Articles tagged with: Jennifer Roberts-Smith

  • DART Performance Research Institute launches for 2026

    Thursday, July 09, 2026 | By

    DART students Deborah Howey, Gianna Lupparelli Nash, Talyn Knokhinova, Adia Buckle, Angelina Anello, Ariya Ullah and Milan Fernandez (l-r) discuss the Secret Service of the Stars during a recent DART PRI intensive.

    Students, faculty and guest artists recently launched the creative research projects of the 2026 DART Performance Research Institute (PRI). From June through August 2026 the PRI welcomes four projects, ranging from Research Explorations through to a Summer Institute Residency.  These projects typically provide up to 5 weeks of in-studio and online development to test or develop early drafts and ideas and sometimes result in a work-in-progress sharing to an invited audience.

    This year’s PRI program launched on June 15 with a one-day intensive workshop called The Agony and The Ecstasy led by Trevor Copp (Tottering Biped Theatre, Burlington) and faculty member David Vivian.  During this third workshop about the project, DART students worked with texts drawn from a landmark study of heterosexism and Transphobia in Canadian Catholic Schools.  Their reading from the redacted interviews of the research subjects generated a creative investigation to support dramaturgical and play-making development.

    DART students Tejay Morley, Deborah Howey, Angelina Anello and Gianna Lupparelli Nash (l-r) discuss the Agony and the Ecstasy with Trevor Copp, Artistic Director of Tottering Biped Theatre (Burlington), during a recent DART PRI intensive.

    Students provided feedback on the draft texts, contributed to discussions about content, and engaged in discussion about design choices for a simple, low tech and in-the-field province-wide research tour that Copp will be launching this autumn.  The day concluded with a generous and thoughtful consultation with the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Dr. Mary-Louise Vanderlee, and the imagining of future development opportunities that may involve the Faculty of Education.

    The June program of the PRI concluded with a four-day studio-based intensive with the new draft script of Secret Service of the Stars, led by DART faculty David Fancy and David Vivian and a diverse group of students including those who have just completed their first year of studies through to a graduate who will be commencing her Masters program in the fall.

    Secret Service of the Stars, written by Fancy, is a historical-metaphysical espionage drama inspired by the extraordinary real-life story of Louis de Wohl, the queer Hungarian-German playwright, novelist and astrologer hired by British intelligence (MI5 and MI6) during the Second World War to produce horoscopes for psychological warfare against Hitler and the Nazi elite.

    The play reimagines De Wohl’s recruitment by Churchill’s Ministry of Information as part of a covert campaign to weaponize the stars—using astrology not only as propaganda but as a mirror of the cosmic anxieties of a world rife with fascism, political extremism, conspiracy, and war.

    DART students Talyn Knokhinova, Milan Fernandez and Adia Buckle (l-r) discuss the Secret Service of the Stars during a recent DART PRI intensive.

    The Secret Service of the Stars workshop was a vital success, offering students a focused and generative encounter with a new theatrical world. After reading the play, participants followed their own interests and emerging areas of expertise to shape artistic explorations for the group.

    Fancy observed that the PRI workshop afforded “the student leadership the opportunity to initiate fresh pathways into character, image, space, ritual, and dramaturgical possibility, while building a strong sense of shared ownership around the project.”

    Playwright and professor David Fancy, DART students Deborah Howey, Talyn Knokhinova, Ariya Ullah, Angelina Anello, Adia Buckle, Gianna Lupparelli Nash and Milan Fernandez (l-r, with consultant Beverly Orser in foreground) discuss the Secret Service of the Stars during a recent DART PRI intensive.

    Key to the creative exploration of the text, the astrological insights offered by consultant and critical sociologist Beverly Orser brought a distinctive depth to the process, expanding the students’ understanding of the symbolic and social forces animating the play.

    Vivian’s contribution as scenographer brought pedagogical clarity and key suggestions of the eventual scenographic vision as part of the workshop’s artistic outcomes.

    He remarked that “the students’ enthusiastic and ambitious exploration of the theatrical and imaginary space of the story, combined with their thoughtful, creative illumination of the developing characters was a testament to the success of their learning in the DART program….These are emerging artists to keep an eye on!”

    DART students Gianna Lupparelli Nash, Milan Fernandez, Angelina Anello, Ariya Ullah (in mirror), Talyn Knokhinova (foreground) and Adia Buckle seen during an imaginative reading of the script of Secret Service of the Stars during a 2026 DART PRI Intensive.

