“Return to the Nile: a newcomer’s journey” was performed this morning by a group of six students who have studied Applied Theatre. They teamed up with Dr. Yasmine Kandil to interview and engage with six immigrant and refugee participants from the Niagara Folk Arts Centre.
There are two more performances at the MIWSFPA this Friday and Saturday at 6 pm.
(Source: The St. Catharines Standard, Tuesday, April 25, 2017 | by Bob Tymczyszyn)
Niagara Falls is about to gain another escape room site, but this one comes with a twist.
In the basement of the Niagara Military Museum on Victoria Avenue, Brock University students are busy readying for live testing as they prepare for launch at the end of the summer.
Dramatic Arts Associate Professor Natalie Alvarez said the idea was just by chance. “I phoned the Niagara Military Museum just to investigate to see the possibility of taking my students through a tour, and through a conversation, I found out they were interested in developing escape rooms.”
“As a professor of dramatic arts it occurred to me that this was a very rare opportunity to have students in the department of dramatic arts collaborate with students in interactive arts and science bringing their two specializations together, skills in directing, scriptwriting, acting, props and set design with students that were refining their skills in interactive narrative, puzzle, and cipher building.”
Alvarez says the half-term course of 13 weeks is completely devoted to creating escape rooms designed to the site’s history.
The site was formed in 1911 as an armoury and used during the First World War then later used for social functions before becoming a museum.
She explained that one of the room designs is tapping into factual events that unfolded on the site.“And the cold war room is tapping into its latent cold war history,” said Alvarez.
“In a way, this is an escape room that isn’t just an escape room. It’s bridging other traditions of immersive performance and site-specific theatre, we’re straddling all those traditions and hence this collaboration of disciplines.”
Museum vice-president Berndt Meyer said this form of escape room is bringing history to a generation, through the subterfuge of play.
“There are a lot of static displays at every museum, but this one brings it into context,” he said.
“Because we have real stories that took place here. This place is full of history.”
Students in the control room monitored the progress of teams in the two rooms, and as the clocks ticked closer to the hour, they were hoping someone would find enough clues to set their way to freedom.
After several run-throughs, no one had yet escaped in the allotted time.
Tynan Manuel, one of the room designers, said it’s meant to be hard.
“Most of the time in escape rooms you go in, and you will fail.“
“Getting out is great, getting close is still a great feeling.”
—
(See the original article at the St. Catharines Standard to watch the featured video on the escape room!)
DART Alumnus Jeremy Ferdman performs in the Classic Theatre Project‘s latest production of Macbeth. From the CTP website:
Set against the backdrop of violent tribal conflicts, this re-imagined, gritty production of Macbeth features epic sword fights and modern stage technology. As hero becomes tyrant, Shakespeare’s masterful commentary on the corrupting nature of power poses the timeless and dangerous question:
‘Is he who desires ultimate power capable of being a just leader?’
Photo courtesy of thectp.ca
Jeremy Ferdman
(Macduff, Bleeding Saergent)
Jeremy Ferdman is an award-winning actor from Toronto. Beginning his career ‘belly dancing’ in a National Rogers commercial at 15, Jeremy trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting (NYC), Art of Acting Studio (LA), University of North Carolina and Brock University. He played the role of Marty Glickman in Focus Features’ Race, opposite Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons, and recently wrapped the Dylan Thomas biopic, Dominion, with John Malkovich and Tony Hale, which Jeremy is Executive Producing with Film Colony (Hateful 8/Cider House Rules). Theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Georgia Shakespeare), Bad Jews (Theatre Calgary), Metamorphoses (Georgia Shakespeare), Soon (Young Storytellers Foundation), Waiting for Lefty (Off-Broadway/Harold Clurman Lab) and Revenger’s Tragedy (Kennedy Center). Television credits include Rookie Blue (ABC), Killer Kids (Lifetime), Unusual Suspects (Discovery), Warehouse 13 (NBC Universal) and Man Seeking Woman (FX). Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @jeremy_ferdman
alumni, Classical Theatre Project, Jeremy Ferdman, Macbeth, Macduff, Shakespeare, the Scottish play
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, News
Date/Time: April 28, 2017, 3 pm – 4:15 pm
Location: Plaza Rm. 410, Brock University
DART alumna Victoria Mountain will feature at the SHIFT Professional Development Conference for graduate students alongside VISA alumna Shauna Daley with their session, “ARTS AND CULTURE: CAREER CONVERSATIONS”. From the conference website: “A modern cultural worker can thrive in variety of careers in education, media and the arts. The reach and satisfaction of creative practice can be the cusp of personal freedom and a condition for seeking satisfying work. How do we negotiate and harness creative energies within professions that embrace those creative forces? Join our conversation!”
