Our Mission |
The mission of the Penn State Performing Arts Council (PAC) is to foster a culture in which performing arts can flourish by serving as a resource to student performing arts organizations and their liaison to the University.
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About Us |
The Penn State Student Performing Arts Council (PAC), started as a group of students who wanted to break down the walls between performing arts organizations and promote cooperation and collaboration to further the mission of each individual organization and of performing arts in general at Penn State.
PAC was officially established as a student organization on December 16th, 2014 and has made incredible progress in its first year. A relationship was quickly established between PAC and Penn State’s Student Affairs Office which has led to many diverse partnerships and opportunities for the performing arts organizations at University Park. One of the Performing Art Council’s greatest achievements has been holding a meeting which was attended by 42 performing arts leaders of 23 organizations along with the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, the Director of the Center for the Performing Arts, and the Director of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts - all of whom support PAC as the voice of the student performing arts organizations at Penn State. Now a university-affiliated organization registered under Student Affairs, the Performing Arts Council - equipped with a hardworking executive board, talented genre marshals and a brand new communications committee - looks forward to future endeavors that continue to elevate the status of the performing arts at Penn State. |
Our Members
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The Performing Arts Council is a diverse group of student representatives from various similar groups across the University Park campus. We organize ourselves internally in the following groups:
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Executive Board
Marissa Works, President
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Marissa is a senior studying Music Education (Voice) and Public Relations, and also pursuing a certificate program in the Smeal College of Business. She is thrilled to be the President of PAC and is extremely passionate about promoting the arts, especially at Penn State. She performs with The Penn State Concert Choir, Oriana Singers, and The Pennharmonics A Capella Group (2017-2018 Director). She has interned with the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and was most recently selected to be a part of the Penn State DDAR Summer internship program. She looks forward to a career in music education and arts administration. Her proudest PAC Accomplishment is the Arts App Initiative, and she can't wait to see all of the new ways that PAC will serve the arts community in the coming year.
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Emma Kauffman, Vice President of Communications
Emma is a senior majoring in Public Relations. She is also minoring in Digital Media Trends and Analytics, English, and pursuing a business certificate through the Smeal College of Business. Emma was previously involved in University Choir, and enjoys going to anything involved with the arts. She is currently the National Committee Liason and THON Chair for PRSSA. She has interned with Penn State Dining and New Tech Network, an education non-profit. She enjoys puns, Studio Ghibli movies, and spoken word poetry. She's excited for the upcoming year and helping out with all things PAC!
Pat Demarco, Treasurer
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Patrick DeMarco is a junior double majoring in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics. Despite a heavy course load, Pat has become involved in various performing arts groups at Penn State. He plays trombone in the Blue Band, sings bass in Shades of Blue a cappella, and now is the treasurer of the Performing Arts Council. Pat loves music, science, and loves to meet new people. Say hello to him at this year’s events!
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Jason Schwartz, Vice President of Production
Jason is a sophomore studying Broadcast Journalism and Theatre. On campus, he is involved with many performing groups and has quickly come to love the tight-knit community that he has been so graciously welcomed into. Jason actively performs and creates with the Penn State Thespians and The Statesmen, and acts as the THON Fundraising chair and the Public Relations chair for those organizations respectively. He cannot wait to foster the many talents and efforts that exist in the Penn State performing community and develop PAC's initiatives with his collaborators!
Meg Reed, Assistant Producer
Meg Reed is a junior studying secondary English education with a minor in theater. She an active member of the Penn State Thespians, serving as their Children’s Show co-chair for the 2018-2019 school year. She will also be directing Thespians fall musical, Young Frankenstein. She is incredibly excited to be a part of the performing arts council this year to share her love of theater with the Penn State community.
Connor Pardoe, Vice President of Community Relations
Connor is a junior studying Public Relations and Communication Arts & Sciences, with aspirations to attend law school and become involved in Arts Administration following his undergraduate experience at Penn State. Connor hails from Williamsport. PA. At Penn State, Connor serves as the Tour Director for the Lion Ambassadors, Penn State's Student Alumni Corp. Additionally, he is the Public Relations Director and a vocalist within the Pennharmonics A Cappella Group. In the past, Connor served as the inaugural Community Relations Intern at The State Theatre in downtown State College. When Connor is not studying, which is a rarity in itself, you can find him making memories with friends and family, or drinking an absurd amount of coffee. Connor is excited to assume the role of Vice President of Community Relations in the Performing Arts Council.
