On Sept. 29, the Detroit Mercy Theatre Company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the official opening of its the Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre.
Theatre has been at the University since its beginning, the first production being in 1877. The department has produced working theatre professionals both on stage and backstage while continuing to be recognized for their show stopping performances, costumes and sets. In previous years, mainstage shows were held downtown at the YMCA Marlene Boll Theatre, but now the DMTC has a permanent space to call its own.
“The Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre will energize arts and culture on UDM’s McNichols Campus, in our Northwest Detroit neighborhoods and across metro Detroit,” said Jocelyn Boryczka, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
The new theatre quite literally has it all, starting with the black box itself. True to its name, it is a “box” style room with plain walls and flat floors. This blank canvas allows the stage and audience seating to be adjustable to fit each show perfectly. The black box is equipped with not one but two technical booths, one behind audience seating and one behind the curtains. This allows the stage crew to not just see backstage, but also what the audience sees.
Down the hall from the stage is the costume shop where all the pre-production magic happens. The shop is full of hanging racks for costumes categorized for each character in the show. Above are shelves of inventory of various accessories or props from production past or those to come. In the middle of the shop is a large workstation table for cutting, altering and creating costumes. Underneath are drawers of more inventory and tools for creation.
The sides of the shop are lined with tables where sewing machines sit; however, these tables are convertible. During showtime, machines are put away, and the tables are moved to make a long row in front of a mirror that spans the width of the wall. What was once a workstation becomes a hair/makeup studio for pre-show, making it easy for actors to look their part before the curtain call.
This is not before they get into costume in the new individual dressing rooms. Before, actors were separated into women’s and men’s changing rooms. Gracie Sheets, a junior seen in the current production of “Twelfth Night,” is thrilled about this development.
“One of my favorite features in our new black box is our individual, gender neutral changing rooms,” Sheets said. “These give us a space to change more privately and are much more inclusive.”
More features of backstage include an on-site laundry room, a green room for production members to have a comfortable space to sit before or after shows, and TVs that livestream the show, so even when backstage, no one misses a thing.
This black box is the first dedicated theatre space on campus, and it means a lot to the company.
Hussein Hashem, a double major in theater and chemistry, said, “Since I do tech for shows like sound design, it means a lot of late nights at the theatre. As a commuter, having the black box on campus makes it so much easier compared to when we had to go downtown.”
Many of the actors have expressed excitement over the new Black Box. They hope that its accessible location will result in more students and university members in the audience at future shows.
As mentioned, the Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre’s first mainstage show will be Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” which opens on Nov. 7 and is directed by Detroit Mercy’s own award-winning Sarah Rusk.
When asked about how she feels directing this season’s opener, she answered, “It’s an honor to direct the first mainstage production in our new black box theatre. This space opens up so many possibilities for our students, both on and off stage, and we are having a blast learning everything the theatre has to offer while putting together ‘Twelfth Night.’ I am truly excited to welcome an audience into this special place for the very first time.”