Articles tagged with: Dramatic Arts

  • Putting theatre skills to work at Edinburgh Fringe Festival

    Pictured above: Fourth-year Dramatic Arts student Manikham Marianne Vongboutdy recently returned from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where she put her Brock theatre training to work gaining international experience.

    THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2023 | by

    Carrying with her the skills she’s learned as a Brock Dramatic Arts (DART) student, Manikham Marianne Vongboutdy recently headed overseas to work at the world’s largest performance arts festival.

    The fourth-year student spent time this summer with the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she was invited by her high school to work as a stage manager on the St. Catharines Collegiate and West Niagara Secondary School production, Piece of Me.

    With a concentration in production and design, Vongboutdy said her Brock theatre training was key to her landing the stage management gig in Scotland.

    “Working with Brock’s state-of-the-art technology in Dramatic Arts has been invaluable,” she said. “Learning tech in the theatre has been a special experience. I am developing the skills I will need in the professional theatre world.”

    Piece of Me navigates the relationship of a mother and daughter in a coming-of-age tale offering an innovative take on adolescence told through a teenager’s eyes. Like the characters in the play, Vongboutdy has found many moments of personal reflection as she has grown in her creative practice at Brock.

    Piece of Me was an adaptation based on two different plays exploring similar subject matter, which from a stage management perspective, meant merging two plays into one. This complex staging posed interesting challenges that Vongboutdy was prepared to take on.

    As an upper-year DART student, she was able to transfer the skills gained in her first few years at Brock to her international experience, such as learning to sew in wardrobe classes so she could step up and help with costumes or painting props using skills from props classes.

    “A unique thing about studying at the Marilyn is that we get to learn about different aspects of staging a show, which served me so well during my Edinburgh experience,” she said. “We are stronger artists because of it.”

    After her experience abroad, Vongboutdy said she has a wider perspective of what theatre can look like.

    “It was eye-opening for me,” she said. “As a stage manager, we try and put forward the best show possible, but part of our job is to work with what is happening in the moment. I am thrilled to put my experience into practice.”

    Vongboutdy is now working as stage manager for Brock’s upcoming winter mainstage production, The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy, written and directed by DART Instructor Mike Griffin. The play explores brain injury and related mental health issues through the styles of full-mask, puppetry and physical theatre.

    Working with Griffin is a valuable experience for Vongboutdy, who aims to pursue a master’s degree in puppetry. Exploring the medium is especially important to her Laotian heritage, a culture in which many teachings occur using masks and puppets.

    “As an immigrant, I always hold my home and culture in Laos very close, and I try to incorporate elements of my culture into the work I do every day creating theatre,” she said.

    The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy will run at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre Feb. 15 to 19. More information can be found on the DART website.

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  • Brock co-led team awarded $2.5M for project giving minoritized voices centre stage in transforming theatre education

    Pictured above: The cast of Brock’s 2022 Mainstage production ‘Red Bike’ by Caridad Svich, directed by Mike Griffin. Mainstage productions will be among the focus of Brock Dramatic Arts faculty, including Griffin, as they develop more inclusive approaches to teaching theatre as part of the new partnership project, Staging Better Futures/ Mettre en scène de meilleurs avenirs (SBF/MSMA).

    Red Bike, production principale (Mainstage) de l’Université Brock en 2022, écrite par Caridad Svich, mise en scène par Mike Griffin au Marilyn I. Walker Theatre. 

    MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 04, 2023

    Deneh’Cho Thompson, a displaced and dispossessed member of the Pehdzeh ki Nation, became an academic because he wanted others to have a better experience with theatre education than he did.

    Responding to experiences such as Thompson’s, a Brock University co-led research project is putting the spotlight on minoritized voices.

    Staging Better Futures/Mettre en scène de meilleurs avenirs (SBF/MSMA) is the first national, cross-sectoral partnership approach to decolonizing, anti-racist, equitable, diverse and inclusive systemic change ever undertaken in post-secondary theatre education in Canada.

    On Tuesday, Aug. 29, it was announced the project has been awarded a $2.5-million Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant. Contributions from partner organizations bring the project budget to more than $5.5 million, with Brock making the largest partner organization contribution of $1.57 million in cash and in-kind contributions over seven years.

    The funding announcement — made by Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, on behalf of François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Mark Holland, Minister of Health — included more than $960 million supporting more than 4,700 researchers and research projects across Canada.

