The Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) Newsletter for 2011-12 is now available for download.
Contents include information about the programs and Concentrations, annual production and presentation activity, special invited guests, faculty and staff, alumni accomplishments, student awards and bursaries, the Invitational process, and DART at the Stratford and Shaw Festivals.
Paper copies are available upon request from [email protected]
newsletter
Categories: Future students, News
A week long intensive introducing adults with developmental disabilities to the world of drama was held at Brock University this summer. During the morning sessions, participants were led by local theatre practitioners in various aspects of drama (i.e. Voice, Movement, Improvisation, etc.) The afternoon sessions focused on the creation of short performances which opened for the public on Friday July 29th, 2011 at 1pm.
Mainstream was founded in 1984 and continues to be a strong presence in Niagara, operating various programs to support adults with a developmental disability. Mainstream’s mission is to ‘improve the quality of life for people with a developmental disability by providing a supportive environment that strives to empower individuals with necessary skills and confidence for lifelong learning and growth.”
developmental disability, mainstream
Categories: News
Turn Around Projects of the Arts – lead by graduates, students and colleagues of the Department of Dramatic Arts of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts – began its fifth year on July 7th, 2011 in Port Antonio, Jamaica. TAP is a multi-national initiative using the arts and education to build sustainable communities.
This year, four talented Brock students attended TAP Jamaica: Lescia Poppe, Jamez Townsend, Dorothy Kane and Meaghan Gowrie, as well as seven Brock graduates, Tiffany Stull, Rox Chwaluk, Mike Irwin, Whitney Lee, Alycia McQueen, Christine Cassar, and Matt McLeod. Along with 8 others, the Canadian/American team developed successful workshops in dance, visual arts, music, creative writing, dramatic arts, culinary arts, film, and photography. Many weeks since the conclusion of the program the spirit and principles of TAP persist in the hearts of the Canadian facilitators and the Jamaican youth who participated. The hard work, dedication and compassion that every single team member brought to the project has once again guaranteed its success.
The TAP pilot project began in 2007 with a collaboration between the programming director of the project and former Drama in Education and Society program graduate, Tiffany Stull, her classmates, and their guest professor the renowned Canadian Dub Poet Michael St. George. Students of the third year dramatic arts course Alternative Forms of Theatre worked together to create a two-week long program of intensive educational workshops for the youth in an impoverished region of Jamaica. With the leadership of former DART professor Jane Leavitt and Michael St. George a five year commitment to TAP Jamaica was established with the intention of initiating and maintaining integrated arts workshops every July.
Participant and third-year DART student Meaghan Gowrie exclaimed, “From a personal standpoint, I can proudly say that when facilitating the music workshop, my success was in part rooted deeply in the skills, knowledge and values that I have been taught so far as a Drama in Education and Society student at Brock University.”
Now that the five year commitment to TAP Jamaica has come to an end the Canadian team is prepared to move into Phase 2 of the program, training Jamaican youth to become facilitators of an autonomous and self-directed workshop program. This summer the groundwork was laid for Phase 2 with the creation of the F.I.T. team (Facilitators in Training). This team included ten Jamaican youth who have successfully achieved the objectives of TAP through their actions and leadership skills in previous years. Five of these participants graduated the F.I.T. program in 2011 and will facilitate workshops in July 2012.
Gowrie added, “The experience that I had as a Canadian team member, educator and friend to the amazing 44 Jamaican youth that attended the program is completely impossible to describe in words or writing. It is my hope that anyone who comes in contact with the pictures, videos, and people of TAP will get a small taste of the impact that the first five years has made on everyone who has ever helped in the execution of, or attended the program. The optimism and positivity that is now ever-presently radiating in each of us will inspire the people of Brock University and eventually the world that the arts can change lives, that anything is possible and that step by step, we WILL make it to the top!”
Further information about the 2011 program can be found at the project blog http://turnaroundproject.ca/blog/ . For information about TAP please contact [email protected] .
TAP participants in 201
alumni, Jamaica, port antonio, TAP, Turn Around Project
Categories: Alumni, News
Caitlin Popek at the National Voice Intensive in 2011. photograph courtesy of Fabrice Grover www.fabricegroverphoto.com and the National Voice Intensive.
Caitlin Popek, graduate of the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART), recently returned from Canada’s National Voice Intensive. This renowned five-week professional training workshop in Vancouver is attended by professional artists from across North America and abroad.
