Director greets Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center Board
Florence Morning News - August 28, 2007
By Justin Bailey
FLORENCE — The inaugural director for the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center was introduced to the center’s board members and the project architect announced improvements to the venue’s original concepts at the board’s meeting Tuesday at the university’s Stokes Administration Building.
The first order of business was introducing director Laura Sims to the board members and to other university faculty members.
Sims has more than a decade of experience in theater management, with the past seven of those years as the production manager at the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, Tenn. She earned a master of fine arts degree in stage management from the University of Missouri (Kansas City) and a bachelor’s degree in theater from Auburn University. She was also an arts administration fellow for the National Endowment of the Arts.
“I just want to say I’m so happy to be here, finally,” Sims said. “I’m so excited about this building, judging from everything I’ve heard about it and seen so far. I can’t wait to get into it and get people into the building as soon as it’s built.”
As managing director for the center, Sims will provide advice during the facility’s construction, as well as manage and provide financial oversight, including budget development and administration. She also will collaborate with FMU arts faculty and with community arts groups to facilitate the needs of FMU arts programs and the needs of the city of Florence and the surrounding region. Her salary is listed at $80,000 a year.
Sims said she expects to help with some of the theatre program classes during the fall semester and to teach a class of her own in the spring.
Project architect Malcolm Holzman, of New York-based Holzman-Moss Architects, detailed several improvements made to the center’s schematic plans and elevations since the board’s last meeting June 21.
The center will contain space for theatrical and musical performances, instructional classrooms and office space. FMU’s fine arts program will use the center for performances, programs and art exhibits. National traveling music, dance and theater productions will be booked to perform at the center as well.
The center will be located on the back portion of the vacant lot that includes the corner of Palmetto and South Dargan streets and is situated along Cheves Street. It will include a 900-seat multi-purpose auditorium with a 90-foot tower. The tower will include a lighting setup for theatrical productions.
A black box theater building and a building for classroom and office space will be situated on either side of the center’s front entrance. A drop-off area, handicapped and limited school bus parking will be located along the Cheves Street façade.
Also included in the plans are a 500-seat outdoor amphitheater with removable seating and a shallow reflecting pond, as well as an outdoor seating area with a fountain.
The amphitheater is expected to cost $500,000, and the fountain area $150,000 The amphitheater and seating area aren’t included in the building’s $22 million budget, but the funds will be raised independently, FMU president and board chairman Dr. Fred Carter said.