Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media

Research Spotlight:
Queer Kinship Structures in Epic Fantasy and Online Fandom Communities

Dr. Erin Keating and honours student Anastasia Christodoulou have a video conversation about Books One and Three of Steven Erikson’s [BA/80] epic fantasy series, Malazan Book of the Fallen. Based on research they conducted alongside two graduate research assistants over the summer, this video looks at two characters from the series, Silverfox and The Mhybe, through the lens of queer theory and queer reproduction.

Watch the video

If you’re interested in doing more public-facing scholarship as part of your degree, the Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media might be the place for you. 

Learn more about our degree offerings

That Elusive Spark 

By Janet Munsil. Directed by Dr. Katrina Dunn.

November 27 - December 2, 2024

Thank you to all who attended the show. Congratulations to the students, staff and professors who made it happen. 

A mashup of historical drama and romantic comedy, this play time shifts between a contemporary university where Neuropsychologist Helen Harlow struggles with teaching Psych 101 and taming her own mind, and a famous and true historical case in psychology and neuroscience. The human mind, brain, and heart are all explored with humour, theatricality and Hamlet!

Presented by the Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media's Theatre Program.

On social media? Then you’re an ‘author’

MA student studies how much influence an audience’s response has on an author or creator

Everyone who creates something on social media becomes an author. Sudden, unexpected virality might turn any one of us into authors with global recognition, subjecting all of us to similar expectations of famous creators.

Jessie Krahn [BA(Hons)/2018, MA/2023] is a 2024 UM Distinguished Master’s Thesis Prize winner. The prize is given out annually to recognize the achievements of Master’s graduates who submitted groundbreaking theses in the previous academic year. Her thesis is titled “Here comes the author: evolving notions of authorship on social media.”

Read more about Jessie Krahn’s prize winning thesis on UM Today

Theatre a safe space to learn how to fail

2024 graduate grateful for opportunities and says program truly “chose her”

As a first year student, Bailey Chin [BA/2024] wasn’t quite sure what to study in university. She had already taken a year off after high school and still hadn’t decided what might be for her. So, like many others, she registered for University1. Among the arts and science courses she registered for, a longtime love of theatre led her to try Introduction to Theatre. Jump forward and COVID-19 led Chin to take another year off and work professionally as an actor before coming back to complete her degree in 2024. Years of study and many productions later, Chin is graduating this spring with a bachelor of arts majoring in theatre and hopes to continue her journey in the performing arts world.

Read more on UM Today

pool (no water)

By Mark Ravenhill. Directed by Katelyn Mestito-Dao.

October 29 12:00 p.m.
October 29 7:00 p.m.
October 30 7:00 p.m.
FREE

John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
Third floor Tache Arts Complex, 150 Dafoe Road

pool (no water) by Mark Ravenhill talks about a group of artists dealing with the aftermath of a friend's near fatal accident. Their relationships break under the weight of ambition and vulnerability as they negotiate feelings of guilt, jealousy, and the blurred lines between creation and destruction, exposing the dark side of artistic obsession.

Content warnings: strong language, drugs, disease and sexual references

This is the first production in the Lunchbhagg series of student productions for the 2024-25 academic year. No tickets required. Tell your friends and come to see theatre students in action.