the works of Shakespeare, this wasn’t always the case.

  “From what I learned in high school, I thought I hated Shakespeare. In hindsight, this wasn’t the case at all; it was just how it was taught to us,” Hall says. “After breaking down the words and understanding how it was supposed to be read, I felt excited. I understood it and I was hungry for more.”

  Brock Dramatic Arts Professor Danielle Wilson says Hall was “always dedicated and driven.”

  “He was extremely passionate about performing even from a young age,” she says. “It was clear to me after a scene from Othello completed in one of my classes, he had an ability with language. He already knew how to use the words and had the voice to support them.”

  Following his success in Toronto, Hall found a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study classical theatre with the Stratford Festival’s Birmingham Conservatory.

  “It is a prestigious organization to be with and it’s every young theatre person’s dream to be part of the conservatory,” he says. “I remember I had my callback, and I didn’t really know how it went. When I got a call offering me a spot, it was surreal, and I was so excited. I was truly grateful for that opportunity.”

  After achieving his dream of working with the Birmingham Conservatory, Hall joined the Stratford acting ensemble in 2018. Since then, he has been part of seven Stratford productions, including his acclaimed leading role of Bertram in this year’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well.

  Dramatic Arts Professor David Fancy praised Hall’s impact as a professional in Canadian theatre.

  “Jordin was very engaged with critical issues of representation and made strong intelligent contributions as a student,” he says. “There have been barriers to inclusion historically for racialized individuals in Canadian theatre. The fact that he is now working at one of the most recognized cultural institutions in the country is a huge sign of success.”

  As for what’s next, Hall says he wants to continue pursuing his craft.

  “In many ways, I am still finding my way as a performer, and I can’t say for sure what the future holds, but I can see myself with the Stratford Festival for a while,” he says. “I enjoy it and hope that we can continue to produce more great work together.”

  Tags: classical theatre, DART, Department of Dramatic Arts, Distinguished Alumni, Dramatic Arts, graduate, Jordin hall, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MIWSFPA, Performing Arts, Shakespeare, Stratford Festival
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News