    Jennifer Roberts-Smith, Professor and Chair of Dramatic Arts (DART) at Brock, is co-leader of SBF/MSMA along with Nicole Nolette, University of Waterloo Associate Professor of French Studies and Canada Research Chair in Minority Studies. They observed that while Canadian universities and colleges have been working on local equity initiatives, there is no platform yet for sharing valuable information on providing an equitable and welcoming environment for minoritized theatre students and educators.

    Thompson dropped out of high school and college and took more than 10 years to finish his undergraduate degree because of the systemic racism he experienced. He is now a member of the governance committee on the project.

    Even while he was a student, as interest increased in Indigenous theatre, Thompson found people, including faculty and mentors, looked to him to provide Indigenous expertise.

    But “I was alone,” he said of his time studying in Vancouver. “I didn’t have supports in the university or in my program. I didn’t have anyone I could look up to.” Thompson has since become an Assistant Professor and co-ordinator of the wîcêhtowin Theatre Program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Drama.

    SBF/MSMA’s key areas of focus are racialization; Indigeneity; gender diversity; disability; and linguistic minoritization. The project’s guiding principle is that it centres the voices of students and educators with lived experiences of exclusion, such as Thompson.

    Brock DART students Hayley King and Benoit St-Aubin echo Thompson’s calls for greater representation of faculty from historically under-represented backgrounds in theatre departments.

    “In attempts to sympathize with and accurately represent the experience of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) students onstage, non-BIPOC individuals fall prone to tokenism and misrepresentation,” said King, who is of biracial Black and South Asian descent. “Having someone in the department with the same lived experiences as these students can serve as a voice for them when injustices are committed.”

    For St-Aubin, who is from the Niagara region and whose first language is French, it’s also important to decolonize curriculum and repertoire.

    “Historically, Canadian theatre has subscribed to Eurocentric ideologies, which has skewed the education we receive,” they said. “By introducing non-Western, non-European theatre practices to students, our department can shape us into well-rounded theatre practitioners and academics.”

    Roberts-Smith said there needs to be a transition “from small-scale solutions within our own institutions to thinking collaboratively about how we do post-secondary theatre education more equitably across Canada.”

    In the course of preparing the grant, the project leaders developed a wide network of collaborators with lived experience of systemic inequity and expertise in combating it. The fully bilingual project now involves more than 90 participants across Canada, with representation from colleges, universities, theatre companies, arts services organizations, a student caucus and a freelance artist-educator consultancy. There are seven Brock faculty members involved in the project, mostly from Dramatic Arts.

    “Receiving this prestigious, highly competitive award is an outstanding achievement,” said Brock University Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon.

    “The research team’s success demonstrates the need for systemic practices and structures in dramatic arts education to be transformed so that knowledge and expertise from minoritized artist-educators form a core part of the education,” he said.

    The Partnership Grant covers a period of seven years.

    Partnership Grants are the largest that SSHRC offers, supporting formal partnerships between academic researchers, businesses and other partners that will advance knowledge and understanding on critical issues of intellectual, social, economic and cultural significance.

    In addition to the Partnership Grants, SSHRC announced Tuesday that seven Brock researchers were awarded a total $965,636 in Insight Grants, which support research judged worthy of funding by fellow researchers and/or other experts. The University also received more than $4.8 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for a variety of projects.

    Une équipe codirigée par l’Université Brock reçoit 2,5 millions de dollars pour un projet visant à placer les personnes minorisées au cœur de la transformation de l’enseignement du théâtre

    Deneh’Cho Thompson, membre déplacé et dépossédé de la Nation Pehdzeh ki, est devenu universitaire afin que d’autres vivent une meilleure expérience de l’enseignement du théâtre que la sienne.

    En réponse à des vécus comme celui de Thompson, le projet de recherche, mené conjointement par l’Université Brock, souhaite mettre en lumière les voix des personnes minorisées.

    Staging Better Futures/Mettre en scène de meilleurs avenirs (SBF/MSMA) se veut le premier projet partenarial national et intersectoriel visant un changement systémique à des fins de décolonisation, d’antiracisme, d’équité, de diversité et d’inclusion dans l’enseignement postsecondaire du théâtre au Canada.

    Le mardi 29 août, l’octroi d’une subvention de partenariat de 2,5 millions de dollars du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines (CRSH) pour ce projet a été annoncé. Les contributions des organismes partenaires portent son budget à plus de 5,5 millions de dollars. La contribution de l’Université Brock est la plus importante, soit 1,57 million de dollars en espèces et en nature sur une période de sept ans.

