2023-24 Performance Season
One Acts Festival 2024
Department of Dramatic Arts presents “So Here’s the Deal…” One Acts Festival 2024
The DART One Acts Festival is a unique creative project where students from all years collaborate and create new works of performance under the leadership of the third-year directing class. This year’s festival “So Here’s the Deal…” includes new adaptations of Humankind (Anonymous), The Outside (Susan Glaspell), The Intruder (Maurice Maeterlinck) and excerpts from Tomorrowlove (Rosamund Small).
Friday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 9 at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIWSFPA
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines
Tickets can be reserved through Brock University Tickets.
Truth & Other Things: A Journey Through Alitheia
Patchwork Productions (DART 4F56)
What is holding you back? Could you leave it behind? The magical world of Alitheia has called upon you to attend their Wanderful Jubilee celebration here at the Marilyn. It is time to begin your quest.
Four unexpecting individuals magically arrive in the world of Alitheia and are swept up in the joy and chaos of the Jubilee. However there is a problem, they are missing one more wanderer to begin their quest. There must be five. This has never occurred before. When panic arises, Lirren – an Alitheian born, is surprisingly sent forth by the lands creator, Vajra, to be the fifth and final person to partake on the journey with the others. Will their quest be a success? Will these strangers be able to put differences aside in order to complete their challenges?
Come join Pip, Connor, Elena, Bo, and Lirren as they adventure through this fantastical realm to uncover their pasts, let go of others opinions, find comfort in those around them, and leave behind the places they once knew.
March 28, 29 & 30 at 7:30 p.m.
March 30 at 2 p.m.
Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIWSFPA
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines
Tickets can be reserved through Brock University Tickets.
The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy
Written and directed by Mike Griffin
DART Winter Mainstage Production
February 15 to 19, 2024
PLAY SUMMARY
What happens when Molly McGillicuddy’s perfectly ordinary life is literally flipped on its head? The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy examines traumatic brain injuries and the tumultuous journey back to health. Feelings of fear, uncertainty, and blame arise as Molly ponders how she can physically heal while navigating the darkness of mental health. Meanwhile, relationships are tested and simultaneously affirmed. Injured Molly must come to terms with her uniqueness and accept that she is now different due to the injury, but will she?
Come join us for a unique experience as we explore non-verbal storytelling to create this visceral, imaginative, and whimsical performance. Through utilizing physical theatre, movement, and character mask this show highlights the symptoms Molly struggles with during her experience while allowing the audience an opportunity to understand the impacts of brain injuries on an individual and those around them.
CONTENT ADVISORY
This production investigates mild traumatic brain injuries. As we work to create a world that stages the personal, social, physical, and physiological experiences that someone with a brain injury deals with, we use theatrical techniques that sometimes involve bright, flashing lights and loud, sudden sounds. We recognize that, for some, these types of stimuli may be difficult to handle. If that is the case for you, we recommend the following as options for you to experience the production in a way that will suit your needs.
VIEWING OPTIONS
1) Relaxed Performance – Our matinee performance on Sunday February 18th at 2:00 will be a Relaxed Performance. What does that mean? Relaxed performances are sensory reduced experiences that are designed to make shows more welcoming for audience members who struggle with a regular theatrical event. Some of the modifications that we will be employing during these relaxed performances include:
- Keeping the audience lights on at a low level throughout the show.
- Reducing moments of loud noises, bright and flashing lights.
- Describing highly stimulating moments before the show begins.
- Providing a quiet room for audience members, if they need to leave the theatre, where they can watch a streamed version of the show.
- Reducing the number of audience in attendance
For details on accessing the theatre, please reference the Accessing the Theatre PDF document.
2) Lives Streaming
Do you want to engage with the content of the show but avoid the crowds? Do you want to watch the show in a space that is comfortable for you, where you have more control over the event, volume and stimuli?
We are providing a one-time streaming experience of the performance on Saturday February 17th at 7:30 p.m., in addition to the live-in person performance. Please note that the filming of the show will be one fixed camera at the back of the audience.
3) Molly Gallery
If any of these options don’t work for you, please explore the Molly Gallery at your leisure during the run of the show to take in a visual rendition of the production.
The Molly Gallery is a visual artist’s response to the play, created by Dramatic Arts Student Rebecca Cowan. This installation can be found in the hallway behind the theatre on the second floor from February 14 to 18.
Assistant Director – Abby Malcolm
Set and Costume Designer – Scott Penner
Lighting Designer – Chris Malkowski
Sound Designer – Gavin Fearon
Assistant Sound Designer – Hayley Bando
Props Designer/Builder – Danielle Wellen
Storyboard Artist – Rebecca Cowan
Research and Outreach Assistant -Sierra Pellizarri
Stage Manager – Manikham Marianne Vongboutdy
Assistant Stage Manager – Scott Young Yoo (Ryu)
Performance Ensemble:
Kait Boyer
Hayley King
Madeline Roddick
Zakk Milne
Abby Greenwell
Gianna Lupparelli
Meg Dobson
Benoit St-Aubin
Simone Cinapari
Grace Labelle-Scott
Nathan Fagundo
Cal Webb Wilkinson
Sydney Alexander
Genevieve Batista
Deiondre Hall
Gabriela Queiros
Brain Injury and the Arts
Research colloquium
Friday, Feb. 2nd at 7p.m.
Marilyn I. Walker Theatre
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.
This event is free and open to the public.
An interdisciplinary research event presented in conjunction with Dramatic Art’s mainstage production ‘The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy’, a play examining brain injury and related mental health issues through the styles of full-mask, movement, and physical theatre. Written and directed by Mike Griffin.
