Posts by: DART Critics

Questions of representation and ethnicity have been at the forefront of dialogue in Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) this year. In a talkback after the department’s Mainstage production of Gormenghast in November, a student audience member wondered about the fact that all the lead performers in the…

On August 6th we (Caroline and Sarah), had the pleasure of interviewing four astounding actresses at the Shaw Festival: Natasha Mumba, Marla McLean, Fiona Byrne, and Jennifer Phipps. Between them they represent a spectrum of experiences and generations, from Natasha, who is in her first Shaw season, to Jennifer, who pe…

The Stratford archives warehouse “What’s in the Stratford Festival archives? Do we even really know what archives are? Are we going to be looking at dusty photographs the whole time?” … These were all questions swirling around in our heads as we discussed our upcoming archives tour. We, Caroline and Sarah, were spendin…

This summer, we (DARTcritics staff writers Caroline Coon and Sarah Bradford) had the opportunity to spend three weeks in Stratford, Ontario taking courses towards our Brock University Dramatic Arts degrees. While there, we thought it would be beneficial to interview a few of the fresh new faces at Stratford this season…

  Caroline Coon writes:   So this is it! After long days of interviewing seniors, scriptwriting, improvisation that usually ended in hysterics, and lots of dance rehearsals, we are in our final week of touring! It’s been an incredible experience, and I’ve learned so much about collaborative theatre. Not only that, but…

St.Catharines’ annual In The Soil Arts Festival 2016 was a weekend full of brilliant Canadian talent and a resounding passion for the arts. This year ITS co-produced a one-of-a-kind theatre experience created by DopoLavoro Teatrale (DLT) entitled That Ugly Mess That Happened in St. Catharines. The 72-hour show engages…

Despite this being the DARTcritics third year covering the RHIZOMES at the In the Soil Arts Festival, trying to review such a diverse collection of interactive exhibits remains a challenge.  Made up of short performances, art installments, and presentations from local artists — housed for the 2016 festival in the Maril…

Ben Fallis writes: Poor would be one way to describe Essential Collective Theatre (ECT)’s newest production of the same name, playing at the First Ontario Performing Arts Center. The latest iteration of Suzanne Ristic’s one-woman show starring ECT’s artistic director (and Brock’s own) Monica Dufault and directed by Kar…

Simon (Devin Mackinnon) and Jake (Edmund Stapleton). Photos by Barsin Aghajan. Hannah Anderson writes: Laughing and learning – what more could you want from a children’s show? These are just two things that you will do while watching Carousel Players’ Spelling 2-5-5, directed by Jessica Carmichael, which played in Robe…

That Ugly Mess promotional image from the In the Soil Festival Welcome back, readers! Since we’ve been quiet for quite some time now, we will reintroduce ourselves. We are Raylene Turner, Alex Tomulescu, Jonah McGrath, Heather Allen, and Andrew Von Lukawiecki. For our Theatre Criticism class we are working as embedded…