    L’annonce officiellement a été faite aujourd’hui par Randy Boissonnault, ministre de l’Emploi, du Développement de la main-d’œuvre et des Langues officielles, au nom du ministre de l’Innovation, des Sciences et de l’Industrie, François-Philippe Champagne, et du ministre de la Santé, Mark Holland. Ce financement fait partie d’une enveloppe dépassant les 960 millions de dollars pour soutenir plus de 4 700 projets et équipes de recherche à travers le pays.

    Jennifer Roberts-Smith, professeure et directrice du Département d’art dramatique (DART) de l’Université Brock, codirige SBF/MSMA avec Nicole Nolette, professeure agrégée en Études françaises à l’Université de Waterloo et titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en études des minorités. Toutes deux ont remarqué les efforts des universités et des collèges canadiens pour mettre en œuvre des initiatives locales en matière d’équité. Cependant, aucune plateforme ne permet de partager des informations précieuses sur la création d’un environnement équitable et accueillant pour le corps étudiant et les pédagogues en théâtre issu·e·s de minorités.

    Thompson a abandonné ses études secondaires et supérieures et a mis plus de dix ans à obtenir son diplôme de premier cycle en raison du racisme systémique. Aujourd’hui, il est membre du comité de gouvernance du projet.

    Ce dernier était aux études à l’époque de l’engouement grandissant pour le théâtre autochtone. M. Thompson a alors constaté que certaines personnes, y compris des professeur·e·s et des mentor·e·s, se tournaient vers lui pour son expertise à titre de personne autochtone.

    Mais « j’étais seul, » dit-il à propos de son séjour à Vancouver. « Je ne recevais pas de soutien de mon université ou de mon programme. Je n’avais personne vers qui me tourner. » Depuis, M. Thompson est devenu professeur adjoint et coordinateur du programme de théâtre wîcêhtowin au Département d’art dramatique de l’Université de Saskatchewan.

    Les principaux domaines d’intérêt de SBF/MSMA concernent la racisation, l’autochtonie, la diversité des genres, le handicap et la minorisation linguistique. Le projet a pour principe directeur de faire entendre les voix d’étudiant·e·s et de pédagogues ayant vécu l’exclusion, comme M. Thompson.

    Hayley King et Benoit St-Aubin, étudiant·e·s à l’Université Brock, font écho aux appels de Thompson en faveur d’une plus grande représentation de professeur·e·s issu·e·s de milieux historiquement sous-représentés dans les départements de théâtre.

    « En essayant de sympathiser avec les personnes noir·e·s, autochtones et de couleur (PANDC) et de représenter fidèlement leur expérience sur scène, les personnes non-PANDC sont sujettes à une représentation symbolique et erronée, » a déclaré King, d’origine biraciale noire et sud-asiatique. « Le fait d’avoir au sein du département quelqu’un avec les mêmes expériences que ces étudiant·e·s leur assurent d’être entendu·e·s lorsque des injustices sont commises. »

    Pour St-Aubin, qui est originaire de la région de Niagara et dont la langue maternelle est le français, la décolonisation du programme d’études et du répertoire s’avère tout aussi importante.

    « Historiquement, le théâtre canadien a souscrit à des idéologies eurocentriques, ce qui a faussé notre éducation, » a-t-iel déclaré. « En présentant aux étudiant·e·s des pratiques théâtrales non occidentales et non européennes, notre département peut former des praticien·ne·s du théâtre et des universitaires bien équilibré·e·s.

    Selon Mme Roberts-Smith, il faut passer « de solutions à petite échelle au sein de nos propres institutions à une réflexion commune sur la manière de dispenser l’enseignement postsecondaire du théâtre de manière plus équitable dans l’ensemble du Canada. »

    Au cours de la préparation de la subvention, les responsables du projet ont développé un vaste réseau de collaborateur·trice·s avec une expérience vécue de l’iniquité systémique et une expertise dans la lutte contre celle-ci. Le projet entièrement bilingue compte aujourd’hui plus de 90 participant·e·s à travers le Canada, dont des collèges, des universités, des compagnies de théâtre, des organismes professionnels, un caucus d’étudiant·e·s et un groupe d’artistes pédagogues indépendant·e·s. Sept membres du personnel de l’Université Brock participent au projet, notamment dans le domaine de l’art dramatique.

    « Recevoir ce prix prestigieux et hautement compétitif est une réussite exceptionnelle, » a déclaré Tim Kenyon, vice-président chargé de la recherche à l’Université Brock.

