EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) announced future seasons of UTEP Dinner Theatre (UDT) will be produced with the university’s Department of Theatre and Dance and with a new funding model.
The change comes after a review of operations found that while UDT was heavily subsidized by student fees, only about 10 percent of UDT show attendees were students and fewer than half of the performers were students, according to a news release sent Thursday, Sept. 5 by UTEP.
In the fiscal year that started on Sunday, Sept. 1, UTEP will support musical theater through an additional general revenue allocation of $322,000, replacing a similar amount that previously came from student fees, according to the news release.
“The total operations budget for UDT last season was approximately $1 million,” read the news release. “The average ticket sales for each production in the 2023-24 season was $95,000.”
UTEP said the theater will continue to engage the community. However, greater emphasis will be placed on roles being played by students as part of UTEP’s teaching mission.
“Musical theater at UTEP will be more closely connected to our teaching mission and will be funded in a way that is more fair to our students,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson.
UTEP is searching for a new tenure-track faculty member who specializes in musical theater voice after the UDT director retired last year.
“Musical theater remains an important part of our education and community engagement missions,” said Provost John Wiebe, Ph.D. “Integrating the Dinner Theatre and the Department of Theatre and Dance will build resilience in both entities.”
UTEP students will now be able to access discounted tickets for the shows, similar to other Department of Theatre and Dance productions, according to the news release.
“We want to produce great musical theater for the community and also give more opportunities for our students both on-stage and in the audience,” said College of Liberal Arts Dean Anadeli Bencomo, Ph.D. “It makes sense to support the theater financially when we connect it more closely to our teaching mission, and there will be ticket discounts so that more students can come to the shows and engage with the artistic productions at UTEP.”
“The legacy of the Dinner Theatre will continue in our department,” said Hideaki Tsutsui, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. “Future UTEP Dinner Theatre seasons will bring joyful cultural enrichment to our students and the El Paso community.”
UTEP said the 2024-25 season opener will be Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Oct. 11.
Tickets go on sale Monday, Sept. 9, for UTEP students, faculty and staff, as well as groups of 20 or more.
Tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday, Sept.10. Tickets are available for dinner and non-dinner performances.
To purchase tickets, visit here.
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