David Metcalf to be Awarded National Community Theatre Award
At AACTFest 2025 in Des Moines, Iowa, FungusAmongus Artistic Director David Metcalf will be awarded the Distinguished Merit Award by the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT). The award will be presented at an awards ceremony on Friday, June 27. AACT presents this national award to individuals and organizations in recognition of contributions made to promote and develop the highest standards for community theatre.
David has been active in the Minnesota theatre community both as a teacher and director to high school students and as a prolific community theatre director across the state for over 50 years. He has enriched and taught 100's of students and given them the passion of theatre many of whom continue the theatre tradition in their own communities as adults. He has had at least six students who have made theatre their professional career. Since 2017 David has been the Artistic Director of the FungusAmongus Players of Dassel-Cokato being a newly independent organization has had its challenges, but with David's leadership there has never been a question of the quality of the productions that Fungus presents. Through his direct involvement with each production or by mentoring new directors to take on the challenge of directing, David has been there to lend a guiding hand and allow the theatre in his community to flourish.
David received his B.A. in Theatre, English, Education at Augsburg College. Now retired after 34 years of teaching at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School, he also coached competitive speech teams and one-act plays to numerous State level successes. David studied stage combat and fight choreography under B.H. Barry. He has led workshops on stage combat and worked with several theatres, helping choreograph combat scenes.
David is a prolific director. Under David's guidance, FungusAmongus Players has sent a show to the Region V festival in 2023, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2013 and 2011. In 2017 ("The Voice of the Prairie") and 2015 ("The Romancers") those shows represented Region V at the national AACTFest. He has directed shows for: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School, Dassel-Cokato High School, Dassel-Cokato Community Theatre, FungusAmongus Players of Dassel-Cokato, Theatre in the Round, Buffalo Community Theatre, Litchfield Community Theatre, Homeward Bound Theatre Company (outreach), Wright County Arts Association (Buffalo), Nedora Summer Theatre (Nederland, Colorado), Troupe Theatre (St. Cloud), The Village Players (Dassel) and Unicorn Community Theatre (Howard Lake).
This is the first time anyone from Minnesota has been recognized with this award. Next time you see David, congratulate him on this distinguished achievement.
"The Book of Mark" Coming in June!
Our next production in June will be "The Book of Mark" Directed and Performed by Isaac Olson.
The Book of Mark is a dramatic one-man staging of the biblical Book of Mark. The Book of Mark tells the story of Jesus’s ministry, from His baptism to His death to His resurrection. Compared to the other gospels, Mark’s account of Jesus’s life is the most straightforward as a narrative and focuses most on the acts, miracles, and deeds of Christ. Originally performed as a stage production by acclaimed stage actor Alec McCowen, Mark has since been staged by many actors across the globe, reminding audiences of the historically momentous wonder and transformative redemptive power of the story of Jesus Christ.
Performances
June 26, 27 & 28 at 7:00 pm and
June 29 at 2:00 pm
at the Dassel History Center.
There will be no tickets but a freewill donation will be taken. All proceeds from this production will be donated to the Meeker County and Cokato Food Shelves.
Summer Youth Theatre Camp Registration Open
FungusAmongus in conjunction with Dassel-Cokato Community Education will be putting on the Summer Youth Theatre Camp again this summer. Signups are now live on the Community-Education website. The camp will be held this summer July 28 - July 31, with the first four days of camp at the Dassel-History Center and the final rehearsal and performance at the Dassel-Cokato Performing Arts Center.
Join us for a week-long theatre camp where young performers will immerse themselves in the exciting world of acting, guided by the talented FungusAmungus Players! This interactive workshop is designed to help students build confidence, enhance creativity, and develop essential theatre skills in a fun and supportive environment.
Through engaging games and hands-on activities, campers will explore stage movement, blocking notation, and script scoring, while also diving into character development, scene creation, dialogue delivery, body language, and storytelling techniques. Led by experienced actors, participants will gain valuable insight into the art of performance, learning to bring stories to life.
Rehearsals will take place Monday through Thursday at the Dassel History Center, preparing students for their final dress rehearsal on Friday at the Performing Arts Center. That evening, campers will take the stage for a FREE showcase performance, celebrating their hard work with family, friends, and fellow theatre enthusiasts.
The registration fee includes a camp t-shirt. Sign up by July 17 to guarantee your shirt!
Next Script Reading Scheduled
Our next script reading will be held Sunday May 18 at 4pm at the Dassel History Center. We plan to read and listen to a potential musical for future seasons, all are welcome to attend!
2025 - 2026 Season Announcement Soon!
The FungusAmongus Board of Directors are working hard to solidify the 2025-2026 season. The plan is to be able to announce next season during performances of "The Book of Mark" in June. Thank you all who participated in the actor interest survey and our script readings. These have been invaluable to help us decide on our seasons!
So many ways to have fun with FungusAmongus!
You don't need to be on stage to have fun with FungusAmongus. For example, we're always looking for:
AV Club members - learn to run sound or light for our shows!
Stage Managing / Crew Members. Do you want to help behind the scenes with the magic that goes on during the show? Help manage the stage and with set during our productions!
Treat wranglers. Could you bake some yummy bars for us to serve at intermission? Could you serve those treats and coffee at our shows?
Stud sensors. Can you drive a nail, or paint a wall, or perhaps work some interior design magic? Our set-building crew is looking for you.
Get started by contacting us through our website or social media channels.
