Notre Dame of Maryland University Ye Merrie Masquers records

Ye Merrie Masquers (YMM) was founded in 1916, although there had been dramatic productions at Notre Dame of Maryland years before this. An early undated YMM constitution states their purpose to be “to bring together those interested in subjects relating to the study and production of the drama.” YMM’s first program consisted of two one-act plays, Entr’ Acte and Spreading the News, on December 7, 1916. In the early years, all male characters were played by Notre Dame students. In later years, these roles were taken by male students from Loyola or other colleges, or sometimes by men from the community. On May 21, 1959, Columns reported “[YMM], as its name indicates, delves into the tradition of the Middle Ages for its format and ceremonies. The initiation ritual admits apprentice players to the society. Each new player receives a rose, cap, and napkin symbolizing love, loyalty to the guild, and service.” It is unclear how long these rituals survived.

YMM continued uninterrupted until the late 1960s, although “Ye” often appeared as “The” in the earliest years. In 1968-69, a group called the Tri-College Theater, consisting of theater groups from Notre Dame, Loyola, and Mount St. Agnes College (MSAC), displaced YMM. This organization collaborated on three productions a year, one at each campus. Around the same time, Notre Dame College Theatre produced plays for at least two additional years, after which dramatic productions at Notre Dame seem to have been far and few between until the 1990s.

In the 1989-90 school year, a new dramatics group, the Vanity Players, was formed. After an initial effort to raise sufficient funding, they presented Godspell on March 29-30, 1990. The following year the group reinstated the YMM name and presented You’re a Good Man, Charley Brown on November 1-4, 1990. YMM remains the Notre Dame dramatics organization to the present day (2019).