This summer, the School of Dramatic Art hosted a crew of students working on The Thousand Colours of the Morning, a new work by Barry T. Brodie that tells the story of composer Johannes Brahms and his relationship with contemporaries Robert and Clara Schumann.

The cast includes graduates from the School of Dramatic Art and the crew involves recent and current film students.

After writing the play for a live production which was performed in 2019, Brodie together with director Michael J. Krym decided to remount the piece not just as a theatrically staged piece, but as Krym calls it: “a fusion piece where theatre meets film.”

He credits the work that Brodie has done, along with partnerships with the Windsor Endowment for the Arts and Arts Council Windsor Essex, for bringing the project to life. One of the major pieces of the puzzle was finding a place to shoot — and the Jackman Dramatic Art Centre proved a good fit.

“Our crew says this is one of the best places they’ve ever been able to work,” says Krym. “Our audio engineer Steven Boere says he’s never been able to get as clean a sound before.”

Working with artists in the community is something that’s a major focus for drama moving forward, as the school looks to build on relationships with theatre and film companies in Windsor-Essex, says director David Court.

“It’s exciting to be able to support this production right here at SODA,” he says. “We are proud to partner with the team along with communications, media, and film students to provide space and help bring this project to life. It’s a great example of the positive impact SODA can have on the local arts community, by helping bring this unique film production to life in some way and involving current students in the process.

“Those experiential learning opportunities are at the core of what we want to offer our students.”

The Thousand Colours of the Morning wrapped production over the weekend and will be screened at upcoming film festivals, to be announced.