News

• Brock to host Heritage Fair Wednesday

  Tuesday, April 17, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  Giovann Contini was invited to tour the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts after selecting the school as the subject of his Heritage Fair project.

  Brock will open its doors to more than 100 young history enthusiasts this week.

  The University will host the annual Niagara Catholic Regional Heritage Fair on Wednesday, April 18, welcoming more than 100 elementary students to present their projects.

  Also known as the Historica Fairs Program, the educational fair encourages Niagara Catholic District School Board students in Grades 4 to 8 to develop awareness and interest in Canadian history. Students spend several weeks creating their history projects, which are then presented in class and showcased in their respective school’s gymnasium. The most promising projects then advance to the regional event, held at Brock.

  Students participating in Wednesday’s fair engage in a full day of learning, with morning workshops on Indigenous culture and an afternoon excursion to the Niagara Falls History Museum.

  When mulling over options for his project, Giovann Contini knew there was a building in downtown St. Catharines he was eager to feature — the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

  

  Grade 6 student Giovann Contini chose to do his Heritage Fair project on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  The Grade 6 student from St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Niagara-on-the-Lake was drawn to the school because of his love for the arts.

  “At first, I was going to choose the topic of Canadian military weapons through the ages, but I realized I wasn’t as interested in that topic as I thought,” he said. “As I started to look into other topics, I got really excited about what the MIWSFPA was. Since it’s so new, I figured it would be a great opportunity to do something that no one else has done.”

  When Associate Professor of Dramatic Arts Joe Norris got news that Contini was presenting his project on the MIWSFPA, he invited him to the downtown campus for a private tour and interview session.

  “After the tour, I really felt like I would love to go to this school when I’m older. It just has so much to offer,” Contini said.

  Included in the project, to be showcased on Wednesday, are paintings created by Contini.

  He drew inspiration “from the sketches in the painting studio that the Brock students were working on,” he said. As his paintings progressed, he added colours to the black, grey and white background, “symbolizing how art brings colours into our lives and makes it more interesting.”

  The Heritage Fair runs from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Pond Inlet. This event is open to the public between 4:15 and 4:45 p.m.

  Five winners from regionals will advance to the Provincial Fair in Toronto in June.

  Tags: Giovann Contini, Heritage Fair Project, Historica Project, Joe Norris, MIWSFPA, NCDSB, Niagara Catholic District School Board, pond inlet
  Categories: Future students, News

• Graduating students present gritty play about oil in Canada

  Thursday, April 12, 2018 | By dvivian

  

  The cast of Lac/Athabasca takes the stage from April 12 to 14 in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre for the last Dramatic Arts production of the 2017-18 season.

  For the final production of the regular 2017-18 season, Brock’s fourth-year Dramatic Arts students will tackle some hard-hitting Canadian issues.

  The DART 4F56 ensemble will present Len Falkenstein’s award-winning play Lac/Athabasca in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre. The production, inspired by the Lac-Mégantic train explosion of 2013, tells the dark truth of the forces behind the disaster.

  Co-directed by Professor Gyllian Raby and student Mark Dickinson, the play premiered at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts on Thursday, April 12 and will continue nightly until Saturday, April 14.

  

  Production poster designed by Michelle Mohammed. click to download a PDF copy.

  Audiences follow the train filled with explosive fuel as it journeys across time and place, beginning with townsfolk sharing their experiences of the tragic event and lamenting for the lives lost. The crowd is taken to tour the magnificent Athabasca glacier and meets workers at the oil sand companies in Fort McMurray, witnessing Canada’s exploitation of its land and peoples from the 1800s to now. The beauty and terror of these encounters reveal a Canadian dream as twisted as the train tracks that stretch across it.

  The DART 4F56 students unanimously picked the play not only because of its Canadian roots, but also because “it’s about something that matters,” says Raby. The production tells the story of the train explosion, but audiences can also “expect to see a First Nations story play out,” she says.

  “We were fortunate enough to be advised by Adrienne Smoke of the Six Nations and William Constant, a Cree mentor, to make sure we were approaching the Indigenous story correctly.”

  On a daily basis, Canadians are reading about the problem of oil and the exploitation of natural resources. Lac/Athabasca is a deeply Canadian play that provokes reflection on corporate greed, environmental policies and the future transportation of oil.

