About Us
DMDS is a 70-strong musical society with a proud tradition of performance of musical theatre and concerts since 1959. We produce a musical each year in the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire and also perform at a range of events either as a full choir or in smaller choral groups. In the 2010/2011 season we celebrated our 50th anniversary.
Our Year
Our membership year starts in early September with a welcome night for new members. Auditions for our show (which in 2012 will be in April) are in October (only open to paid-up members) and rehearsals are on Tuesday nights (8.00-10.00 PM) and more frequently in the weeks leading up to the performance. In late May we compete at the AIMS Competition in New Ross. Members are free to participate in all or only one of these events. The AGM takes place in late May or early June and will elect a committee which runs the society for the following year. Specific times and information for these events are posted on this website during the year. We also have a regular program of other activities (Table-Quiz, Singing nights, Carol-singing etc) as fund-raisers and/or social events. We also have an associated group - Anthem - which performs at weddings and other events - further details here.
Musicals
We perform a Musical every year - usually in March or April. A list of our currrent and recent productions is below. Because we have a large membership, and a large high-quality choir, and we tend to choose large-cast musicals and will typically have 60-70 people involved on and off-stage. These are performed in the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire.
| 2012 | The Drowsy Chaperone (for further details click here) | |
| 2011 | Jesus Christ Superstar | |
| 2010 | Pirates Of Penzance | |
| 2009 | Once Upon A Mattress | |
| 2008 | Hot Mikado | |
| 2007 | Children Of Eden | |
| 2006 | Guys & Dolls | |
| 2005 | Chess | |
| 2004 | Anything Goes |
Concerts & Other Performances
As this is our 50th year, we will be presenting a Birthday Celebration Concert on Nov 26/27th. We also perform at charity and local events in the Dun Laoghaire area including the 'Harbour Summer Sundays' programme and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council's 'Centre Stage' series at Cabinteely House. We have also formed Anthem Singers as a group for performance at Weddings and Corporate events.
Competitions
DMDS has an excellent reputation in choir and cameo competitions, and we have also won many awards for our Shows. At the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) annual competitions, we have won the Best Choir Competition 5 times in the last 8 years. We have also won the best Cameo (extract from a musical) in 4 of the last 5 years. This year we received 2 AIMS Nominations for our production of Pirates of Penzance, in competition with 130 other societies. Jennifer McGann won the Best Comedienne award for her performance as Ruth in Pirates Of Penzance. In 2009 Shona Henneberry also won the Best Comedienne award for her performance in 'Once upon a Mattress'.
History
We are 50 ! Dun Laoghaire Musical and Dramatic Society was founded in 1959. For our full history see here.