    « Le succès de l’équipe de recherche démontre la nécessité de transformer les pratiques et les structures systémiques de l’enseignement de l’art dramatique afin que les connaissances et l’expertise des artistes pédagogues minorisé·e·s fassent partie intégrante de l’enseignement, » a-t-il déclaré.

    La subvention de partenariat couvre une période de sept ans.

    Les subventions de partenariat, les plus importantes offertes par le CRSH, favorisent la collaboration entre les chercheur·euse·s universitaires, les entreprises et d’autres partenaires afin d’approfondir les connaissances sur d’importantes questions d’ordre intellectuel, social, économique et culturel.

    De plus, le CRSH a annoncé ce mardi l’octroi d’un total de 965 636 $ en subventions Savoir à sept chercheur·euse·s de l’Université Brock, pour soutenir des projets proposés par des pair·e·s et/ou d’autres expert·e·s. L’Université a également obtenu plus de 4,8 millions de dollars du Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada pour financer divers projets.

     

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  • New summer workshop puts students at centre of creative process

    Image caption: Dramatic Arts (DART) Research Assistants Geneviève Batista (left) and Ezri Fenton participated in the DART Summer Institute of Performance Research workshop session ‘Anthr-Apology.’

    Brock arts students have been honing their creative skills and working alongside professional theatre artists through a new summer workshop series presented by the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART).

    The inaugural DART Summer Institute of Performance Research ran from May 29 to July 7 at the University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Conceptualized by DART Chair and Professor Jennifer Roberts-Smith, the workshop allowed students to be at the centre of the creative process as professional theatre-makers, artists and DART faculty explored performance ideas, working scripts and scenic possibilities for future work.

    Roberts-Smith said DART’s Summer Institute was founded to expand opportunities for what the department calls ‘vertically-integrated’ experiential learning.

    “It’s ‘vertical’ because members of the DART community at all career stages are learning together,” she said. “Collaborative research means we’re asking questions that none of us — not even the most seasoned professionals and faculty — know how to answer.”

    Roberts-Smith said the model sees students’ perspectives and contributions as just as important as workshop leaders.

    Anthr-Apology, a session led by DART Professor David Fancy and DART Scenographer and Associate Professor David Vivian, explored the creative possibilities of a new performance collective, with the first stage of presentation slated for 2024, building on creative research undertaken on the fall DART Mainstage production AnthropoScene.

    Fancy and Vivian are motivated by exploring the ways in which theatre and performance as art forms can be truly responsive to the climate crisis.

    “The project is based on the idea that the world needs a truth and reconciliation commission for all humans and their relationship with one another, as well as their individual and collective relationships with the planet,” Fancy said.

    Vivian said the workshop also generated opportunities for participating graduate- and senior-level MIWSFPA students “to bridge their undergraduate studies to the next level of scholarship and professional opportunities.”

    In another session, Packing a Punch, students worked directly with theatre artist Trevor Copp, Artistic Director and Founder of Tottering Biped Theatre (TBT). Students participated in the creative process of developing TBT’s new multimedia live-action play, Mr. Punch, adapted from a lesser-known Neil Gaiman graphic novel.

    “It was a brilliant week. In the end, what we really found was momentum and artistic excitement about this piece and its possibilities,” Copp said.

    Evalyn Parry, DART’s 2022-23 Walker Cultural Leader and award-winning queer performance-maker, theatrical innovator and artistic leader, led a workshop engaging with choral performance and text from their master’s research-creation thesis, “An Unsettled Account,” reflecting on queer arts leadership, decolonial futures and systems change.

    “Together with my longtime collaborator Karin Randoja (music director for the workshop), rich discoveries were made about how the choral arrangements — both sung and spoken — work on the page and translate into the bodies and voices of singers and actors,” Parry said.

    DART Instructor Mike Griffin, Faculty of Humanities’ 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award recipient, workshopped ideas for his DART winter mainstage production, The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy. An original new work written and directed by Griffin, the play explores brain injury and related mental health issues.

    “This has been a great laboratory experience for the development of Molly. The show is primarily movement-based and so we have had a productive week of getting up on our feet and physically working through and testing ideas. A highlight was seeing how deeply connected to the work the students became after such a short period of time. It really speaks to the value of this kind of intensive work,” Griffin said.

