The earliest foundation for SMUDS was the Saint Mary's Dramatic Class, founded in 1907. In 1940, the name was changed to the Saint Mary's College Playshop. When the group moved into the Theatre Auditorium in the McNally Main building, the name was changed to the SMU Drama Society.

    A full list of SMUDS productions is available by clicking here. As you will notice, the most recent productions include the classic American dramas The Crucible and A Streetcar Named Desire, the post-modern satire Psycho Beach Party and the modern comedy-drama Blue Window: a varied list to say the least!  We are very pleased to have been able to add the 80's classic film and original SMUDS adaptation The Breakfast Club to the list!

    Although many of the directors hired for our productions have been professionals, SMUDS's productions are not exclusively for theatre students. Most of the cast & crew are students studying everything from Accounting to Psychology. Although the English Department at Saint Mary's University offers several courses in plays and playwriting, there are no acting or technical theatre courses taught here. Our productions are open to SMU students with any level of dramatic experience.

    Since its inception, SMUDS has been overseen by a Moderator selected from the university community to assist the executive with advice and to act as a liaison with university staff. Our current Moderator, Darrell Yates, is a SMU alumnus and a professional actor based out of Halifax. His experience both with the university and within the theatrical community have been a great asset to this year's society. SMUDS's first two moderators, Father William Stewart S.J. and Kevin Cleary, are still revered as vital forces who nurtured the society to the 50+ year old workhorse you see today!