UNews - Dave Smith

Unique research collaboration sees fine arts summer class support neuroscience project

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:33:57 +0000

Instead of preparing for the stage, students in drama instructor Dave Smith’s summer class are practicing for brain health research in an innovative research collaboration between the fine arts and the sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Smith’s course, Theatre for Scientific Purposes, is a hands-on class that has fine arts students writing, designing and executing structured scenes in support of Dr. Chelsea Ekstrand’s (neuroscience) research project.

Fine arts students run through a scene that will be viewed by study participants.

“What’s really cool about this class is we have students with all different focuses enrolled,” says Smith. “Some are designers/technicians, some are performers/directors but all of them are contributing to the project in every capacity. They come ready to work, and really show their dedication to the class, and more importantly, to the project.”

Ekstrand is studying how memories are formed and the processes used to retrieve memories in real-world environments. She received a $100,000 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to support her work.

“This collaboration is an exciting step into a new kind of research, one where science and storytelling come together, and where we study the brain not in isolation, but in the richness of real life,” says Ekstrand. “By working together, we’re making the science feel more grounded, more powerful, and more deeply connected to what it means to be human.”

The goal of Ekstrand’s work is to better understand the neural processes behind memory formation in both healthy older adults and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition that frequently precedes dementia.

Study participants wear body cameras to capture scenes played by drama students in Smith’s course. Participants then recall the scenes while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine to compare brain activity during real-life experiences with passive viewing of the same scenes on a screen.

“If we really want to understand how people think, remember and connect, we need to move beyond the lab and into the kinds of everyday experiences that actually shape our lives,” says Ekstrand. “Working with the artists in this class has been a powerful reminder that human experience is more than what we can quantify. They bring emotional insight, nuance and a sense of narrative that challenges me to think differently about how we study memory and connection. For the students, I think it’s a rare opportunity to step into the world of science while using their creativity to create scenes that are both emotionally rich and scientifically rigorous.”

For multidisciplinary student Danica Sommer, contributing to leading-edge research and expanding the ways theatre can be utilized is something in which she feels lucky to contribute.

“This course has put me in a unique professional context that is both challenging and rewarding. Working as a team, being flexible and delivering results under a time crunch are experiences both theatre professionals and scientific researchers are familiar with.”

Smith adds that theatre and drama programs tend to be more cross-disciplinary than commonly thought.

“The number of students who leave our drama program and get jobs in all kinds of positions not just pertaining to theatre is remarkable,” he says. “Having courses like this help to articulate the need for creative minds to mix with analytical minds.”

Neuroscience student Zeth Stewart is bridging the educational gaps between art and science and bringing depth and meaning to the scientific method.

“We can’t forget that the arts are a fundamental part of life. This course brought those personal, lived experiences into the conversation in a meaningful way, while still grounding the discussion in the scientific method,” Stewart says. “As a student with a passion for both understanding human behaviour and theatrically expressing it, this class was a wonderful blend of empirical analysis and the subjective experience.”

“Collaborations like this spark the kind of innovation that just wouldn’t happen if we stayed in our separate lanes,” concludes Ekstrand. “It pushes us all, students and faculty alike, to get a little uncomfortable, take risks and discover new ways of thinking and creating.”

Once Ekstrand’s research has concluded, she anticipates sharing her results in scientific journals, presenting at research conferences and developing community resources to share with the public.

This research collaboration is an example of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Strategic Plan in action under the strategic direction to Challenge Boundaries and Inspire Curiosity. In teaching and learning, ULethbridge takes a liberal education approach that fosters valuable interdisciplinary exchanges, connections and discoveries.

This project has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumni at heart of 2024/25 Mainstage Alumni Season lineup

trevor.kenney — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 17:02:54 +0000

With stories ranging from adaptations of classic tales to intense encounters, social satire and a cabaret, the 2024/25 Department of Drama alumni season promises an exciting lineup of mainstage theatre with extensive involvement from many ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumni. The alumni season is organized around a celebration of Faculty of Fine Arts alumni, bringing playwrights, designers, directors, performers and more back to the ULethbridge campus.

Kicking off the 2024/25 Mainstage Alumni Season in October 2024 will be alterNatives, a hilarious and provocative social satire penned by Indigenous playwright and author Drew Hayden Taylor. Stepping back into the director’s role is Na'tayao'tako (Holy Walking Around the Encampment), Marshall Vielle (BFA - Dramatic Arts ’17), who co-wrote and co-directed the historic production of Yisstsiiyi as part of last year’s mainstage season.