    “A set of very strong projects with exciting futures emerged from the inaugural Summer Institute,” Roberts-Smith said. “DART students brought fresh and wise perspectives essential to the success of each project.”

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  • Teaching award recipient inspires students to find creative voices

    Image caption: Faculty of Humanities’ 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award Mike Griffin addressed graduates during Brock’s 113th Convocation on Friday, June 16.

    FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2023 | by

    Mike Griffin finds one of the most rewarding parts of teaching is watching his Brock Dramatic Arts (DART) students’ confidence soar on the stage and behind the scenes.

    The DART Lecturer received the Faculty of Humanities’ 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition of his efforts to help Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts students discover their creative voices.

    Griffin understands first-hand the importance of student-centred learning.

    “In my journey teaching university thus far, I have realized that teaching is not just about imparting knowledge, it is about connecting with students through collaborative relationships and theatrical exploration. I approach my teaching style from a mentorship perspective, centring the voices of students,” said Griffin.

    He encourages students to come at their work as artists, prompting them with questions meant to spur creative growth and develop their creative practice.

    Taking the time to get to know students’ personal interests is integral to the theatre educator and director’s pedagogy. Building on that foundation, Griffin gives students agency within the teaching and learning relationship by offers choice in content and assessment.

    Themes related to Universal Design for Learning, which considers all students as individuals coming from different perspectives, are central to Griffin’s ongoing research. This philosophy is a foundational part of the experiential learning that DART offers.

    Constantly reflecting on his own teaching practice, Griffin aims to make his classroom more inclusive and equitable. Through developing lessons and assignments that can be accessed by all students, including those with physical restrictions, he is driven to meet the diverse needs of the student community and create a comfortable environment where creativity can blossom.

    Griffin is currently working on the creation of an original new play for DART’s 2024 winter Mainstage performance. Entitled The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy, the character mask and physical theatre play explores mild traumatic brain injury and related mental health issues. Inspired and informed by his personal experience, Griffin is employing expressionistic techniques to “make an invisible injury visible.”

    In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and post-restriction social landscape, Griffin is driven by the need for human connection, underscoring the significance of humanities and the arts.

    “It is our job in humanities to reflect on life and share our stories and perspectives,” he said. “Study dramatic arts not just for your love of theatre, but for your love and interest in humanity.”

    Jennifer Roberts-Smith, Professor and Chair of Dramatic Arts, said Griffin’s commitment and effectiveness as an educator extends to colleagues as well as students.

    “He inspires other instructors to explore and improve our pedagogy across the dramatic arts curriculum,” she said. “This well-deserved award recognizes the contribution Mike has made to generations of DART students and to the department as a whole.”


     

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  • Dramatic Arts student to learn behind the scenes at Shaw Festival

    Image Caption: Ava Robitaille, a fourth-year Dramatic Arts student, has been selected for an internship at the Shaw Festival for the 2023 season.

    Originally published THURSDAY, MAY 04, 2023 | by

    Like many fourth-year students, Ava Robitaille is excited to see what the future holds after graduation.

    Her vision will soon be a little clearer thanks to a valuable experiential learning opportunity in the world of professional theatre production.

    The Dramatic Arts (DART) student has been selected for an internship at the Shaw Festival for the 2023 season, which will allow her to dive deeper into directing and add to her growing list of skills.

    During the eight-week internship, which began May 2, Robitaille will learn how the Shaw season runs by working behind the scenes on a number of shows and performances.

    She is particularly excited about the opportunity to work with women directors.

    “The Shaw has a really wonderful set of female directors in this season, and I cannot express how important this is to me,” Robitaille says. “I really want to learn about the experiences of those women who have been involved in the industry for an extended period of time.”

    Having worked as a director and associate director in many DART productions, Robitaille is grateful for all the feedback from instructors throughout her time at Brock. She plans to take those remarks and hone in on developing her skills through this opportunity.

    “The biggest thing I want to focus on is learning how I use my directing voice in a room,” she says. “As I’ve been developing as a director through Brock and in DART, my No. 1 feedback has been ‘you’ve got it technically, but you need to bring yourself into the work.’”

    Robitaille recognizes the Shaw internship’s potential to impact her future in the industry. She says it’s a great opportunity for her to get to know some of the individuals involved in the profession, and provides her with a foot in the door with a local, but well-known, production company.

    “This really is the cherry on top of my whole experience with Brock,” she says while reflecting on her final days as a Brock student.

    Robitaille feels the confidence and skills she developed during her time at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts were crucial in preparing her for the internship.