An ambitious, dedicated and focused student in her academic studies, Caitlin excelled on the stage when she played the lead character Desiree Armfeldt in the DART 2009 production of the Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music. More recently she honed her skills as the Teaching Assistant for DART 3P54 Directing and she has just begun production managing for Showboat Festival Theatre in Port Colborne.
“My experience at the Voice Intensive was absolutely amazing! . . . One of the first things they told us was, ‘You will be confused and that’s exactly where we want you to be.’ Even with that statement I was confused!” she says, “You mean, we’re not here to get answers?” After experiencing 5 weeks of intense vocal, physical, emotional, and mental work that first statement made complete sense. “I did leave with a lot of confusion, but it was the kind of confusion that drives me to keep digging and discovering and investigating in my work.”
Caitlin adds, “There were things that I understood already about my voice from classes experienced at Brock and the Intensive just pumped up the volume on all those things. . . For example, I knew that my voice reveals who I am but I did not really understand how much my voice reveals, AND that that is the only thing it can do. As a speaker, all you can do is allow what is inside you to be revealed and the response is out of your control! To allow myself to be fully revealed is a very scary thing but when I achieved this feat it was the most wonderful feeling I have ever experienced. To allow myself to be whoever I am inside, at any given moment, became an amazingly freeing thing.”
Caitlin graduated in 2010 with First-Class Standing in the Performance Concentration of the Honours Dramatic Arts program. Working with some of the best emerging actors and trainers in Canada in 2011 Caitlin has already achieved an experience of an actor’s lifetime.
“Without the help and guidance from many professors at Brock I would not have been able, or ready, to experience what I did at the Voice Intensive. It was such a wonderful experience and I want to thank everyone who helped me to get there!!”
Congratulations on your success, Caitlin!
alumni, Caitlin Popek, National Voice Intensive
Categories: Alumni, News
Dart Alumnus Andrew Fleming hits the boards playing Duperret in Soup Can Theatre’s production of Marat/Sade. The show runs from July 19-24 at the Alumnae Theatre in downtown Toronto (Berkeley Street). All performances are at 8pm except for the final show which is a 2pm matinee.
Andrew first performed in the play on the stage of the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre at Brock University when the Department of Dramatic Arts produced Mara/Sade in 2009.
Please see www.maratsade.ca for information including the production concept as well as promotional photographs of the production.
Break-a-leg, Andrew!
alumni, Andrew Fleming, Marat/Sade
Categories: Alumni, News
Once again DART alumni are taking the stage and making scenes at the Toronto 2011 Fringe Festival. Some of the productions were first work-shopped or developed during our students’ academic year at Brock. Shows include:
“Circus”
by Nathan Tanner Mac Donald
presented by Moment by Moment from St Catharines, ON
http://fringetoronto.com/fringefest/indoorBYOV_listings.html#C
Come one, come all! Enter the Big Tent! Witness everything from a baby’s first steps to the dart board of death! BING, BAM, POW! Ever feel like your mind is the centre ring of a circus? Well, John does.
Director: Nathan Tanner Mac Donald
Genre: Play, Drama
Warning: Mature Language
Venue 12 Factory Theatre Mainspace
50 min.
Wed, July 6 10:30 PM 1203
Fri, July 8 5:15 PM 1209
Sun, July 10 3:00 PM 1221
Tue, July 12 8:45 PM 1236
Thu, July 14 4:00 PM 1247
Fri, July 15 7:30 PM 1256
Sun, July 17 Noon 1266
“Visa Called this Morning”
by Jen Gallant
(www.jjmoneyproductions.ca)
presented by JJ Money Productions from Toronto, ON
Her creditors are calling. Her bank accounts are freezing. Jen finds herself feeling more like a criminal than a valued customer. she is forced to reconcile her toxic relationship with debt. Jen’s struggle to survive her maxed out reality leaves her realizing that, the banks don’t love you like your parents.
Cast: Jen Gallant
Genre: Play, Comedy
Venue 11 Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
60 min.