Marshall Vielle (BFA - Dramatic Arts ’17) will return to direct alterNatives.

“It's a gift to be included as a director in the alumni season,” says Vielle. “If I've learned anything about directing, it's that being the primary interpreter of the text at hand is equally terrifying, as it is thrilling. Moreover, I'm really excited to see more Indigenous stories being shared at ULethbridge and I hope these kinds of plays continue to be invested in.”

alterNatives centres around three couples gathered for a dinner party at a contemporary upscale apartment in Toronto, where cultural differences are explored over a menu of moose roast and vegetarian lasagna. Drama instructor Dave Smith is slated to design the set and lights, while Jolane Houle (BFA - Dramatic Arts '12) is returning to design costumes, after designing for the 2023 production of Yisstsiiyi.

The second show in the Alumni Season will be In Tongues, written by James Odin Wade (BFA - Multidisciplinary ’11). Originally slated to be performed in March 2020, the play is brought back to ULethbridge following its cancellation due to the pandemic. Directed by Anastasia Siceac (BFA - Dramatic Arts ’20) and featuring alumni designing costumes (Amanda Epp, BFA - Multidisciplinary ’20) and sound (Kelly Roberts, BFA - Drama Performance '91), In Tongues is set in a remote cabin in British Columbia and showcases an intense encounter with the mind of a serial killer.

James Odin Wade (BFA - Multidisciplinary ’11) wrote the production of In Tongues.

“I'm delighted to have In Tongues as part of the 2024/25 season,” says Odin Wade of the play that will run in November 2024. “ULethbridge is where I first encountered some of my favourite plays, discovered a love of playwriting and even workshopped the initial drafts of this play with the students of the New Play Workshop in 2018. Bringing this play to this stage is a remarkable full-circle moment for me.”

In the new year, the Department of Drama will present Paradise Lost by Erin Shields, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award. A contemporary feminist adaptation of the classic English poem by John Milton from 1667, the show will be directed by Jamie Dunsdon (BFA - Dramatic Arts ’06) and will feature costumes by Emmy-nominated designer Rebecca Toon (BFA - Dramatic Arts ’06). This production, premiering in February 2025, will feature a large cast of actors, with lighting and set design guided by MFA student Lucy Du and drama faculty member Julia Wasilewski (BA '05, BFA - Multidisciplinary '07).

Jamie Dunsdon (BFA - Dramatic Arts ’06) will return to campus to direct Paradise Lost.

“I'm so excited to be returning to my old stomping grounds to direct Paradise Lost this coming season alongside fellow alumna Rebecca Toon (who will be designing the costumes for this gorgeous piece),” says Dunsdon. “ULethbridge is where I found my passion and where I began to build my skills as a director, so it will be a genuine delight to return a couple decades later to bring this piece to life with the next generation of artists. I owe so much to the professors and staff at ULethbridge, and I hope I can pay it forward to the students who will build Paradise Lost with me."

The alumni season will conclude in March 2025 with a cabaret curated by faculty member Mia van Leeuwen. This production, taking place in the David Spinks Theatre, will feature a variety of performances by current students, guest appearances by drama alumni and design support from student designers and drama instructors Dave Smith and Lee Burckes.

Chair of the drama department, Deric Olsen (BFA - Multimedia ’03), says this unique slate of productions will showcase the diverse talents of drama graduates and highlight the variety of skills and talents that can be gained from the dramatic arts degree program.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our students to connect with and learn from some of the incredible alumni from the Department of Drama,” says Olsen. “I see this season as a celebration of our alumni and as a valuable way for a new generation of students to work side-by-side with truly excellent theatre professionals and, through those experiences, be inspired and be better able to imagine those opportunities and career trajectories for themselves.”

In addition to featuring Faculty of Fine Arts alumni, the 2024/25 Mainstage Alumni Season will result in many experiential learning opportunities for current students, including roles for stage managers, sound designers and assistant designers, as drama graduates will share their experience and expertise through the creative process.

The Faculty of Fine Arts is pleased to announce Chancellor Terry Whitehead (BA ’94) as the Season Patron of the 2024/25 Mainstage Alumni Season and thanks him for his generous support of theatre at ULethbridge. Tickets for mainstage productions will go on sale in September 2024.

