The Detroit Mercy Theatre Company (DMTC) has achieved remarkable success in the 2023-2024 academic year, earning both local and national awards. DMTC has started to make headlines by earning multiple awards that include national honors at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) and in Michigan’s the Wilde Awards.
Going Wilde
The DMTC’s Fall 2023 production of “A Year with Frog and Toad,” earned six Wilde Awards.
Performing Arts Department Chair and Associate Professor Andrew Papa said about the play, “It is a really a sweet musical, it is a year in the life of these two, frog and toad, who are best friends and it’s a very sweet show.”
The Wilde Awards honor the best productions and performances by theaters in Michigan. These awards are highly competitive, with more than 100 productions reviewed annually. The Wilde award is named after the playwright Oscar Wilde and was founded in 2002.
National Recognition
DMTC’s performance of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again]” received national recognition from KCACTF. The festival recognizes the best college theaters in the nation and took place this January in Madison, Wis. Unlike “A Year with Frog and Toad,” this play was more of a comedy.
Papa said, “The show has three actors attempting to do all of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes, so it was obviously very slapstick and a lot of fun.”
After seeing the play, UDM student Billy Hart said, “I really did not know what to expect when going to the play, but I honestly have not laughed that much in my life.”
New Place to Play
The current performances of DMTC take place at The Marlene Boll Theater in downtown Detroit. However, exciting news for DMTC and the whole UDM community, is that the school is building a black box theater in the basement of the Student Union. This project is currently being built on campus and the plan is that it will be completed this year.
Papa said, “The hope is it’ll be open by this Fall, but things are still being determined, but they’re working hard and as fast as they can.”
This new theater space will not only be used for DMTC but also will be open to student groups and community events.
Papa said, “This is the first time that we’ve had a designated professional, up-to-date theater space on our campus which is really going to help with recruitment and student training.”
Come out and Play
If students are interested in being part of DMTC, Papa said, “Anytime there is a student that is interested in participating in any of our productions we always encourage them to reach out to any of the faculty or staff in the Department of Performing Arts.”
Papa also mentioned that when DMTC holds auditions they will put announcements in Campus Connection, and you can also just reach out to DMTC. There is also a page on Blackboard where students can receive regular updates and news about things going on with DMTC.
