Renting the PAC
Based on calendar availability, the FMU Performing Arts Center is at times available for performances, private functions, and corporate events. It offers several versatile spaces suitable for various occasions, including corporate meetings, receptions, weddings, and stage performances.
Primary rental spaces are:
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The Mainstage Theatre
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The Black Box Theatre
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Lower and Upper Lobbies
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The Truist Amphitheatre
Potential renters can request space starting on the first business day of May for the upcoming season. For instance, if someone wants to rent the facility from July 2025 to June 2026, they can submit their request beginning May 1, 2025.
The process for renting the facility is as follows:
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Review the Rental Rates information
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Review the Scheduling and Usage Policies
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Complete and submit the Space Rental Request form
If your rental involves a performance, you will also need to complete a Ticketing Services Request form.
Once a potential date is confirmed as available, the PAC staff will reach out to the renter to discuss the event’s specific needs in more detail. This often involves scheduling an onsite meeting. After assessing the event’s feasibility, the renter will receive a contract to be signed in order to secure the date.
Our Venues
Mainstage
The Mainstage Theatre is the largest venue in the PAC, and can seat up to 849 patrons. The proscenium is 58 feet wide by 38 feet high. Equipped with an orchestra pit, orchestra shell, 45 line sets, and 73 feet of clearance height, this theatre can accommodate a variety of professional productions, from solo performances to 80-person orchestra ensembles. The stage has a sprung floor and features a unique single-piece, automated orchestra shell enclosure.
Truist Amphitheatre
The Truist Amphitheatre is located on the Palmetto Street side of the main building. With a 20 x 40 ft. covered stage, it features a semicircular outdoor seating area that can accommodate approximately 200 people while an upper area can accommodate approximately 300 people. This flexible green space is surrounded by beautiful magnolia trees.
Terrace
A lovely curved terrace extends from the second floor balcony and provides a serene setting for mingling and quiet conversation before, during, and after events.
Black Box
The Black Box Theatre provides a flexible space for a variety of performances. Retractable seats accommodate seating for 100. Although the Black Box is a more intimate space than the Mainstage, it features the same type of sprung floor, acoustical drapes, lighting equipment, and sound equipment. This space can also be used for receptions and other rental functions.
Lobbies
With over 9,000 square feet of space, the PAC multi-level lobby can accommodate community and corporate events, as well as private functions. The horn shapes in the terrazzo marble floors and custom light fixtures are reminiscent of Dizzy Gillespie, a native of the region. The walls are made from the last Winnsboro blue granite pulled from the quarry before it was closed, and the insets are made from repurposed Georgia White Cherokee marble, remnants of veterans’ cemetery headstones that could not be used for their original purpose due to chips in the stone and misspellings of names.
Beverly Hazelwood and Starr Ward Garden Courtyard
The Beverly Hazelwood and Starr Ward Garden Courtyard is located behind the Academic Wing. This flexible space is accessible from the lobby area as well as from exterior entrances. Beautiful landscaping, soft lighting and a water feature provides a relaxing setting for preshow and intermission gatherings, receptions, and small events.