  In addition to Dickinson, the 2017-18 Dramatic Arts fourth-year ensemble features cast members Mackenzie Kerr, Adrian Marchesano, Sarah Marks, Michelle Mohammed, Tarndeep Pannu, Naomi Richardson and Kaylyn Valdez-Scott. Set construction is by Helena Ciuciura, costume design by Samantha Mastrella, properties design by Rebecca Downing, sound design by Jillian Wardell, lighting design by Meryl Ochoa, and projections design and production management by Chelsea Wilson, assisted by guest instructor and Brock University Dramatic Arts alumnus, James McCoy. The production team also includes Allie Aubry as stage manager and Candice Burn as head of publicity.

  Lac/Athabasca plays Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the MIWFSPA in downtown St. Catharines. Tickets are $5 (plus taxes and fees) from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office at 905-688-0722 or online. Tickets will also be available at the door. Limited parking is available onsite.

  ---

  see the preview article by Mike Balsom on YourTV Niagara/Cogeco

  Tags: DART 4F56, Gyllian Raby, Lac/Athabasca, Len Falkenstein, Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIW Theatre, oil
  Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, Performance Season, Plays

• Dramatic Arts students explore the theme of Expectation and Reality

  Tuesday, April 03, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  The popular One Act Festival is coming back to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts this weekend. Pictured is the performance of All by Myself from the 2017 One Act Festival directed by Naomi Richardson, designed by Chelsea Wilson and featuring Rebecca Downing, Jessica Johnson, Alex Boychuk, Lauren Reed and David Poirier.

  The popular One Act Festival is returning to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts this weekend.

  Students from the Dramatic Arts Directing II course (DART 3P54) have been hard at work developing their plays under the supervision and guidance of instructor Neil Silcox and teaching assistant Kevin Hobbs. The experiential course offers students practical and real-world experience as directors, dramaturges, performers, designers and theatre technicians, often for the first time.

  Silcox says “Brock does a great job of balancing out the theoretical and experiential aspects of dramatic arts” compared to the other programs he’s worked for.

  “Developing a strong understanding of theories and then being able to get on your feet and actually do it is the only way to learn to do performing arts,” Silcox says.

  Directing II students are responsible for selecting a script, auditioning a cast, rehearsing, designing the show and co-ordinating with the dramatic arts production team on all technical needs.

  This year, the festival is presenting six shows under the theme “Expectation and Reality.”

  Silcox says he discovered the theme “after reading through each of the students’ chosen acts side by side.”

  “We didn’t offer this theme to the students and make them try to select something,” he says.

  This process allows the students to have full control and individuality with their acts, but also challenges them to tweak their shows in a way that highlights the theme more.

  “Although it may seem cliché, audience members should expect the unexpected,” says Silcox.

  The shows range from century old to extremely contemporary, absurdism to strongly political, all exploring this year’s theme from a unique angle.

  Shows being presented this year include Articulation by Alicia Richardson, Your Mother’s Butt by Alan Ball, Echo by Joseph T. Shipley, The Little Stone House by George Calderon, The Lesson by Eugene Ionesco, and The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre by Allan Knee.

  All shows take place in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre of the MIWSFPA on Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25 starting at 7 p.m. each night. Admission is pay-what-you-can and limited paid parking is available nearby. For more information on the 2018 One Act Festival, visit the Dramatic Arts website.

  Tags: DART, Dramatic Arts, Expectation and Reality, Kevin Hobbs, Mainstage, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MIW Theatre, Neil Silcox, One Act festival, One Acts, One Acts Festival, Pay-what-you-can, production and design, The Brock News, theatre
  Categories: Current Students, Events, In the Media, News, Performance Season, Plays

• Dramatic Arts offers three-day lineup of events

  Sunday, March 18, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  Ruth Howard of Jumblies Theatre, Kerr Mesner of Arcadia University, and Lina de Guevara of Puente Theatre, will be part of three days of programming presented by Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts from March 15 to 17.

  It will be a busy week for Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts, with a theatrical performance, panel discussion and series of public workshops all lined up in a matter of three days.

  The programming, sponsored by the Walker Cultural Leader Series, takes place Thursday, March 15 to Saturday, March 17 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) in downtown St. Catharines.

  Kerr Mesner, of Pennsylvania’s Arcadia University, will kick-off the three-day lineup Thursday with the debut of In Transit: Artistic Interventions in Precarious Times. The one-person performance piece combines multimedia, live theatrical performance and audience engagement to create an evocative and thought-provoking dramatic experience. His autoethnographic theatrical piece explores the intersections of queer identities, Christianity’s contributions to anti-queer violence and the challenges of embodying transgender identities within current political contexts.