    “What I learned at DART through my four years was incredible,” she says. “From not knowing where I was going in my first year to slowly figuring it out and being given opportunities like this, this is just everything I could have asked for.”


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  • Dramatic Arts students bring one-act visions to life

    Eight Brock students will debut their directing skills this weekend as the Dramatic Arts (DART) One Acts Festival returns to the stage.

    The 2023 One Acts Festival entitled ‘where are we now?’ runs in two parts from Friday, May 26 until Sunday, May 28 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at 15 Artists’ Common in downtown St. Catharines.

    The program features a collection of eight short plays presented in two parts. Each one-act play is directed by a third-year Dramatic Arts student. As part of Directing II (DART 3P54), students had the opportunity to work with a design and production team, and a company of student actors to bring their vision to life.

    The One Acts Festival provides Dramatic Arts students hands-on experience to explore their creative voice and develop skills as theatre artists. For many students, this is their first chance to direct a full play from preparation to production and performance.

    This is the first year the festival will be hosted in the spring. Admission is pay-what-you-can at the door. Full program details can be found below and on the DART Current Season page.

    Program details:

    Part A – Friday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May at 2 p.m.

    Fifteen Minute Minimum by Roberto F. Ciccotelli, Directed by Hayley Bando

    Trial of a Ladies Man by Sally Clark, Directed by Meg Dobson

    The Yellow Wallpaper by Jeff G. Rach, Directed by Abby Malcolm

    Video by Yvette Nolan, Directed by Benoit St-Aubin

    Part B – Saturday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday May 28 2 p.m.

    Hold the Phone by John Cook, Directed by Michael Naszados

    Excerpts from Daniel MacIvor’s ‘Here Lies Henry’ by Daniel MacIvor, Adapted/Directed by Zakk Milne

    Made for a Woman by Alan Ball, Directed by Laura Maieron

    Excerpts from Rosamund Small’s ‘Vitals’ by Rosamund Small, Adapted/Directed by Hayley King

     

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  • Vampires descending on downtown arts school for Brock’s mainstage production

    The cast of A Vampire Story prepares the finals scenes of their upcoming performance, which premieres Friday, March 3.


    Originally published in The Brock News | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2023 | by 

    The undead will make their debut next month in downtown St. Catharines.

    Moira Buffini’s A Vampire Story, the mainstage production from Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts, opens at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre Friday, March 3.

    The show follows Ella, a vampire who is new to a small town that has been plagued by disappearing high school students and teachers.

    Seeking to become more human, she decides to stop drinking blood and to be honest about her undead state, her vampire mother and her horrific past.

    But Ella’s honesty isn’t well received by the community. Her life is upended as she is ostracized and hunted — all while falling in love and sorting out her priorities in a small town where the residents are as bizarre and insatiable as the vampires who live among them.

    Led by Director and Adjunct Professor Gyllian Raby, the adaptation of A Vampire’s Story finds a perfect balance between the play’s gothic and comedic nature.

    Raby’s success both as a professional director and Associate Professor comes from her extensive experience and her affinity for intelligent, culturally astute comedy. She has worked as a freelance director, dramaturge and playwright/adaptor across the world.

    Her productions of Bernard Shaw’s Passion, Poison and Petrifaction, the jazz/tap musical Fingers and Toes, Nicolai Erdman’s Russian farce The Suicide! and the international clown show hit Don’t Do It – Do It have been widely enjoyed by audiences in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Thailand.

    Raby said A Vampire Story is more relevant now than its debut performance in 2016, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The loneliness and anxiety caused by the pandemic are common motivating factors for vampire and infection stories, she said.

    “We can all identify with characters who are intensely alone amid society. Of course, this explains the success of the vampire genre,” Raby said. “Moira Buffini’s smart, witty play taps into the pop culture genre, relating loss of soul to the need for activist awareness.”

    Assistant Director and fourth-year DART student Lucas Irving said the use of monsters within the show is instrumental.

    “The production offers a fantastic opportunity to explore who and what the monsters in society are and how the definition changes from one period to another,” he said. “Vampires often surface during times of change and we’re certainly in a time of great change.”

    A Vampire Story includes set design by Nigel Scott, costume design by Alexa Fraser and lighting design by Chris Malkowski, with music direction and live band leadership by Joe Lapinski. The production showcases the talents of Brock DART students Hayley King, Simone Cinapri, Maiya Irwin, Thea Van Loon, Alex De Cicco, Cal Webb Wilkinson, Hunter Brown, Nathan Faigundo, Emma van Barneveld, Tyra Hayward, Celine Zamidar, Michelle Shortt, Benoit St. Aubain, Kaitlyn Boyer, Isaiah Alton and Zakk Milne.

