{"id":7553,"date":"2022-02-25T08:04:42","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T13:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/?p=7553"},"modified":"2022-02-21T15:05:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T20:05:18","slug":"theatre-alumna-makes-her-debut-backstage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/2022\/02\/25\/theatre-alumna-makes-her-debut-backstage\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre alumna makes her debut backstage\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmeliaAs Detroiters flocked to see <\/span>The Lion King<\/span><\/i> at the Detroit Opera House and marvel at the spectacle, they should know that an alumna from Detroit Mercy\u2019s Theatre program is helping make that magic happen.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amelia Rose Glenn \u201921 is working backstage as dresser to actors playing the villainous lion Scar and the self-important African horned red-bill, Zazu.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cScar\u2019s costume has hooks,<\/span> snaps,<\/span> layers and a robotic head<\/span>,<\/span> and it\u2019s my job to make sure the actor is in it and it\u2019s on right and the mic pack is where it needs to be,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cIt can be stressful, but it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Glenn, who could be seen both onstage and backstage during her time with the Detroit Mercy Theatre Company (DTMC), finds joys in both.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had to pick a favorite, I would say I\u2019m more comfortable backstage,\u201d she said. \u201cIt gives me an opportunity to explore all aspects of the performing arts.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Glenn was a theater kid in high school and found herself at home at DTMC.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe program is a lot smaller than many others, but I found that to be very beneficial because the professors have a lot of connections in professional theater and that is really helpful for people who want to work in the arts,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cBecause it is smaller, it gives everyone a chance to learn lots of different things and to take on roles of leadership.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, she got her first paying gig \u2013 as costume designer for \u201cEvil Dead: The Musical\u201d in 2019 \u2013 through Associate Professor of Performing Arts Greg Grobis, who directed the bloody, campy musical in Detroit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grobis also factors into the backstage work with <\/span>Lion King<\/span><\/i> by connecting Glenn with Mary Ellen Shuffett, who, as a Marygrove College student, earned a theatre degree in 1980 through University of Detroit. She\u2019s been the head of the wardrobe department at the Detroit Opera House for nearly 25 years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since mid-January, Glenn has been working under Shuffett as a seamstress and now as a wardrobe supervisor, helping build costumes for the Michigan Opera Theatre\u2019s season that includes the operas <\/span>Frida<\/span><\/i>, a new opera about legendary painter Frida Kahlo, the classic <\/span>La Boheme<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>X, Life and Times of Malcolm X<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The costume department also is called upon to run the wardrobe for national tours that play at the Opera House, which thrills Glenn.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Glenn says she knows she\u2019s blessed to be working in the theatre as a new graduate and she thanks the connections Detroit Mercy has in the theatre community for it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my first big professional show,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cThis show is responsible for so many innovations in theater and it\u2019s really cool to see how everything works together. It\u2019s such a mystical experience.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Detroiters flocked to see The Lion King at the Detroit Opera House and marvel at the spectacle, they should know that an alumna from Detroit Mercy\u2019s Theatre program is helping make that magic happen.\u00a0 Amelia Rose Glenn \u201921 is working backstage as dresser to actors playing the villainous lion …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":7555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2022\/02\/amelia-rose-glenn-1.jpeg?fit=600%2C315&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-1XP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7553"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7556,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7553\/revisions\/7556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}