  Mesner weaves a story arc between live theatrical performances from his 2017 piece, In Transit, and multimedia excerpts from the film version of his 2014 play, Intervention, that was part of his doctoral dissertation.

  He performs in the Marilyn I. Walker (MIW) Theatre Thursday, March 15 from 7 to 9 p.m.

  On Friday, March 16, a panel discussion, “Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context,” will take place in the MIW Theatre at 7 p.m.

  Ruth Howard of Jumblies Theatre, Lina de Guevara of Puente Theatre and Professor Yasmine Kandil of Brock University will discuss how applied theatre with immigrants and refugees in Canada has evolved over the past few decades. Moderated by Brock Professor Natalie Alvarez, the panel will examine whether the medium has had a positive and tangible impact on this community, and on settler Canadians.

  Kandil began her immigrant journey in Victoria, B.C., where she worked on multiple projects exploring celebration as a means for immigrant youth to claim a space in their new home. She is currently engaged in the second phase of devising a theatre piece that examines narratives of immigration and settlement for Brock students and local immigrants and refugees in relation to expectations, obstacles and assimilation.

  Beginning Saturday, March 17, Brock’s visiting scholars and theatre makers, including two panelists from the previous evening’s event, will present workshops about their work in the Dramatic Arts field.

  Howard, founder of Toronto-based Jumblies Theatre, explores her recent Four Lands touring project in a workshop held in Studio B of the MIWSFPA from 10 a.m. to noon. Her work on issues of diversity has won many awards. Jumblies Theatre is known for its work with minority groups, engaging non-artists and a larger spectrum of participants through community-based theatre.

  Following from 1 to 3 p.m. in Studio C will be de Guevara’s workshop, which examines the different tools used to research immigrant and refugee narratives. She was the first immigrant artist to establish a theatre company in Victoria that focused solely on promoting the narratives of immigration and settlement, with the purpose of bridging the gap between the minority group and predominantly white culture of Victoria. Her work has spread to other provinces in Canada since she began her Canadian journey almost 40 years ago.

  Admission to all three days of programming is free thanks to sponsorship from the Walker Cultural Leader Series, founded by Marilyn I. Walker. However, participants are asked to register for the March workshops in advance through Eventbrite.

  The Walker Cultural Leader Series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University.

  Tags: DART, drama in education, Dramatic Arts, In Transit: Artistic Interventions in Precarious Times, Kerr Mesner, Lina de Guevara, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Natalie Alvarez, Ruth Howard, Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context, The Brock News, Walker Cultural Leader Series, workshop, Yasmine Kandil
  Categories: Announcements, Events, In the Media, News, Visiting Artists

• Dramatic Arts presents: In Transit: Artistic Interventions in Precarious Times

  Monday, March 12, 2018 | By dvivian

  

  featuring Dr. Kerr Mesner, Arcadia University (performer) with
  Dr. Stephen Low (Moderator, Discussant and Talkback Facilitator)

  Thursday, March 15, 2018 7:00-9:00 pm, in the MIW THEATRE

  In Transit: Artistic Interventions in Precarious Times is a one-person performance piece, combining multimedia, live theatrical performance, and audience engagement to create an evocative and thought provoking dramatic experience. This autoethnographic theatrical piece explores the intersections of queer identities, Christianity’s contributions to antiqueer
  violence, and the challenges of embodying transgender identities within our current political contexts. Mesner weaves a narrative arc between current live theatrical performances from his 2017 piece, In Transit and multimedia excerpts from the filmic
  version of his 2014 play, Intervention, that was part of his doctoral dissertation.

  This performance will be of interest to scholars, graduate students, practitioners, and activists working in such areas as arts based educational research, performance studies, transgender and queer studies, religion/theology, and anti-oppressive education.

  All events take place at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  15 Artists’ Common, St Catharines ON L2R 0B5
  A free community event!
  Tickets and registration not required. Limited parking available.

  Contact Dr. Joe Norris [email protected] for more information.

  Dr. Mesner is one of our Walker Cultural Leaders for 2017-18.  This series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Engaging, lively and erudite, these  sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society.
  This education program is generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker. Please join us!

