A home for the next act: UND Theatre opens in Starcher Hall
UND Theatre welcomes campus and community into its new home in Starcher Hall
On Oct. 1, the Department of Theater Arts hosted an open house in the newly renovated Starcher Hall. Members of the campus community roamed through a self-guided tour, getting their first look at the new space for a department that has been without a permanent home since 2018.
Among those wandering through the new space were two alumni who had once shared a UND stage themselves. Stopping short at a poster hanging on the wall, Shelia Nagel exclaimed to her husband, Perri Nagel, “This is the show where we first met!” Perri’s smile widened as the two began recalling the past.
During UND’s Centennial production of “South Pacific,” Shelia was supposed to do Perri’s makeup. But before she got the chance, she was called away to help elsewhere. They went their separate ways, only to reconnect during a spring production. Their director at the time asked them to take their characters beyond the scene, imagining a future in which the two might become engaged. Not long afterward, life followed the script.
Perri and Shelia Nagel have now been married for 41 years. As they walked through the newly renovated Starcher Hall, they reminisced about the shows they took part in over the years. Whether through ushering, costume design or acting, theatre has remained a part of their lives since the very beginning.
The Nagel’s aren’t the only ones with a story tied to a stage. UND Theatre Arts itself has spent decades moving through its own cast of campus spaces.
History in pieces
Finding its original home within the speech department in Woodworth Hall, UND Theatre later separated from the department, moving first to Streibel and then Chandler Hall. Since then, Theatre Arts has called many buildings across campus home.
When Chandler Hall was set to be demolished in 2018, the department began another move, this time without a single destination. In the years that followed, pieces of Theatre Arts were scattered across campus.
Much of the department’s production work eventually landed in Burtness Theatre, where sets and props could be built. Offices were housed in Merrifield Hall, while rehearsals took place in Hyslop. At one point, the department was operating across five buildings.
Setting the stage
In the newly renovated Starcher Hall, Theatre Arts finally has a place to call home and the room to expand.
At the center of that new home is the Black Box Theatre, a space that can change alongside the production inside it. Seating and staging can be rearranged into different configurations, changing where the audience sits, what actors can do and how close theatergoers are to the action.
“The Black Box is such an important theater, especially for our students, as an experimental space. It gives them different kinds of opportunities, both in terms of design and acting, because it’s different than being on a main stage,” said Tami Carmichael, dramaturg and professor.
For Madi Watts, who plays Morticia in UND Theatre’s upcoming production of “The Addams Family,” the difference is already apparent.
“A big constraining factor in our Black Box shows previously was the space we had to perform in,” Watts said. “Now, with this space, that opens up a lot more opportunity, both for actors and for what’s possible for the productions.”
That opportunity extends beyond the stage. Starcher now houses a full costume department, something costume designer Amy Lyste described as a dream compared to the department’s previous space. During the Open House, costumes for “The Addams Family” were on display, with delicate lace and embroidered, beaded webbing are among the intentional details used to make the familiar Addams look like their own.
“Usually, you can say they will see it from 20 feet. No. Within this show … you’ll be up close with that family, and you’ll see all the details,” Lyste said.
The new space also includes a second-floor rehearsal room. With mirrors lining the walls and a new sprung wood floor. Marking the musical and allowing for space to dance have been essential to this production.
“They’re passionate about the project and want it to look good. They’re excited about it, and that, in turn, makes me excited,” said Emily Wirkus, choreographer for “The Addams Family.”
The Addams Family
Audiences won’t have to wait long to experience what that new space makes possible. UND Theatre will open its 2026-27 season with The Addams Family, a musical that follows Wednesday Addams after she falls in love with a young man from a decidedly more “normal” family. When Wednesday asks Gomez to keep the relationship a secret from Morticia, the two families are eventually brought together for dinner.
For Director Emily Cherry Oliver, staging the musical in the Black Box has presented a different challenge than working with an audience seated on one side.
“It’s harder, but you know we’re up for a challenge,” Oliver said. “That’s what a Black Box is for.”
The configuration also means theatergoers will experience the Addams family from a much closer vantage point.
“People are going to get really close to the action and see how everything works,” Oliver said. “And that was part of the plan.”
“We wanted to use our new Black Box to kind of immerse them in the world of the Addams Family, but make it ours,” said Madi Watts.
Starcher Stage will officially open Thursday, Oct. 8, with a ribbon-cutting celebration at 6:45 pm. The new performance space will then welcome audiences for opening night of “The Addams Family” at 7:30 pm.
“The Addams Family” runs Oct. 8-10 and 15-17, with 2 p.m. matinees Oct. 11 and 18. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students, seniors and military members with ID. Student military members receive free admission with ID at the box office on the night of the show.
Tickets are available through the UND Department of Theatre Arts box office.