    A Vampire Story opens Friday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre inside the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. Tickets are available for $20 for general admission and $16 for students and seniors. Performances will also take place Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 5 at 2 p.m., Friday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. To reserve tickets please visit the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre website.

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  • Brock artists to draw inspiration from new bursary

    Through a gift to Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Paul Green and Ginny Medland-Green are supporting students who’ve chosen to pursue a career in the arts.


    Originally published in The Brock News | FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2023 | by 

    When Ginny Medland-Green and Paul Green toured Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) early last year, they left impressed by the community that exists for young artists at the downtown school.

    The couple, who have a deep love and appreciation for the arts, moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake seven years ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the cultural richness of the region. Through a recent gift in support of the MIWSFPA, they hope to support the study of the arts for students and showcase the impact their work can and will have on communities such as Niagara.

    “It’s courageous to study fine and performing arts at university and set a goal to be a working artist,” Medland-Green said. “We hope our bursary will inspire students to set both imaginative and practical goals for their capstone project and assist financially in a way that energizes them as they work creatively and tirelessly in what is a very competitive environment.”

    Currently taking applications, the Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary is open to all third-year Honours students enrolled in Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts at the MIWSFPA. The bursary has been established to assist students pursuing a unique opportunity such as travel, an internship or training that will benefit their upcoming capstone project or production, taking place in the 2023-24 academic year.

    “The Greens’ gift is a true investment in the future of our students, our downtown campus and the arts in our community,” said Sonia Dupte, Executive Director, Development and Campaigns. “Through its endowment, it will impact generations of inspiring artists at Brock.”

    From the onset of conversations with Brock and the MIWSFPA about the gift, Medland-Green and Green emphasized the importance of the bursary supporting a learning activity that not only excites the student recipient, but also professionalizes and shapes their career path in the arts.

    Linda Carreiro, Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts, commended the uniqueness of the bursary and the opportunities it will support for students at the downtown arts school.

    “Students at the Marilyn School are lucky to have a variety of awards established to support them throughout their studies,” she said. “The Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary is unique in the way that it really hones in on the learning and professional development that often happens outside of a classroom.

    “Financially supporting students to pursue an opportunity they’ve identified to advance their own learning will not only inspire them towards a career path, but will also instil confidence that their skills are important and they can in fact make a living by pursuing a career in the arts,” Carreiro said.

    Interested applicants are invited to submit a short proposal (up to 500 words) and budget for the event, project or opportunity for which they are requesting funding. The submission should also include how the funding will assist in the application of their final-year project or production.

    Comprehensive applications, which include the proposal and budget, can be submitted to Brock’s Awards and Bursaries web page and will be reviewed by an advisory committee. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m.

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  • Brock mainstage production puts human behaviour, climate crisis in spotlight

    Brock University Dramatic Arts students will explore a variety of complex topics in AnthropoScene, this year’s fall mainstage production.


    Originally published in The Brock News | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022 | by Charles Kim

    Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) is inviting the community to experience a journey through time and place in AnthropoScene.

    The fall mainstage production explores how the alienation that results from humans’ supremacist behaviour towards one another contributes to the climate crisis, as well as engages the ethics of theatricalizing the present climate emergency.

    AnthropoScene playfully mingles elements of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, real-life figures including Toussaint L’Ouverture and various youth climate justice activists, and fictional characters across multiple locations and time periods.

    The production, which debuts Friday, Oct. 28 and continues into the first week of November, involves one of the largest groups of students, faculty and staff in recent years. Twelve DART students will perform, as 30 others assist in creative and backstage roles. This original work is written and directed by David Fancy, designed by David Vivian, and choreographed by Trevor Copp and Colin Anthes, with live music performed by Devon Fornelli.

    “I’m so pleased at the skill and talent of the many students involved in creating this production, from actors to assistant designers, directors and sound designers — the list goes on,” says Fancy, a Brock DART Professor.

    Conveying so many complex elements within the production has been no easy task, but one the cast and crew have handled impressively, he says.

    “Our Dramatic Arts students have really shown courage and insight in dealing with the challenging materials that this play covers: self-harm, racism and environmental harm,” Fancy says. “They have also brought great verve and joy to the choreography, company dance numbers and comedic aspects of the project.”