  Tags: Department of Dramatic Arts, Dramatic Arts, In Transit: Artistic Interventions in Precarious Times, Kerr Mesner, Walker Cultural Leader Series, WCL
  Categories: Announcements, Events, Visiting Artists

• Dramatic Arts presents: Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context

  Monday, March 12, 2018 | By dvivian

  

  featuring Lina de Guevara, founder of Puente Theatre (Victoria) and Ruth Howard of Jumblies Theatre (Toronto), with Dr. Yasmine Kandil of Brock University (Niagara)

  March 16 and 17, 2018

  A panel conversation and workshops on the theme of Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context. This event will look at how theatre has been used to create collaborative opportunities with immigrants and refugees in Canada, and what struggles lay ahead of us to bridge the divide between settler Canadians and newcomers.

  All events take place at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines ON L2R 0B5
  A free community event!
  Registration required for workshops only.
  tensions-of-engagement-workshops.eventbrite.com
  Limited parking available.
  Contact Dr. Yasmine Kandil [email protected] for more information.

  PROGRAM:
  Friday March 16 7:00pm
  PANEL Discussion in the MIW THEATRE:
  Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context
  
  This panel, moderated by Dr. Natalie Alvarez (Brock University), will feature three of Canada’s applied theatre artists who have devoted a large portion of their creative work towards working on issues of diversity, multiculturalism, and creating opportunities for immigrants and refugees to explore their narratives of settlement through theatre.

  This comes at a crucial time, as our society is witnessing an awareness of the insidious racism that exists in our country, as revealed by the Angus Reid Institute report of October 2016. Our panel will discuss how applied theatre with immigrants and refugees in Canada has evolved over the past few decades, and whether there has been a positive and tangible impact that this medium has had on this community, and on settler Canadians.

  Saturday March 17 10:00am – 3:00pm
  WORKSHOPS: STUDIOS B and C at the MIWSFPA
  
  Workshop STUDIO B (MW 247)
  10:00-12:00pm (Ruth Howard)
  This workshop will explore Jumblies’ recent Four Lands touring project, which brings together settler, newcomer, Indigenous residents of all ages and backgrounds in a gentle exploration of different perspectives on a place.
  jumbliestheatre.org/jumblies/about/staff/ruth-howard

  Workshop STUDIO C (MW 243)
  1:00-3:00pm (Lina de Guevara)
  This workshop will explore the different tools used to do research related to immigrant and refugee narratives: interviews, storytelling of personal stories, image creation, forum encounters, audience participation, etc. Lina will share the tools that she uses and those she avoids.
  linadeguevara.ca

  Registration required for workshops only.
  tensions-of-engagement-workshops.eventbrite.com

  PANELISTS:

  Lina de Guevara
  
  Lina de Guevara was the first immigrant artist to establish a theatre company in Victoria that solely focused on promoting the narratives of immigration and settlement with the purpose of bridging the gap between this minority group and the predominantly white culture of Victoria. Her work has spread to other provinces in Canada since she began her Canadian journey almost 40
  years ago.

  Ruth Howard
  
  Ruth Howard is the founder and Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre, based in Toronto. Her work with professional artists and diverse communities has won her recognition and awards. Jumblies is known for its large-scale collaborative community-engaged theatre and interdisciplinary arts residencies, projects and productions, as well as its dedication to learning and mentorship in community arts.

   

  Dr. Yasmine Kandil
  
  Yasmine began her immigrant journey in Victoria, BC, where she worked on multiple projects exploring celebration as a means for immigrant youth to claim a space in their new Canadian home. She is presently engaged in the second phase of devising a theatre piece that examines narratives of immigration and settlement for Brock students and local immigrants and refugees in relation to expectations, obstacles, and assimilation.

   

  Our guests, Lina de Guevara and Ruth Howard, are two of our Walker Cultural Leaders for 2017-18.  This series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Engaging, lively and erudite, these  sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society.
  This education program is generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker. Please join us!

  Tags: Applied Theatre, Department of Dramatic Arts, Dramatic Arts, immigrant, Lina de Guevara, Ruth Howard, Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context, Walker Cultural Leader, WCL, Yasmine Kandil
  Categories: Announcements, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Visiting Artists

• MIWSFPA offers ticket promotion in honour of International Women’s Day

  Wednesday, March 07, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  Brock Dramatic Arts students Manchari Paranthahan and Meryl Ochoa in the production of Top Girls playing at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts March 2 to 10.

  (Source: The Brock News | Wednesday, March 13, 2018)

  The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts is offering a special Top Girls promotion in honour of International Women’s Day.

  Tickets for the Brock production’s March 9 and 10 performances will be two for the price of one when buyers mention International Women’s Day.

