Spring is here and with it comes a new addition to the Library’s poster and bookmark series. Officially launched at the March Break Open House last month, this year’s design features the slogan “act on it @ your library” and is the third in a series to celebrate the academic disciplines at Waterloo.
This year’s campaign focuses on the Faculty of Arts and showcases Arts students Patrick Pinnell and Magdalena Surma. With the “act” slogan and elaborate costuming, the poster and bookmark take on an undeniable drama emphasis.
Fittingly, both Patrick and Magdalena were students in Drama 101 this past fall and the costuming as well as much of the conceptual work was accomplished in collaboration with the Drama Department’s costume designer, Jocelyne Sobeski.
When it came to selecting the right costumes for Patrick and Magdelena, Jocelyne describes her process:
“Every time I read a script for a production, my thoughts go to how I can dress my actor to help transform him or her into the character they are becoming in the script. Usually a story evolves around another place and another time in history. How will I dress my characters? How do they move on stage? Are they rich? Poor? A villain? And so forth. In this case, once my "actors" came to visit me, we tried on costumes from our costume stocks, as though they were kids playing with Mr. Dressup's tickle trunk. This is what we came up with.”
As Jocelyne explains, the final costumes selected for the photo shoot are copies of clothing worn in history. These two pieces in particular were designed and built in Stratford for production on the Stratford stage and were later acquired by the department.
The result depicts Patrick and Magdalena as both performers and students showing just a couple of the ways that students might “act on it” at the Library.
While still early in their academic careers at Waterloo, both have already formed strong ties to the Library.
“The library is okay in my books,” jokes Patrick, a first-year Drama major. He explains that he comes to the Library for a variety of reasons, including for books, coffee, and to study.
When it comes to Patrick's favourite spots in the Dana Porter Library, he says, “I like the sixth floor, because there are a larger number of books on that floor that interest me. Sometimes I like the stairs. Yeah, I’m weird like that.” Patrick submitted a photo of his favourite spot in the Library for the Library’s recent photo contest.
Magdalena is a second-year Legal Studies student, and like Patrick, spends most of her time in the Dana Porter Library.
With the goal of becoming a lawyer in the future, Magdalena has spent the past two summers studying at Harvard where she has had the opportunity to work at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and volunteer in numerous humanitarian organizations at Harvard and in the Boston area.
Magdalena also submitted a photo of her favourite spot in the Library for the Library’s photo contest, naming the Peter and Betty Sims’ Reading Room on the third floor of Porter as her favourite place to study. She adds, “what is also really neat about the Dana Porter Library is the Doris Lewis Rare Book Room where special collections can be found, ranging from early editions and rare books to a collection of manuscripts.”
When asked how it feels to be the face of the Library for the year, Patrick says, “Sometimes I feel very important, and then my ego starts rising to frightening new levels, much like in the way I am posing in the poster and bookmark.”
On a more serious note, Magdalena responds, “I am honoured to be the face of the Library because it is a great place that provides students with everything they need to succeed.” The Library couldn’t agree more!
Thanks to Patrick and Magdalena for their involvement in this year’s campaign.
Photos: Chris Hughes
Poster design: Sara LeBlanc
For more information, contact:
Communications and Liaison Librarian
Ext. 32446
University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
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