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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2018-2019 Executive Board
Connor Pardoe, President
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Connor Pardoe is a senior from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. A natural storyteller and communicator, Connor is studying Advertising/Public Relations and Communication Arts and Sciences. As the Administrative Vice President of Lion Ambassadors, Connor strives to communicate the importance of a lifelong commitment to one’s Alma Mater. Additionally, Connor has been a lifelong arts advocate and now serves as the President of the Performing Arts Council. Connor is also an intern for the Bellisario College of Communications, where he connects alumni to current students and faculty members. One of Connor’s favorite places on campus is the Old Main Bell Tower as it emulates the development that Penn State has had over the past 164 years. Old Main all is an icon to all of the unique, diverse, and prideful Penn State students that walk campus day in and day out.
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Grace Murray, Vice President of Community Relations
Grace 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!
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!
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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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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AdvisorHope 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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