    Together, these collective contributions helped establish a robust foundation for the ongoing creative production development that will proceed online and in subsequent PRI intensives in anticipation of the DART mainstage production of Secret Service of the Stars to be directed by Fancy in the fall of 2027.

    Subsequent PRI projects in July and August include ‘subh kuch theek hai’ (everything’s fine), a funny play about being depressed, to be led by Alison Wong, Waleed Ansari and their team. ‘subh kuch theek hai’ is a collective sensorial experience showing how much work it actually takes to do nothing, just to make it through the day. The play takes place immersed in MAN’s subconscious as his internal processes come to life through a multimedia environment.

    The PRI residency workshop of Wife of Bath, 1998, the DART mainstage for the winter 2027 session, will be led by Independent Auntie Productions with Anna Chatterton, Evalyn Parry, U of Waterloo Feminist Think Tank, & DART Chair Jennifer Roberts-Smith.

    This is an original, two-act play that explores the challenges of intergenerational feminism. As the Monica Lewinsky scandal of 1998 plays out in the background, a group of women-identified, trans-gendered, non-binary, and racially diverse theatre students wrestle with how to adapt Geoffrey Chaucer’s 600-year-old story about a protagonist (the Wife herself), who has been the focus of centuries of feminist and pre-feminist debate.

    Drawing on the Aunties trademark sensibilities and absurdist, clown-inspired style, this will be a subversive comedy about young, political artists attempting to make a “revolutionary” piece of theatre, while behind the scenes, interpersonal relationships and tensions simmer, threatening to explode. This residency will pilot a partnered, industry-academic approach to teaching theatre through a new play creation process that centres diversity, equity, and inclusion at all stages.

    For more information about the DART Performance Research Institute, see the DART PRI webpage. The Department welcomes expressions of interest from theatre makers and scholars for future PRI programming. The formal call for submissions is typically circulated in August/September of the preceding year. Students may apply to become creative research participants beginning in January.

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  • U.K. visit strengthens key strategic partnerships

    Tuesday, March 24, 2026 | By

    Representatives from Brock University met with senior leadership from the University of Portsmouth during a recent visit to the United Kingdom. Front row, from left: Chris Chang, Portsmouth Deputy Vice-Chancellor; Lesley Rigg, Brock President and Vice-Chancellor; and Arja Vainio-Mattila, Brock Provost and Vice-President, Academic. Second row, from left: Jennifer Roberts-Smith, Brock Professor of Dramatic Arts, and David Begg, Brock Associate Vice-President, International. Third row, from left: Neil Weston, Portsmouth Associate Dean (Global Engagement and Education Partnerships), and Graham Galbraith, Portsmouth Vice-Chancellor and Professor.

    published Tuesday, March 24, 2026 | by Brock News

    Brock University grew its global network last week as senior leaders advanced academic collaboration, expanded student mobility and renewed long‑standing institutional relationships in the U.K.

    Provost and Vice-President, Academic Arja Vainio-Mattila and Associate Vice-President, International David Begg connected with three partner universities — the University of Portsmouth, the University of Surrey and the University of Birmingham — during the trip, which took place from March 9 to 13.

    Vainio-Mattila and Begg were joined by Brock President and Vice-Chancellor Lesley Rigg and Professor of Dramatic Arts Jennifer Roberts-Smith while visiting the University of Portsmouth.

    Brock’s partnership with Portsmouth has expanded considerably over the past year, and advancing collaboration between the two institutions was a significant focus for the delegation.

    “This visit marks an important step forward in our relationship with Portsmouth,” said Rigg. “Our institutions share a strong commitment to student success, research and community impact. That alignment is creating real momentum, and we’re excited about what the next phase will bring.”

    The visit reciprocated a visit by Portsmouth’s senior leadership to Brock in April 2025, when the institutions formalized an agreement to offer new dual-degree programs and explored opportunities for future academic pathways and research collaborations.

    “Our teams have built an impressive foundation in a very short time. The work we’re undertaking together will open new pathways for students and deepen academic connections across both institutions,” said Vainio-Mattila.

    While in the U.K., Vainio-Mattila and Begg also renewed Brock’s long-standing student exchange partnership with the University of Birmingham.

    “This partnership has provided transformative global experiences for our students for years,” Vainio-Mattila said. “The renewal signals our continued commitment to increasing mobility opportunities and ensuring our students can learn and grow in worldclass academic environments.”

