The second annual National STAR Festival South (School Theatrical Arts Recognition Festival) welcomed 150 students, guest artists and educators to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts from May 8 to 10. The packed schedule included an intensive 24-hour playwriting workshop led by Toronto-based producer, actor, screenwriter and sound designer Sean Meldrum with support from third-year Dramatic Arts (DART) student Ariel Piluso and Concurrent Education and DART student Kashvi Sharma. Mentoring students in the workshop (right to left, seated at table) are Sharma, Piluso, Liya Edwards of Assumption College School and Ava Montgomery of A.N. Myer Secondary School, directing Als Vanderlee of Laura Secord Secondary School (second from left) and Arlo Ross of AN Myer Secondary School (left).
published Thursday, May 14, 2026 in The Brock News | by Gillian Minaker
Emerging young theatre artists nurtured their creativity and built their confidence during a recent festival held at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).
Hosted by Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART), the second annual National STAR Festival South (STAR for School Theatrical Arts Recognition) welcomed 150 students, guest artists and educators to the School from May 8 to 10 for immersive learning, mentorship, performances and community building. Students came from Alexander MacKenzie (YRDSB), A.N. Myer (DSBN), Assumption College (Brant/Hamilton DSB), Bravo Academy (TDSB), E.L. Crossley (DSBN), Holy Cross (Niagara Catholic DSB), Laura Secord (DSBN), Meadowvale (Peel District), Milliken Mills (York Region DSB), St. Paul (Niagara Catholic DSB) and Welland Centennial (DSBN) Secondary Schools. For many this was their first visit to the campus of the MIWSFPA.
Students participated in hands-on workshops spanning musical theatre, playwriting, devising through Viewpoints, acting, sound and lighting design, acting for the camera, audition tips and tricks and a special Brock edition of the Theatre Tech Olympics.
Workshop instructors included guests from AMDA College of the Performing Arts (New York and Hollywood), Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta, GA), The Vancouver Film School, Shaw Festival, Brock University, Niagara College, Toronto and the region.
The performance events were technically produced by our MIWSFPA Theatre Technician Sandra Marcroft, supported by DART students Liam Farrell, Gianna Lupparelli Nash and Skylar Perrier.
The two-day event culminated in a friendly competition designed to prepare students for future learning, performance and production opportunities. The performances and presentations were adjudicated by guest mentors from across North America including DART faculty David Fancy and Danielle Wilson and students from the Department of Dramatic Arts.
The winning One Act play for the STAR Short Play Program, The Job, was written by an emerging playwright from Assumption College School in Brantford Ontario, Liya Edwards. The play is a short comedic piece that tells the story of today’s job climate. It follows a young man on his journey through a job interview experience when things don’t turn into what he expected. During the closing ceremonies The Job and two other original plays were performed, following their development during a 24 playwriting intensive under the mentorship of Toronto-based actor, screenwriter, and sound designer Sean Meldrum assisted by DART students Ariel Piluso and Kashvi Sharma. Edward’s play will be published by the TAEA and included in future teaching and learning catalogues of plays for high school and emerging artists. Read about Edward’s experience in the Brantford Expositor.
There were 22 scholarship applicants for awards including Performance Arts, Leadership in Performance Arts, Technical Theatre and Design, Future Theatre Educator, Music Theatre Performance, and Creative Citizenship with a total value of approximately $350,000. Students from schools across Niagara and the GTA were awarded scholarships from AMDA, Savannah College of Art and Design, Vancouver Film School, Theatrical Arts Education Association, and Brock University ranging in value from $200 CAD to $80, 000 USD.
The festival was co-organized by Tracy Garratt, Program Leader for the Arts with the District School Board of Niagara and a teacher at A.N. Myer Secondary School in Niagara Falls, and David Vivian, DART Associate Professor and Scenographer.
In the keynote address welcoming students, Vivian spoke to the legacy of Marilyn I. Walker’s founding gift for MIWSFPA in downtown St. Catharines and invited the visiting emerging artists to make their community — and the world — a better place by creating theatre informed by their own vision.
“The STAR Festival is a remarkable opportunity for secondary school students, teachers and members of the University community, students and faculty, to come together in the power of the performing arts to express, tell our stories and share our aspirations for future generations,” he said.
For Garratt, the festival presented participants an opportunity for space for growth, belonging, creativity and connection.
“The experience provides young thespians with opportunities to learn, develop confidence, collaborate with peers and celebrate the arts in an environment that encourages both excellence and vulnerability. STAR Festival has become an important part of the artistic and personal development of so many young people,” she said.
Third-year DART student Ariel Piluso, who is pursuing a concentration in Performance, served as a workshop mentor in the one-act playwriting session. She worked closely with secondary school students and helped bring their plays to life in the final performances of the festival.
“Together, we explored ensemble-based theatre, collaboration, staging and storytelling in a supportive creative environment,” she said.
After graduating, Piluso aspires to become a theatre educator and work with students from different age groups.
“The STAR Festival is close to my heart as it gave me the chance to begin developing the mentorship and teaching skills I will use in my future career. This experience is deeply connected with my studies because so much of dramatic arts is rooted in collaboration, creativity, ensemble work, communication and storytelling. Through the festival, I was able to apply those skills in this setting while learning how to adapt them for younger students,” she said.
Third-year Concurrent Education and DART student Kashvi Sharma worked as an adjudicator and mentor at the festival, which incorporates friendly, rubric-driven competition and culminates with awards given in various performance categories.
“My biggest takeaway from this experience was having the pleasure of watching such a young, but very mighty, group of artists put themselves out there, test themselves, try new things and take risks,” she said.
The festival also welcomed back DART graduates who helped facilitate workshops. DART graduate Laura Maieron (BA ’24), who completed a concentration in Production and Design, facilitated a workshop on lighting design and co-led the “Tech Olympics competition.”
Maieron, Production Manager for Suitcase in Point Multi-arts Company, said her goal was “to help students leave the competition with a newly acquired set of skills to bring back to their creative work, in their high schools and beyond, and help advance their careers as emerging artists.”
The National STAR Festival South is one of five national festivals taking place in May 2026, the others located in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Corner Brook, NL. A project of the Theatrical Arts Education Association of Canada, TAEA is a national arts service organization strengthening Canadian theatre through artist-led training, national showcasing pathways, and sector resources for artists, teaching artists, educators, and organizations. Sponsors for the National STAR Festival South included Youth Wellness Hubs of Ontario, Contact Niagara, AMDA, SCAD, VFS, Ontario Staging Limited, Shaw Festival, IATSE, Theatrefolk and the John Howard Society of Niagara. The festivals would not be a success without the dedicated support of teachers and their administrations from across Niagara, Ontario and Canada.
