Visual & Performing Arts Center (VPAC)

The Visual and Performing Arts Center, home to the School of Visual, Performing, and Communication Arts, provides students with facilities of the highest caliber, enhancing their educational experiences. The VPAC boasts a multitude of dynamic spaces to accommodate the needs of artists across all disciplines. The versatile facilities include the Concert Hall, Studio Theatre, Scene Shop, Dressing Rooms, Sculpture Studio, and M.F.A. Studios. This state-of-the-art center provides immeasurable creative and collaborative opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and patrons.

The Visual and Performing Arts Center is comprised of three distinct wings unified through a stunning lobby with unique architectural features. The elegant structure of the facility allows for students to balance between concentrating within their own disciplines and participating in interdepartmental collaboration. This allows for an education that is simultaneously specialized and holistic. In such a setting, students develop both the skills and the interdisciplinary experiences needed to succeed in their respective fields.

The Visual Art department provides the facilities needed for students to become adept in both the latest artistic software and traditional art-making methods. The art wing boasts top-of-the-line computer technology, providing students with access to the same technology currently used by professionals in the visual art industries. In the art wing, students also gain access to the legacy technology of traditional film development as well as spacious, well ventilated studios for painting, sculpting, and drawing. The Art Gallery is equipped with moveable walls, allowing for dynamic displays. The visual and performing arts center offers the spaces and equipment needed for Illustrators, Graphic Designers, Photographers, Painters, and Sculptors to develop competitive portfolios.

The Music department facilities allow for students to perform with the highest level of professionalism during their undergraduate experiences. Music students rehearse and perform in the Veronica Hagman Concert Hall, which features a tri-level, in-the-round seating experience for an audience of up to 350.This elegant space is where beautiful form meets the highest standards of functionality.  Variable acoustics accommodate musicians of all genres, providing specialized acoustic experiences for diverse performers. State-of-the-art performance audio and lighting create the highest quality sensory experiences for both patrons and performers. The Concert Hall also boasts 5.1 HD recording and two Concert Grand pianos: a Steinway Model “D” (Hamburg) and a Yamaha CFX, the flagship of the Yamaha concert piano line. An incredible recording studio houses WCSU’s new Audio and Music Production degree program and features a Solid State Logic Duality audio console — the finest in the industry. All performance spaces are interconnected via advanced fiber optic systems for complete audio and video integration and interoperability. The VPAC provides students with opportunities and skills needed to perform and create in facilities rivaling the best in the industry.

The Theatre department offers some of the best facilities the industry has to offer. Theatre students perform on the facility’s MainStage Theatre and Studio Theatre — both loaded with technology and functionality beyond many Broadway venues. Multiple Kennedy Center American College Festival national award-winning shows have been hosted in this spectacular venue, earning the program and the students critical acclaim. Students in the theatre department are provided with all of the perks and spaces they would utilize in professional settings, including dressing rooms, rehearsal studios, a generously stocked costume shop, and a spacious set-design studio. The two theatre rehearsal studios are both equipped with audio/visual technology and sprung dance floors which complement the university’s increasingly popular musical theatre program. Through the elaborate facilities encompassed by the VPAC, students in the program are immersed into every aspect of the theatre arts, making them highly competitive in the field.

If you are interested in renting our facilities for an event or recording session please visit this page.