University Players will return to live, in-person performance this month with a season that serves up a delightful display of laughter and love.

After two years of virtual presentations that explored the realms of Zoom theatre and challenged drama faculty, staff, and students to stretch the limits of the art form, the theatre company is inviting audiences back on campus. The season features graduating students from the BFA in Acting program.

“We are eager to invite audiences back to the theatre after a long two-year hiatus,” says Tina Pugliese, director of the School of Dramatic Art. “This season promises thrilling drama and comedy, along with familiar characters that the whole family will love.”

The season opens with Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone, running Oct. 21 to 30 at Essex Hall Theatre. It’s a perfectly absurd dark comedy for the Halloween season. Fed up with a cell phone ringing on a table in front of a man nearby, Jean decides to answer it, unaware that the man has died right next to her at the café. This tiny action thrusts her into the life of Gordon Gottlieb, his mother, his brother, his wife, and his mistress. In a world saturated with technology and communication, Dead Man’s Cell Phone considers the value of real connection and the need we all have to unravel our complicated lives.

As we enter the holiday season, families will be thrilled to see Tinker Bell, a delightful take on the classic story of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Wendy in Never Land, told from the famous fairy’s perspective. From puppets and pirates to mermaids and crocodiles, this is sure to be a recipe for family fun. The show, written by Patrick Flynn and based on the works of J.M. Barrie, runs Nov. 25 to Dec. 4 in Essex Hall Theatre.

One of the more creative pieces in the season, 365 Plays/365 Days offers students an opportunity to stage a unique play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. Written as a personal project over a one-year period, the playwright would write a short play every day, sometimes only a few lines long, sometimes with no words at all. The result is a deep dive into the human condition, at turns hilarious, touching and gut-wrenching. University Players students will take a selection of the 365 works and perform them on the Hatch Studio Theatre stage.

The final offering is a beloved romantic comedy and a classic Shakespearean combination of shipwreck, mistaken identity, unrequited love, and fools who speak the truth. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare runs March 24 to April 2.

Subscription packages are available with special family pack pricing for Tinker Bell. Buy tickets online at www.universityplayers.com or through the University Players box office at 519-253-3000, ext. 2808.

The Humanities Research Group is accepting applications for its fellowships for faculty and students.

The HRG Fellowship is designed to provide University of Windsor faculty members with research or creative projects in the arts, humanities, or in theoretical, historical, or philosophical aspects of the social sciences, time to complete their projects and to prepare the results for publication, presentation, or performance.

Fellowships carry an award of one-term release from teaching, during which fellows will be expected to engage in full-time research.

The application deadline for the next academic year is Oct. 31. Find details on the group’s website.

The HRG Student Fellowship is funded by a legacy contribution from the Feminist Research Group to support feminist research or creative activities in the humanities.

The award of $700 may support any aspect of the research or creative process, including dissemination online or in person, at conferences or symposia.

The application deadline for the next academic year is Nov. 30. Find details on the group’s website.

The Ontario Universities’ Fair (OUF) returned to the Toronto Metro Convention Centre last weekend. The University of Windsor again made an incredible impact in the eyes of 78,000+ prospective students and their supporters, which included distributing 22,500+ copies of its newest viewbook and admissions guide, says Chris Busch.

“Returning to an in-person event such as OUF provides the University with a unique opportunity to share what makes us an outstanding study destination for students who reside in the Greater Toronto region,” says Dr. Busch, associate vice-president, enrolment management.

“Participating faculty, staff, and students were able to talk one-on-one with guests to share, from their perspectives, why they should consider attending the University next fall.”

This year’s exhibit included a refreshed interior conversation café and video wall sharing the wide range of undergraduate programs, state-of-the-art sports and performance facilities, worldwide exchange programs, one of the lowest student-to-faculty ratios in Ontario, a diverse and vibrant campus community, and the ability for students to find their “circle” on campus.

“The intentionally designed space and conversations helped convey to prospective students an important message – that we will help them thrive by attending UWindsor,” Busch says.

“On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank everyone who shared their passion, knowledge, and time this weekend by participating in this year’s event, and we look forward to welcoming many of these prospective students onto campus next month at Fall Open House, which is being held on Nov. 5.”

Find a gallery of images from the event here.

The fall social hosted by the Organization of Part-time University Students this Thursday, Oct. 6, offers attendees a chance to learn along with food and prizes.

The event promises information on financial planning, health benefits, mental health therapy, and pharmaceutical providers.

It begins at 4:30 p.m. in the student centre’s second-floor Alumni Auditorium. To register, email opus@uwindsor.ca.

Do you like to discuss new ideas? Solve problems? Make new connections? Then WE-Spark Think Tanks may be for you.

The Oct. 14 event will begin with an update on local health research activities and new funding opportunities, followed by an overview of three projects looking for creative input, and breakout sessions:

• Building the Windsor-Essex Ontario Health Team Community Outreach Mobile Clinic Strategy
  Neelu Sehgal, director of community outreach, Erie Shores Healthcare
  This mobile outreach clinic is in the initial launch phase and this group is looking to build an informed collaborative, regional strategy. Some of the experts they would like at the table: health science researcher, epidemiologist, hospital partners, ambulance and emergency medical partners, health unit partners, someone with a program valuation background, decision support and data experts, primary care practitioners, nursing researchers, mental health and addictions, partners in community outreach.
• Neonatal CoNS (Coagulase negative Staphylococcus) - reducing vancomycin usage in late onset sepsis. A quality improvement project in the NICU
  Judy Seesahai, pediatrician, Windsor Regional Hospital
  All are welcome to move this project forward.
• Transistor-Based Biosensors: New Opportunities for Point of Care Applications
  Simon Rondeau-Gagné, chemistry professor, University of Windsor
  This project is looking to identify opportunities for clinical and health care applications of these devices. The discussion would benefit from having clinicians and molecular biology experts as well as anyone who likes to think outside the box.

All disciplines and expertise are welcome to participate in WE-Spark Think Tanks, including students.

WE-Spark Health Institute hosts bi-monthly sessions. Click here to register for the October event, which will run 1 to 3 p.m.

WE-Spark Health Institute is a partnership of the University of Windsor, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, St. Clair College, and Windsor Regional Hospital designed to take health outcomes to the next level through research.

A complimentary shuttle service will bring blood donors from campus to the Canadian Blood Services centre at 3909 Grand Marais Rd. East on three dates this month.

The LifeBus will consist of taxis leaving from the roundabout at the north end of Turtle Island Walk on Oct. 6, 17, and 24 The shuttle is organized by the UWindsor Blood Club.

To reserve a seat, create an account at blood.ca and join the UWindsorLifeBus team, then schedule an appointment to donate. Find detailed instructions here. Book appointments online, call 1 888 2DONATE (1-888-236-6283), or download the GiveBlood app.

For inquiries, email uwindsorbloodclub@gmail.com or text Alex Masanovich at 519-996-6607.