  The promotion will be available in person at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office or by phone at 905-688-0722. Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

  Top Girls, Brock’s second mainstage production of the year, is a contemporary play that takes a critical look at women and their relationship to power and success.

  More information on the show is available on the Brock News.

  Tags: BOGO free, Dramatic Arts, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, FOPAC, Main stage, Mainstage, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, plays, The Brock News, theatre, Ticket promotion, Top Girls
  Categories: Announcements, Events, In the Media, News, Plays

• Community collaboration leads to a new play by Brock prof

  Wednesday, February 14, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  (Source: The Brock News | Monday, February 12, 2018 by Alison Innes)

  It was a simple, yet powerful statement.

  “We need to pay attention to the lives of Niagara’s migrant agricultural workers,” René Lopez, a worker advocate, said to Brock University Associate Professor David Fancy in 2010.

  That conversation began a journey of community collaboration that lead to the production of Our Lady of Delicias by the Essential Collective Theatre, which runs from Friday, Feb. 23 until Sunday, March 4 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

  Fancy, a professor with the Dramatic Arts program, collaborated with dozens of migrant workers and Dramatic Arts students for two years to develop the play. The story features the character of Rangel, a Mexican migrant worker who has been travelling to Canada for years to work in the vineyards and greenhouses of Niagara.

  “I’m excited by this new script,” says Essential Collective Theatres’ Monica Dufault, a long-term Brock instructor who is directing the production. “It explores migrant worker issues in considerable depth with a real artistry that I’m keen to share with audiences.”

  “Having lived in Niagara for more than a dozen years now, I still feel that this is a reality that is consciously ignored: the lives of people who are our neighbours,” says Fancy.

  The cast of four, including Carla Melo, Juan Carlos Velis, Camila Diaz-Varela and Josée Young, features an exceptional range of Canadian acting talent with extensive stage and screen credits. Brock Dramatic Arts graduates James McCoy and Jo Pacinda are creating the design and costume design for the production.

  What: Our Lady of Delicias, performed by the Essential Collective Theatre

  When: Friday, Feb. 23 to Sunday, March 4

  Where: Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

  SPECIAL OFFER: Present your ECT show program or ticket stub to receive a 20% discount on tickets for Top Girls presented by the Department of Dramatic Arts!

  Tags: Applied Theatre, David Fancy, drama in education, Dramatic Arts, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, FOPAC, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Monica Dufault, plays
  Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News, Plays

• Playwright/Actor Damien Atkins to Visit Brock Department of Dramatic Arts

  Tuesday, January 09, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  Toronto based actor and playwright Damien Atkins will do a reading from his work followed by a conversation with students in DART 3P92 Scriptwriting

  Date: Tuesday Feb. 13

  Time: 10:30 am

  Location: STUDIO B MW247 Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

  This is a free community event! All are welcome to attend.

  Damien Atkins is a playwright and actor who has performed across Canada and the United States. Playwriting credits include miss chatelaine (The Grand Theatre/Theatre Passe Muraille), Real Live Girl (Buddies in Bad Times/Manitoba Theatre Centre/The Grand), the adaptation (with Marjorie Chan) of Hisashi Inoue’s play In The Garden, Two Suns for Crow’s Theatre, Good Mother (Stratford Festival), Lucy (Canadian Stage Co./Ensemble Studio Theatre – NYC/Delaware Theatre Co.), The Mill, Part Four: Ash (theatrefront), The Gay Heritage Project (with Andrew Kushnir and Paul Dunn – Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), and We Are Not Alone (Crow’s Theatre/Segal Centre). He is the youngest playwright ever produced by the Stratford Festival. Damien has been nominated for nine Dora Mavor Moore Awards for acting and writing, including nominations for Best New Play for Lucy and The Gay Heritage Project. He has received the PRISM/UBC Creative Writing Residency Prize for Good Mother and a Dora for Best New Musical for Real Live Girl. Damien has been playwright-in-residence at UBC, Canadian Stage, Crow’s Theatre, and Factory Theatre, as well as a Guest Instructor at The National Theatre School.

  Tags: Damien Atkins, DART 3P92, Department of Dramatic Arts, drama in education, Dramatic Arts, Free community event, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Scriptwriting
  Categories: Events, News, Visiting Artists

• Acting exercise helps prepare co-op students for workplace

  Thursday, December 07, 2017 | By dtemprile

  

  First-year Dramatic Arts student Dawson Strangway, from Mirror Theatre, and co-op students Michelle Geremia, Julio Trevino Silva, and Hamza Mallick act out a ‘reception desk’ scene with the help of Professor Joe Norris, foreground.