    Discussions with leadership at the University of Birmingham explored future opportunities to strengthen the exchange and broaden participation across additional disciplines.

    Vainio-Mattila and Begg’s trip concluded with a visit to the University of Surrey, an active exchange partner, where leaders from the two organizations discussed emerging academic pathways, and potential areas for faculty engagement and new opportunities for collaboration, including expanded short-term mobility options.

    “We see tremendous potential with Surrey. Their strengths complement many of ours, and both institutions share a desire to create innovative international learning opportunities. There is real enthusiasm on both sides to take this partnership further,” said Begg.

    Collectively, Rigg said these visits reflect a coordinated effort to advance Brock’s international priorities by building high-impact global partnerships that enrich the student experience, strengthen research networks and enhance the University’s international visibility.

    “Global engagement is a core part of Brock’s future,” she said. “These partnerships open doors for our students and faculty, and they connect our work here in Niagara to communities around the world. These visits reflect our intention to be bold, strategic, and collaborative as we expand our global footprint.”

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

    Monday, September 04, 2023 | By

    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

    Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | By

    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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  • Annual Dramatic Arts Orientation brings students, faculty, and staff together

    Thursday, September 22, 2022 | By

    Department of Dramatic Arts Chair Jennifer Roberts-Smith makes opening introductions to students, faculty, and staff.

    The annual Department of Dramatic Arts Orientation was held on Sept. 13, 2022. This event was an opportunity for all new and returning students to meet with the staff, faculty, and organizations they would be interacting with this upcoming year.

    Department Chair, Jennifer Roberts-Smith, started with opening remarks and then welcomed all faculty and staff members to the stage. Cheers filled the theatre as the faculty and staff introduced themselves and the roles. Associate Professor Danielle Wilson, who is DART’s Undergraduate Program Officer, hosted and welcomed other theatre-associated groups and clubs that are open to all students.

    With introductions out of the way, students were sent off in groups throughout the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts on a scavenger hunt. This allowed many new students to become more familiar with the facilities and befriend some upper-year classmates with more experience in their programs. This opportunity was an enriching and fun-filled event that brought the department together and provided some much-needed introductions as the new academic year begins to shape.

     

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  • Brock to partner with Suitcase in Point on youth theatre program

    Wednesday, May 11, 2022 | By

    The brown brick exterior and glass entrance to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, with clear blue skies in the background.

    The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, located in the heart of downtown St. Catharines, will host an intensive two-week theatre program for youth this summer.

    This summer, Brock University will welcome creative youth for an electrifying experience at its downtown arts school.

    Electric Innovations, a two-week intensive theatre program, will be hosted at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) and presented by celebrated local multi-arts company Suitcase in Point in partnership with the National Theatre School of Canada.

    Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) will join the initiative as a community partner, offering studio and performance space in the University’s state-of-the-art facilities.

    Held July 11 to 23, Electric Innovations begins with a week of presentations and workshops led by some of the finest theatre artists in Canada, including Miriam Fernandes, Cole Alvis, Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster and Joanna Yu. In week two, participants will devise an original piece of work under the mentorship of the program’s Lead Artists Marcel Stewart and Michelle Mohammed (BA ’18).

    Mohammed, Artistic Associate at Suitcase in Point and a Brock DART graduate, is pleased the groundbreaking program will run in person this year after taking place virtually in 2021.

    “We believe in investing in the training and development of young artists and providing a space for new talent to emerge, create, play and find their artistic voices,” she said.

    Co-ordinating the program alongside Mohammed is fellow DART grad and Suitcase in Point Artistic Associate Kaylyn Valdez-Scott (BA ’18), who acknowledged the challenges that existed in finding motivation in the arts during the pandemic.

    “Electric Innovations will provide a brave space where young artists can breathe and laugh with like-minded souls, while creating meaningful work that expresses our current state of being with each other and ourselves,” Valdez-Scott said.

    DART Chair Jennifer Roberts-Smith said she is thrilled to welcome young artists and their mentors into the MIWSFPA spaces and introduce them to faculty and staff.

    “Dramatic Arts is so pleased to support this new way of mentoring young artists,” she said. “We have a lot to learn from the participant-centred approach, and we are very excited to see what the young artists will bring to the program.”

    Applications are now open to youth 15 to 18 years of age in the Niagara or Greater Toronto-Hamilton regions. Eight participants will be selected for the program.

    The deadline to apply is Monday, June 13. For application details, please visit the Electric Innovations website.

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