Victoria is a writer, performer, researcher and cultural manager residing in Toronto, Ontario. In addition to her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Brock University, she also holds a Master of Arts in Drama from the University of Toronto, and an Erasmus Mundus Master of International Performance Research from the Universities of Warwick, United Kingdom and Helsinki, Finland. Victoria currently works for the City of Brampton as the Manager of Culture with the Economic Development and Culture Division, leading the City through its first cultural master planning process.
The Department of Dramatic Arts is proud to announce that several DART graduates and one of our DART professors have been nominated for the Emerging Artist award at this year’s St. Catharines Arts Awards!
More information can be found at this news entry on the main MIWSFPA website. Congratulations, and good luck!
(Source: The Brock News, Thursday, April 13, 2017 | by Maryanne Firth)
Two new escape rooms carefully crafted by Brock University students are undergoing final testing while readying for their public debut.
Brock’s Dramatic Arts and Interactive Arts and Science students have been working since January to create the physical adventure games through a partnership with the Niagara Military Museum in Niagara Falls.
The interactive experience sees players locked in a series of rooms and challenged to solve puzzles in exchange for their freedom as they race against the clock.
Brock University Dramatic Arts and Interactive Arts and Science students have been working since January to create two escape rooms in the Niagara Military Museum in Niagara Falls.
A group of about 30 students worked at the Victoria Avenue museum throughout the winter term to develop each aspect of the rooms, from the costumes to the puzzles to the props and sets.
The building, which dates back to 1911 and was once used as an armoury, inspired the historical First World War and Cold War escape room themes.
The rooms are unique in that they include live actors who guide players through the narrative.
“That’s how students hope to differentiate their rooms within Niagara’s escape room market,” said Dramatic Arts Associate Professor Natalie Alvarez, who was the driving force behind the experiential education project.
“I’m really hoping this will be a niche for students.”
Students are now working to test the rooms and will be evaluated on their work during an upcoming live testing event on Tuesday, April 18.
In attendance to evaluate the rooms will be representatives from Casa Loma’s escape room team, Canadian author and historian Christian Cameron, curator Kathleen Powell and archivist Alicia Floyd of the St. Catharines Museum, and Brock University faculty.
The escape rooms are set to open to the public at the end of May at a cost of roughly $25 per person.
Brock University Dramatic Arts and Interactive Arts and Science students have been working since January to create two escape rooms in the Niagara Military Museum in Niagara Falls.
Proceeds will assist in the maintenance and continued operation of the museum.
“It’s meant to leave a lasting mark on Niagara tourism, helping to make the museum more sustainable,” Alvarez said, while expressing gratitude to museum operators Jim and Kathy Doherty for their ongoing support.
“It’s been really rewarding to see the students form what I hope will be a lasting relationship with the museum,” she said.
Students will have the opportunity to remain at the helm of the escape rooms going forward, first on a voluntary basis and then potentially in paid positions if the rooms become financially viable.
The museum’s partnership with Brock was made possible through a cultural development grant provided by the City of Niagara Falls, as well as a service-learning grant provided by the University.
Students who created the escape rooms will be doing a takeover of Brock’s Snapchat account on the afternoon of April 18 when the escape room testing takes place. To follow along and view behind-the-scenes footage, add brockuni to Snapchat.
The Department of Dramatic Arts has moved to our new location! We are part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts located at 15 Artists’ Common, adjacent to the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines. During the summer of 2015 we will preparing our new location for the very first classes to begin in September 2015. Please visit this page again to read about our excellent new facilities.
When we were located on the main campus at 500 Glenridge we had a variety of facilities including 3 stages and numerous workshops to allow students to work in all aspects of design, set building, wardrobe and rehearsal.
Students had access to the following facilities at Brock:
There’s something strange in the neighbourhood…
The Department of Dramatic Arts 4F56 Ensemble presents Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom by Jennifer Haley, a chilling play that blurs the line between the real and the virtual in present day suburbia. This production runs April 21and 22, 2017, and will be held in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, 15 Artists’ Common.