Laura Zaks, Communications Assistant
Laura Zaks just joined PAC as the Communications Assistant and will be beginning this new chapter in the fall. Besides loving long walks on the beach and spending all her meal points on poké bowls at the HUB, she loves the art of writing and expression. She was the performing arts reporter for the Daily Collegian last semester and is excited to now be a part of an organization that umbrellas the performing art talents of Penn State. Go lions!
2018-2019 Ambassadors
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Katie Blankemeyer, Theatre AmbassadorKatie Blankemeyer is a senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Biology who is so excited to be serving as the Theatre Ambassador for PAC 2018-2019. She has been involved in theatre at Penn State since her freshman year, and is currently serving as the President of No Refund Theatre! With NRT, Katie has been a part of over a dozen productions, and she has also served as Assistant Costume Designer for the Thespians for the past two years. Katie hopes to attend medical school after graduation to study cardiology, but for now she is happy to be sharing her love of theatre with the Penn State community.
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Kira Robbins, Assistant Theatre AmbassadorKira Robbins is a senior Stage Management and Political Science double major with a minor in Latin American Studies. She is proudly born and raised in Northern Virginia, but still enjoys relating back to her intense Pennsylvania roots. Although theatre seems to completely take over her life, she has always found love in all areas of art - including in second grade when she thought she could be a painter. As of now, Kira basically lives in the Theatre Building due to her constant School of Theatre responsibilities and helping out many student project, but she loves to stretch out and engage in as many things around campus as she can as the Assistant Theatre Marshal for PAC!
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Kyle Feigenwinter, A Cappella AmbassadorKyle is a sophomore studying Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations in the College of Information Sciences and Technology. He is so incredibly fortunate to be the A Cappella Ambassador for PAC this coming school year. Originally a saxophone player, Kyle spends most of his time singing as a baritone and serving as Assistant Musical Director for Shades of Blue. In his spare time, you can find him building computers and teaching himself more about music. He cannot wait to start working with such talented people in the year to come!
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Grace Murray, Dance AmbassadorGrace is a sophomore majoring in Finance and double minoring in Labor Employment Relations and Theater. On campus, Grace is a proud member and THON chair for Tapestry Dance Company. She is also a Front of House Staff member for Eisenhower Auditorium, and a TA for the Supply Chain and Information Systems Department. Grace has had a passion for the arts from a very young age, and is very excited to work with all of Penn States’ amazing dance organizations!
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Sayali Phadke, Assistant Dance AmbassadorSayali is a PhD candidate in Statistics with a minor in Social Data Analytics. She is the President of Society for Indian Music and Arts, and Nritya; two organizations at Penn State dedicated to traditional Indian performing arts. Sayali is a Kathak dancer, which is one of the seven Indian classical dance forms. In her free time, she likes to read, write, and take long walks. She is excited to be a part of PAC this year!
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Celeste Belknap, Instrumental AmbassadorCeleste is a senior majoring in Violin Performance and Russian and minoring in Psychology, as well as a first year graduate student in Musicology. She is excited to serve as Instrumental Ambassador for the Performing Arts Council, giving a wide range of Penn State musicians the opportunity to perform, and providing audiences across campus with a variety of entertainment. In addition to being PAC's Instrumental Ambassador, she is a member of the Penn State Philharmonic and Chamber orchestras, a volunteer, former dancer, and current Vice President of the THON organization "Encore," and a violinist for musical productions on campus. She is so glad to be a part of the Performing Arts Council this year!
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2018 - 2019 AdvisorsHope Falk, Student Engagement Manager |
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Hope is the Student Engagement Manager for the Center for the Performing Arts and Student Affairs at Penn State. In her role as Student Engagement Manager Hope is responsible for engaging students with CPA's performances by providing opportunities for meaning-making, learning and further connection with the artists. She is also developing two arts-engagement series; Mindful Making and ArtOut which aim to provide an accessible and meaningful starting point to student's engagement with the arts while at Penn State. She is thrilled to be working with PAC and is looking forward to assisting them in expanding their programs.
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