  From small talk at the water cooler to encounters with testy photocopiers, students embarking on co-op work-terms never quite know the situations they may experience in their new workplace.

  To help lessen stress and increase comfort heading into a new environment, Brock Dramatic Arts students recently visited their co-op peers to share some scenarios they may be faced with.

  Comprised primarily of Dramatic Arts students under the direction of Joe Norris, Dramatic Arts Chair and Professor of Drama in Education and Applied Theatre, Mirror Theatre spent time in three Co-op Education classes over the past few weeks to provide guidance and reassurance by acting out scenes in Sean O’Sullivan Theatre.

  

  Co-op students Daniel O’Leary, left, and Marsel Avdic, right, play tug of war with fourth-year Dramatic Arts student and Mirror Theatre member Sumer Seth during an ‘Awkward Elevator’ scene.

  The group write and present interactive scenes on a variety of social issues, with the latest art-based research project exploring the interpersonal dynamics of work placements from entry to exit.

  Using applied theatre, experiential and problem-based learning theories and techniques, the students present scenes that address worker safety, on-site learning, asking for help, dealing with unreasonable demands and degree of personal sharing and assessment. Audience members redirect the scenes from their seat and, at times, come on stage to try to act out their thoughts through role-play.

  The initiative was intended to generate discussion amongst the co-op students on a variety of work-related topics in the 0N90 class.

  Students were asked to put themselves in the actors’ shoes in order to understand how they would handle each of the given situations in real life.

  “I would recommend this type of interactive learning in future classes,” said second-year Public Health co-op student Micaela Snow following the exercise. “I feel like the presentation gave us a deeper understanding of expectations and work etiquette rather than if we just listened to the professor talking about it.”

  Julia Zhu, Brock’s Associate Director of Co-op Education, hoped the experience helped to “facilitate ‘a rehearsal for life’ by offering an opportunity for students to safely test out their approach to impromptu social, ethical and culture situations.”

  Course facilitator Ashley Haroutunian said she was impressed by the level of engagement students displayed as they watched the vignettes and participated in the discussions and re-enactments.

  “They demonstrated a keen ability to reflect and contribute thoughtful observations and suggestions to help the players navigate the challenging workplace scenarios and conflicts,” she said. “Professor Norris and his students did an excellent job of supporting their learning by inviting, encouraging and involving students in the process.”

  Mirror Theatre has previously worked with Brock’s English as a Second Language Services in addressing academic integrity issues; Student Health, examining mental health and drinking issues; Health and Safety, discussing violence in the workplace; a Health Sciences class, articulating challenges of patient care; and the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation’s TA training sessions. The group’s members are heading to New York in April to present their arts-based research at the American Educational Research Association.

  Mirror Theatre members who participated in the recent co-op exercises include fourth-year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts students Mike Metz and Lindsey Abrams, third-year Psychology and Dramatic Arts student Nadia Ganesh, fourth-year Dramatic Arts and Education student Aaron Drake, fourth-year Con-Ed student Abby Rollo, second-year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts student Dani Shae Barkley, fourth-year Dramatic Arts student Sumer Seth and first-year Dramatic Arts student Dawson Strangway.

  Speaking with Mirror Theatre members on how this group has impacted their lives, Mike Metz, fourth year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts student says, “When I started Mirror Theatre in my first year, I was a Con-Ed math student. Mirror Theatre was one of the major reasons I decided to switch my major to Drama.”

  Lindsey Abrams, fourth year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts student adds, “Mirror Theatre has given me the opportunity to explore my love for theatre through different lenses as an actor, prospective educator, and learner.  I get the opportunity to explore all different areas of theatre that can be presented, and feel as though I am always a part of a team.”

  When Nadia Ganesh, third year Psychology and Dramatic Arts student was asked what she enjoys about participating in Mirror Theatre, she said, “I love the fact that Mirror Theatre gives me the ability to impact the lives of others even if it is only in a minor way. If it’s just making one person laugh, I’m happy that I’ve had the opportunity to affect that individual in a positive way.”

  Tags: 0N90, Applied Theatre, DART faculty, Department of Dramatic Arts, drama in education, Dramatic Arts, Joe Norris, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Mirror Theatre, Sean O'Sullivan, Sean O'Sullivan Theatre, The Brock News
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News