The kids are obsessed with Neighborhood 3, a new video game that uses GPS technology to map their own suburban homes into a battle terrain. Pets start disappearing, players freak out, and suddenly the parents can no longer keep track of their teens. As the young players battle a legion of zombies to reach the Final House, they confront their family’s dysfunctions as well as the dreaded Neighborhood Association. In this community, good parenting is nowhere to be found and the adults’ lackadaisical involvement in their teens’ lives has devastating repercussions.
Award winning playwright Jennifer Haley, referred to as “the first major playwright of the digital age” by New York Theatre, focuses her theatrical work on virtual reality and its effect on families. Her cautionary tale explores the transition from technological escapism to violent obsession. Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom asks ‘what is the impact of the virtual on the real? Can real life violence be blamed on violent video games? Who is raising your child – you or your iPad?’
Production managed by Linda Duong, and built by Dana Morin, Neighborhood 3 is directed by Gyllian Raby (Professor) and Olivia De Sousa, and designed by Kaitlyn Seguin (set), Nicole James (properties), Allison Pressnail (projections and lighting), Sydney Francolini (sound), John Clancy (costume), Rachelle Scott, and Demetri Tsioros (choreography and fights). The 4F56 Ensemble further includes Sarah Bradford, Nikka Collison, Caroline Coon, Ben Fallis, Lena Hall, Chantal Hatton, Alexandra Li Tomulescu, Jonah McGrath, Elena Milenkovski, Dana Morin, and Elizabeth Pereira.
Plan to join us for this provocative and unsettling melodrama held in Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, 15 Artists’ Common, in downtown St. Catharines. Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom runs April 21 and 22, 2017 at 7:30 pm. There will be a free preview day on April 21 at 11:30 am. Tickets are $5 (applicable fees and taxes are extra) and are available for purchase at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Box Office at 905.688.0722; toll-free 1.855.515.0722; e-mail: [email protected]; or online: firstontariopac.ca
Theatre students take charge in Brock University’s ONE ACT FESTIVAL 2017!
Every year, Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts presents an exciting festival of ten one-act plays, all completely directed by, designed by and starring the bright and talented students of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. This year’s ONE ACT FESTIVAL 2017 will be held at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre on April 7 and 8, 2017, and promises an engaging and diverse variety of experiences for the theatre-going audience.
The ONE ACT FESTIVAL 2017 is presented in two parts over two days. Both parts are performed each day of the festival. Audiences may choose to view the full run of plays in one day, or watch one part per day.
| Part One (April 7 at 2 pm & April 8 at 7:30 pm): | Part Two (April 7 at 7:30 pm & April 8 at 2 pm): |
|
Pillow by Frederick Stroppel Directed by: Kelli Sitarski Designed by: Aislinn Doran & Allie Aubry |
The Tarantino Variation by Seth Kramer Directed by: Samantha Mastrella Designed by: Jillian Wardell & Alex Agostinho |
| A Florentine Tragedy (excerpt)
by Oscar Wilde Directed by: Mark Dickinson Designed by: Allie Aubry & Aislinn Doran |
Ghost Trio
by Samuel Beckett Directed by: Helena Ciuciura Designed by: Laura Burton & Ariel Nelson |
| One for the Road
by Harold Pinter Directed by: Michelle Mohammed Designed by: Alex Agostinho & Jillian Wardell |
Check Please
by Jonathan Rand Directed by: Candice Burn Designed by: Ariel Nelson & Laura Burton |
| The Cowboy
by Patrick Holland Directed by: Mackenzie Kerr Designed by: Jillian Wardell & Alex Agostinho |
Irene and Lillian Forever
by Bonnie Farmer Directed by: Tarndeep Pannu Designed by: Allie Aubry & Aislinn Doran |
| Batteries Not Included
by Caitlin English Directed by: Iain Beaumont Designed by: Chelsea Wilson |
All By Myself
by Robert Scott Directed by: Naomi Richardson Designed by: Chelsea Wilson |
As the final assignment for the third-year Directing II class, each directing student chooses a one-act play to produce for the ONE ACT FESTIVAL 2017. This year, the directing and design students are mentored by Visiting Director (and retired faculty member) Professor Virginia Reh, collaborating with Professor David Vivian. The students direct, design and perform ten short plays as they complete their courses in directing and theatrical design.
Topics of the plays include the exploration of human relations in historical settings through to the thrills and chills of contemporary life. Professor Virginia Reh states, “Over the years I have enjoyed watching the young directors select challenging plays and grow their confidence and artistry during the 10 weeks of rehearsal development. Completing the One Act Festival is a capstone achievement as they prepare for their final year of study.