Play Right Prize winner, Avery Raine, delves into the fascinating life of Albert Einstein’s first wife Mileva Marić

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 May 2022 16:22:16 +0000

Psychology and dramatic arts student Avery Raine is the winner of the 2022 Play Right Prize competition. Raine’s play, Relativity, Etc., is an imagined rendition of the life of one of the true icons of the 20th century.

Avery Raine

Raine was honoured along with second and third-place winners Carter Debusschere and Achilles Friesen. Since 2008, Terry Whitehead (BA ’94) has been inspiring future playwrights through the Play Right Prize, awarding $2,500 annually to student playwrights and highlighting the winning entries at a public play reading.

For the winning script, Raine focuses on Albert Einstein’s first wife, Mileva Marić. She explores the tangled family dynamics of their sons, Hans and Eduard, and ruminates on the life that could have been for their daughter Lieserl, as she is suspected to have died of scarlet fever before the age of two.

“I looked more into Mileva’s life, and originally, it was just going to be about her. I wasn't going to focus on their kids as much, but there was so much there,” says Raine. “I'm very interested in Canadian feminist theatre, so that was a big part of wanting to tell Mileva’s story. I want it to be about her, but as it went on, it became about her and her children.”

Raine’s submission was praised by the jurors of the prize for its excellent composition, its lyrical take on ancestry and legacy and its unique perspective on mental health. This is Raine’s second win in the competition, having received the third-place prize in 2021. Raine receives $1,500 for her win this year and dramaturgical support to develop her script further. A reading of her play will take place at ULethbridge in the fall.

Winning second prize is dramatic arts student Carter Debusschere for his submission, Pressure Drop. Loosely based on a real-life air crash, Debusschere’s play uses an imaginatively crafted structure to tell a compelling story in a theatrically mature and innovative way. He utilizes an expressionist style that puts readers in the mind of the plane operator, who faces their demons while in the air.

Carter Debusschere

“The main dramatic convention is that the play works through memories,” says Debusschere. “Essentially, in these final moments of consciousness as the plane is going down, the lead character is able to go back to any specific memory in his past and relive it as if he was there.”

“I was very surprised, pleased and honoured to have won. Two very close friends of mine are the first and third place winners, so getting to share this honour with them has been very gratifying,” he adds.

The jurors had especially high praise for the way the high stakes plot line engages the audience from the intriguing beginning to the shocking conclusion. Debusschere receives $750 for his submission and will also receive dramaturgical support from a member of the adjudicating jury.

The third prize goes to Achilles Friesen, a dramatic arts student minoring in philosophy. Their philosophy background shines within their play, So Long, which explores three young lost souls and the limbo-like state they find themselves in, tackling existential questions related to death, mortality and the afterlife.

For Friesen, they based the characters off of themself during a time of significant change in their life, highlighting the importance of genderqueer characters in play writing.“On top of educating people about philosophy and what it looks like in an artistic realm, it's also important to bring in all the genderqueer students and show them that there's roles for them here,” says Friesen. “I'm making sure I have that genderqueer element in everything I do. I feel like a lot of people have very similar struggles that these three characters have.”

The jury notes that Friesen’s characters, reminiscent of Pirandello and Camus, are carefully crafted to challenge these existential questions with a philosophical punch that will keep viewers thinking long after the ending. Friesen receives $250 for their play and dramaturgical support from the jury.

Achilles Friesen

“We’re so grateful to Terry Whitehead for his longstanding support of playwriting at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and every year we continue to celebrate the outstanding work of our students,” says Dr. Shelley Scott, interim dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. “Many past winners have gone on to continuing careers in theatre, and this award is a real incentive and encouragement to keep working on their creative craft.”

The 2021 prize went to dramatic arts student Jessica Syratt, who presented her play at a virtual reading last year.

The 2022 Play Right Prize jury is made up of Drama Faculty members Dr. Shelley Scott and Dave Smith, as well as Trevor Rueger from Alberta Playwright’s Network, who will coordinate dramaturgical support for the second and third place winners.

Read more about the winners and their scripts here: https://stories.ulethbridge.ca/2022-play-right-prize/.

UNews - Dave Smith

Unique research collaboration sees fine arts summer class support neuroscience project

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��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumni at heart of 2024/25 Mainstage Alumni Season lineup

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Play Right Prize winner, Avery Raine, delves into the fascinating life of Albert Einstein’s first wife Mileva Marić

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumni at heart of 2024/25 Mainstage Alumni Season lineup