    To help immerse audiences in multiple locations and time periods, the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre has taken on a new form.

    “I imagine the audience having an experience of poetry, drama, comedy, dance, beautiful design, light and sound that will transport them to different places and times,” Fancy says. “I’ve configured the theatre differently than it usually is in order to help the audience feel they are being brought somewhere else.”

    AnthropoScene opens Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m., with additional performances on Oct. 29 and 30, and Nov. 4 and 5. All shows take place at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre in Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in Downtown St. Catharines.

    roundtable discussion, also open to the public, will take place on the production stage Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m., with a panel of experts from Brock and other institutions discussing topics related to staging planetary evolution and destruction.

    Brock Professor of Art Education Fiona Blaikie will lead the discussion alongside Fancy; Vivian; Christine Daigle, Professor of Philosophy and Director of Brock’s Posthumanism Research Institute; Katrina Dunn, Assistant Professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of English, Theatre, Film and Media; Lin Snelling, a dancer whose artistic practice brings the qualities of improvisation into dance, theatre, writing, visual art and somatic practice; and Priya Thomas, Assistant Professor of Dramatic Arts at Brock.

    Tickets for AnthropoScene are $20 for the general public and $16 for students and seniors. For a full schedule of performances or to purchase tickets, visit the Brock University Tickets website.

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  • Distinguished Graduate a class act in Canadian theatre

    Originally published in The Brock News | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 | by Charles Kim

    Though the spotlight may seem daunting to many people, it’s where Jordin Hall (BA ’10) feels most at home.

    The Brock Dramatic Arts graduate has found much success in his acting career and credits the groundwork he developed at Brock for helping to set his course.

    “Brock set the foundation for me early in my career. I learned how to respect the room, be diligent and work my craft,” says Hall, who was honoured during Brock’s Homecoming weekend as the Faculty of Humanities Distinguished Graduate Award recipient. “Those skills were all transferable and it immediately impacted my career following graduation.”

    Hall received his Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts with a performance concentration from Brock in 2010. Following graduation, he found success as an actor in Toronto, working with many independent theatre companies and performing in leading roles for several Shakespearean productions, including Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Winter’s Tale (Dauntless City Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Seven Siblings Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Humber River Shakespeare Company), and the title role of Othello for Driftwood Theatre.

    A woman on the left presenting a framed certificate to a male on the right pictured in front of a red backdrop.

    Carol Merriam, Dean of Brock’s Faculty of Humanities, presents Jordin Hall with the Faculty’s Distinguished Graduate Award at the Alumni Recognition Reception on Saturday, Sept. 24.

    Although he is now confident and eager to perform the works of Shakespeare, this wasn’t always the case.

    “From what I learned in high school, I thought I hated Shakespeare. In hindsight, this wasn’t the case at all; it was just how it was taught to us,” Hall says. “After breaking down the words and understanding how it was supposed to be read, I felt excited. I understood it and I was hungry for more.”

    Brock Dramatic Arts Professor Danielle Wilson says Hall was “always dedicated and driven.”

    “He was extremely passionate about performing even from a young age,” she says. “It was clear to me after a scene from Othello completed in one of my classes, he had an ability with language. He already knew how to use the words and had the voice to support them.”

    Following his success in Toronto, Hall found a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study classical theatre with the Stratford Festival’s Birmingham Conservatory.

    “It is a prestigious organization to be with and it’s every young theatre person’s dream to be part of the conservatory,” he says. “I remember I had my callback, and I didn’t really know how it went. When I got a call offering me a spot, it was surreal, and I was so excited. I was truly grateful for that opportunity.”

    After achieving his dream of working with the Birmingham Conservatory, Hall joined the Stratford acting ensemble in 2018. Since then, he has been part of seven Stratford productions, including his acclaimed leading role of Bertram in this year’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well.

    Dramatic Arts Professor David Fancy praised Hall’s impact as a professional in Canadian theatre.

    “Jordin was very engaged with critical issues of representation and made strong intelligent contributions as a student,” he says. “There have been barriers to inclusion historically for racialized individuals in Canadian theatre. The fact that he is now working at one of the most recognized cultural institutions in the country is a huge sign of success.”

    As for what’s next, Hall says he wants to continue pursuing his craft.

    “In many ways, I am still finding my way as a performer, and I can’t say for sure what the future holds, but I can see myself with the Stratford Festival for a while,” he says. “I enjoy it and hope that we can continue to produce more great work together.”

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