This is the first year the directing and design students have collaborated together to realize the festival. Professor David Vivian states, “As we complete the second season at 15 Artists’ Common our students will bring their bold visions to life in a reconfigured Marilyn I. Walker Theatre. With every production we learn about innovative possibilities provided by our excellent new facility.”
The festival will be held in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at 15 Artists’ Common, downtown St. Catharines on April 7 and 8, 2017. Part One will be performed on April 7 at 2 pm and April 8 at 7:30 pm. Part Two will be performed on April 7 at 7:30 pm and April 8 at 2 pm. Seating at this event is limited. Tickets are available at the door, and admission is “pay-what-you-can.”
Parking is not available on-site, however, there are more than 1,000 spots available in nearby parking garages, surface lots, and on city streets within a five-minute walk to our address at 15 Artists’ Common. Visit http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/livein/ParkingLotsGarages.asp for a list of parking locations.
Such performances from the Department of Dramatic Arts are an integral 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.
BrockU, DART, Dramatic Arts, MIWSFPA, One Acts, One Acts Festival, Play, theatre
Categories: Events, Plays
MEDIA RELEASE
David Fancy, a faculty member of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, is no stranger to new ventures.
A veteran creator of new theatre productions that explore current events and engage the Niagara Region, he joined forces with former Cirque du Soleil performers Kosta Zakharenko and Christine Cadeau in 2010 to form Zacada Entertainment.
“We wanted to combine theatre and circus in new ways,” says Fancy, who’s equally comfortable in the classroom as in the rehearsal studio. “The fusion of genres really permits some unique opportunities for dynamic forms of contemporary expression,” he notes.
This year, the Zacada Entertainment crew will present a new Cirque Cabaret show, entitled Shotgun Wedding, at Niagara Falls’ 650-seat Greg Frewin Theatre.
Shotgun Wedding features the story of two star-crossed lovers forced to get married by their deeply religious parents. On their way to Niagara Falls for the ceremony they each secretly decide to have one last fling with the person of their dreams.
“The production deals with perennial concerns of love and relationships,” says Fancy, “but also shines a humorous and probing light on issues pertaining to Niagara, including migrant labour, tourism, and gambling.”
Zacada is particularly happy to be working with three recent graduates of Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) who will be taking up the acting and singing roles in Shotgun Wedding.
Mitchell Allanson, Marley Kajan, and Sean Rintoul have all finished their Honours Dramatic Arts degrees over the past three years, and have gone on to further training and professional creative opportunities around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
Kajan, a native of Welland, is pleased to be joining the company. “All three of us DART grads are super-happy to have been brought aboard to help bring this show to life,” she says.
“These kinds of opportunities for intensive professionalization are gold,” says Rintoul, a 2- year veteran of other Zacada productions.
Marly Kajan, DART Graduate
Recent Zacada show Fancy has written and directed that have toured Ontario include Circus Revolution, a story about Marxist clowns who escape a gulag by means of their circus prowess, and Circus Labyrinth, a piece that explores creative responses to contemporary forms of social control.
For its part, Shotgun Wedding features original Niagara-themed musical theatre numbers with support from a seven-piece band, as well as high-octane performances from over 10 cirque artists from Zacada Entertainment’s extensive pool of talent.Silks artists, contortionists, acrobats, and a host of other highly skilled cirque performances each grace the stage for every performance of Shotgun Wedding.
The production team for Shotgun Wedding is currently in high gear with rehearsals and development for the June 9th opening. The show will be performed sixty times over the course of the summer.
“We’re deeply excited about this new show,” says Vittoria Wikston, General Manager of the Greg Frewin Theatre, “Especially with how it offers national level talent and serves as a unique reflection of the many strengths and talents of our region.”
“We couldn’t be happier about having this exciting new addition to our roster of shows,” says master magician and theatre owner, Greg Frewin.
He adds, “It’s going to be an awesome summer.”
Website: shotgunwedding.ca
Brock Promotional code for 20% discount is ShotgunBrock
Christine Cadeau, circus, Cirque du Soleil, David Fancy, Greg Frewin, Greg Frewin Theatre, Kosta Zakharenko, Marley Kajan, media release, Mitchell Allanson, Sean Rintoul, Shotgun Wedding, Vittoria Wikston, Zacada Entertainment
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, Media Releases, News