Participating artists:
‘Anatomy of the Recovering Brain’ by Frank Horvat, composer, Kathryn Ladano, bass clarinet and Richard Burrows, percussion
‘Impact – An accidental meditation’ by Jewels Krauss, Steve Lukas, and Nicholas Greenland
Panelists:
Amanda Black, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Brock University
Dawn Good, Associate Professor of Psychology, Brock University, Centre for Neuroscience
Marianna Varpalotai and Elizabeth Brugman, Active Life Rehab+
Ruth Wilcock, Ontario Brain Injury Association
Brain Injury and the Arts is an interdisciplinary event that brings together researchers, practitioners, and artists whose work centres around brain injury, with a focus on concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries. This evening has been created to align with the research and development that we are exploring around the Department of Dramatic Art’s Winter Mainstage, The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy, a play that examines brain injury and related mental health issues through the styles of full-mask, movement, and physical theatre.
The event will include an introduction to The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy, including a discussion of some of the key research investigations, and a sneak peek into what is in store for audience members. Following this, will be two additional artistic works that have been created by concussion survivors about their experience.
Anatomy of the Recovering Brain composed by Frank Horvat (composer) and Kathryn Ladano (bass clarinetist) is a composition for bass clarinet, inspired by the story of Ladano’s recovery journey. The piece aims to bring awareness to the invisible mental health impacts and struggles of having a brain injury. This will be only an excerpt of the full length piece.
Impact – an accidental meditation created by Jewels Krauss, Steve Lukas, and Nicholas Greenland, explores the internal experience of one woman’s journey with a concussion through film.
After these three artistic works are explored, we will continue to dive into this interdisciplinary journey of the brain with four presentations discussing further research and practice in the field of brain injury. Our esteemed panel will include two faculty members from Brock, Dr. Dawn Good from Psychology and the Centre for Neuroscience and Dr. Amanda Black from the Department of Kinesiology.
As well, the panel welcomes Registered Physiotherapist Elizabeth Brugman and Certified Athletic Therapist and Certified ImPACT Athletic Trainer Marianna Varpalotai from Active Life Rehab+ Concussion Management Clinic for a perspective on daily clinical engagement with concussion patients.
Additionally, the panel will round out with Ruth Wilcock, CEO of the Ontario Brain Injury Association and organization dedicated to supporting brain injury survivors and care givers with a wide range of resources, programs, and initiatives.
A time for questions and discussion will follow the presentations.
Creative Research Exchange
Department of Dramatic Arts
In recognition of the outstanding contributions of faculty, short-term faculty and members of course teams to the Department of Dramatic Arts at Brock, the department is organizing its second annual Research Symposium in which members of the teaching faculty will share their current research (including creative research) with DART staff, students and faculty, as well as other members of the Marilyn I. Walker, Faculty of Humanities, and Brock communities.
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 from 12 to 4 p.m.
Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIWSFPA
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines
All That Makes Us
A Work In Progress Showing
Patchwork Productions (DART 4F56)
All That Makes Us is a show in progress, created by Patchwork Productions, an emerging collective coming out of the DART 4F56: Advanced Studies in Theatre course. All That Makes Us navigates nostalgia and how it manifests. Follow along as we investigate what it means to fall in love, to discover oneself and to leave behind the places we once knew. Our show is comprised of three different throughlines, stitched together by evocative movement and music explorations. Become a part of our journey as we learn and develop as artists and showcase all that makes us.
December 8 & 9, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
December 9 at 2 p.m.
Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIWSFPA
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines
Tickets can be reserved through Brock University Tickets.
DART 2023 Fall Mainstage production
Stupid F**king Bird
Written by Aaron Posner, Directed by Gyllian Raby
Stuck!
Con, Mash, Dev and Nina grow up in the wilds of Ontario. Con rampages against the outdated theatre churned out by their mother’s generation by staging this new play that is based on Chekhov’s classic– and triggers a chain reaction of Selfish Love Unrequited.
Mash rejects Dev to love Con, who loves Nina, who loves Visiting Celebrity Trigorin, who is partnered to Con’s Star of-Stage-and Screen mother Emma, who is enraged by her son Con– and around it goes, like families in actual life.
Stupid F**king Bird is a contemporary, and very funny, remix of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. Adaptor Aaron Posner shows us why Chekhov always claimed his plays were comedies, despite his despair at society’s greedy ineptitude and the characters’ poignant tendency to self-destruct. As the characters wrestle with the disappointments of love, art, and growing up in the shadow of the Boomer generation, we, the audience, share Chekhov’s compassionate insight to the wreckage caused by ego and self-regard. This play, adapted to our own cultural vernacular, is as relevant today as it was revolutionary in 1896.
The Stupid Bird is still flapping one hundred and twenty-seven years after Chekhov changed notions of what theatre should be and do; Posner’s “sort of adaptation” will incite you to recharge the ways that love art and revolution fuel your own pursuit of happiness.
Tickets available on the DART TICKET WEBSITE.
Performances:
Friday, Oct 27 at 7: 30 p.m. – Opening night
Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIWSFPA
15 Artists Common, St. Catharines
People in a Graveyard Among Others at 3 a.m.
A DART student independent project
Welcome to Sunny Mount Cemetery and (more importantly) the afterlife! Follow Boo, Loo, and some other folks who are new through a hilarious journey of self-discovery, pain, love, hate, passion, and, of course, disco. This one-act student independent project promises to leave its audience cheering, laughing, and awesomely confused as it pushes the limits of what a play can be and challenges conventionality at every turn.
Show dates and times:
Friday, Sept. 1 at 7:30pm
Saturday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept 4 at 2 pm.
Seats are limited, to reserve seats ahead of time, please email: peopleinagraveyard@gmail.com
Pay-what-you can at the door.
Previous Performance Seasons