Wed, July 6 10:00 PM 1103
Fri, July 8 4:45 PM 1109
Sat, July 9 6:45 PM 1116
Mon, July 11 5:45 PM 1127
Tue, July 12 8:30 PM 1135
Wed, July 13 3:00 PM 1138
Thu, July 14 9:45 PM 1148
Sun, July 17 4:00 PM 1163
alumni, Dramatic Arts, theatre, Toronto Fringe Festival
Categories: Alumni, News
Brock Alumna and DART TA, Lauren Shepherd, will be seen performing this summer in Canopy Theatre’s Outdoor Theatre for Downtown Toronto production of:
LYSISTRATA – the sex strike by Aristophanes (Adapted by Germaine Greer and Phil Willmott)
Known for its bawdy humour, Lysistrata tells the tale of how one woman encourages a nation of lustful ladies to deny their husbands any sexual attention until the men declare peace and put a stop to civil war. Germaine Greer’s adaptation keeps all of the expected phalli, sexually charged hijinks and anti-war rhetoric while also exploring issues of gender politics and class bias. Guaranteed to be the sexiest production ever seen on Philosopher’s Stage, Lysistrata comes with a ‘mature content’ warning: This is not a family show!
Tickets can be purchased online at: www.canopytheatre.ca, or at the door. Students, Wednesday nights are PAY WHAT YOU CAN! Bring a blanket and enjoy the fun!
Event Details:
July 20 – August 6, 2011
Wednesday – Saturday
doors open at 7:30pm, curtain at 8pm
alumni, Canopy Theatre, Lauren Shepherd, Lysistrata
Categories: Alumni, News
THE DEPARTMENT OF DRAMATIC ARTS
DART 3V90: Theory and Practice of Drama in Education with JONOTHAN NEELANDS
Six-day intensive course: Monday, July 25 – Saturday, July 30, 2011
Through a combination of workshops, demonstrations, reflections, and lectures, this course examines models for the planning and teaching of process drama. It will provide the opportunity for students to examine the community effects of drama and its role in our personal and social development. This half-credit course will be intensely practical and relevant to teaching the full age range of children through to adults. The learning experiences will be supported by readings and other materials developed for sustainable learning.
Jonothan Neelands is an internationally renowned drama-in-education professor who has written extensively about the use of drama as a learning medium. He has worked with teachers of all age groups, assisting them in understanding how they may employ process drama techniques in teaching a variety of subjects. He is the National Teaching Fellow, Chair of Drama and Theatre Education and Director of Teaching and Learning in the Institute of Education at the University of Warwick and an associate of the CAPITAL Centre for creativity and performance in teaching and learning, a joint initiative between the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the University of Warwick. This project aims to improve the quality of Shakespeare teaching at all ages through an ensemble and rehearsal room pedagogic approach.
A part of the Department of Dramatic Arts Visiting International Professor program, we are pleased to offer students the opportunity to study with someone of Dr. Neelands’ caliber.
Pictured left to right are Professor Debra Maclauchlan and Associate Professor Peter Vietgen (Faculty of Education), Associate Professor David Vivian and Assistant Professor Virginia Reh (Department of Dramatic Arts, Faculty of Humanities)
Associate Professors Peter Vietgen (Visual Arts Education in the Department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education) and David Vivian (Department of Dramatic Arts and the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Faculty of Humanities) were each presented with three Volunteer Recognition Certificates from the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and the City of St. Catharines, at the 23rd Annual Volunteer Recognition Night co-sponsored by the City of St. Catharines, the St. Catharines-Thorold Chamber of Commerce, and the Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery.
Professor Vietgen was nominated by the Niagara Artist’s Centre for his contribution to the Public Art Advisory Committee of the City of St. Catharines. Professor Vivian was nominated for his service over four years as Chair of the Culture Committee of the City of St. Catharines. Both Committees of Council are actively engaged in developing new policy, advocacy, funding, recognition and opportunities in the arts and culture sector, contributing to the creation of stimulating and sustainable culturally-rich lives in the city of St. Catharines.
Given annually, the Volunteer Recognition Awards recognize those outstanding volunteers whose unselfish and dedicated service to an organization has made a significant difference in the community. Nominations are open to youth and adult volunteers, who are presented with their awards at a banquet hosted by the Mayor and councillors in April. This year the banquet was held at the Quality Hotel Parkway Convention Centre on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.
award, DART faculty, David Vivian, STAC, volunteer recognition
Categories: Faculty & Instructors, News
Professor Virginia Reh speaks about life in theatre and the production of Phèdre that was performed by students of DART in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre in February of 2011. Video interview from the series University People by BROCK TV. (click image to play)
Brock TV, Phèdre, university people, Virginia Reh
Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, Plays
