Marshall Performing Arts Center (MPAC) is the heart of Theatre and Dance performance at UMD. Within the building, there is a 550-seat flexible thrust/proscenium theatre, as well as a black-box experimental theatre.Multiple studios provide designated space for actors, designers, and dancers, while fully equipped scenic, welding, and costume shops, in addition to state-of-the- art lighting consoles and digital and analog recording equipment allow student designers and technicians to explore their crafts in lab and production work.
Participation in theatre productions and backstage work is open to all UMD students, regardless of major, interests, or previous experience. The MPAC main stage also hosts multiple community events each year.
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The Marshall Performing Arts Center was named for its generous benefactors, sisters Caroline Marshall, Julia Marshall, and Jessica Marshall Spencer. It was dedicated to them February 3, 1974. The fourth donor, Marjorie Congdon Dudley, was honored with The Dudley Experimental Theatre, located inside the center.