Note from the Director
To quote one of the most iconic lyrics from The Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange trip it’s been."
2020 and early 2021 have seen unbelievable changes in our world – both the larger world and our smaller world here at the Fine and Performing Arts Center. Our last performance with a live audience was early March 2020, but we are thrilled to announce we finally are open again! New protocols such as limited seating, health screenings and cleaning procedures have been instituted to ensure the safety of all audience members, staff and performers.
Our new 2021-22 season opens in late September with a thrilling array of performances, including magic, dance, music, comedy, theater, and more. Check our website often for updates. Please join our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. If you have not already joined our email list, please consider adding yourself.
One thing that has become more evident lately is the fact that we must pay more attention to our impact on the planet. We have become more cognizant of the environment and the ways in which our fragile ecosystems can be disrupted. Paying greater respect to the land, I hope, will be a positive outgrowth of our current crisis. That also leads me to something that has long held great importance for me personally.
In recent years it has become important to acknowledge the traditional homelands of the indigenous peoples of a particular area through land acknowledgement. This type of activity is designed to bring more awareness and understanding of the history of indigenous peoples and their territories. But a land acknowledgement also should be more than that; it should be a call to rethink one’s own relationship with the environment and the histories of all peoples. Our campus – and the arts center -- rest on the ancestral lands of the Council of the Three Fires: The Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi Nations. Many other Tribes like the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, Peoria and Fox also called this area home. We pay respect to elders both past and present who have stewarded this land through generations.
I hope we can all become better stewards of this land for future generations. I also hope our celebrations of diverse artists from around the world will help to make us all more compassionate, informed, global citizens.
All the best,
Tommy Hensel
Managing Director
Facilities
Dorothy Menker Theater
The 575-seat Dorothy Menker Theater is the center’s main attraction. This proscenium theater is equipped with a mechanically controlled orchestra pit that can be raised and lowered to fit performance needs. Balcony and main floor seating is augmented by four exclusive box seat areas. The theater also features a massive fly tower for elaborate scene changes, and both first- and second-floor lobbies.
John and Angeline Oremus Theater
The John and Angeline Oremus Theater is a fully equipped black box theater with flexible seating to accommodate a comprehensive range of performances, from traditional to experimental. And like the Dorothy Menker Theater, this 150-seat theater has direct access to expansive support areas, including scenery and costume shops, and rehearsal and dressing rooms.
Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery
The Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery showcases works in a wide variety of media by Moraine Valley students and faculty, as well as local, regional and nationally known artists.
Atrium
North and south entrances to the Fine and Performing Arts Center open to a two-story, glass-enclosed atrium showered with natural light that highlights display cases for student, staff and community artwork.
Other Facilities
Additional facilities in the Fine and Performing Arts Center include a recital room, choral/band room, music practice rooms, digital piano lab, computer graphic design labs, graphic design studio, ceramics studio, sculpture studio, painting studio, photography studio, printmaking studio, drawing studios, a 55-seat lecture hall, and classrooms.
Rentals
Rentals currently are suspended. We hope to begin taking rental inquires again in spring 2022.
The Fine and Performing Arts Center facilities are primarily used for college and professional series events. Space is also available for rent to outside organizations on a limited basis.
Please note college events always receive first preference, and rental contracts may not be finalized until space-usage requirements for academic programs, Fine and Performing Arts Center events, and other college programs have been scheduled and confirmed. Facilities are never available for rent during time periods when the college is officially closed.
For additional questions and information, email boxoffice@morainevalley.edu.
Staff
Tommy Hensel
Managing Director
henselt2@morainevalley.edu
Feel free to contact Tommy for general information about the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Katie Norton
Box Office Manager
Nortonk7@morainevalley.edu
Feel free to contact Katie for information on volunteering and space rental.
Sean McIntosh
Technical Director
mcintoshs4@morainevalley.edu
Feel free to contact Sean about technical and backstage management.
Amanda Hantson
Assistant Technical Director
hantsona2@morainevalley.edu
Mary Ann Luciano Smith
Secretary II
lucianom2@morainevalley.edu
Feel free to contact Mary Ann about accounts receivable and payable.
Leah Cassella
Music & Arts Assistant
cassellal@morainevalley.edu
Feel free to contact Leah about individual credit and non-credit music lessons
Ensemble Directors
Douglass Bratt
Academic Music Coordinator; Jazz Band, Concert Band and Percussion Ensemble director
bratt@morainevalley.edu
Craig Rosen
Academic Theater Coordinator
rosen@morainevalley.edu
Nicholas Thomas
Concert Chorale and Chamber Singers Ensemble director
thomasn@morainevalley.edu
Tammi Carlson
Flute Choir director
carlsont@morainevalley.edu
Maryann Flock
Orchestra director
flock@morainevalley.edu
Policies and FAQs
All programs, dates, times, prices and artists are subject to change without notice. All performances begin promptly at the published times. Latecomers will be seated at the management’s discretion.
FAQs
Moraine Valley is a smoke-free campus, this includes but it not limed to tobacco products, including any cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, pipes, hookah products, as well as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) or vapor devices. There is a fine of $30 associated with this offense. However, smoking is permitted in one’s personal vehicle
We do not have a paging system in our auditorium. If there is an emergency, contact the Moraine Valley Police Department at (708) 974-5555.
Yes, you can request a seat and the Box Office associate will do their best to honor that request for non-general admission performances. If a patron has a special request in regards to their seats such as wheelchair accessibility, we ask that patrons please inform the associate upon ordering.
Yes, we offer discounts for groups of 20 or more.
Every performance has a different running time. Most performances are about two hours in length, including intermission. Call the Box Office at (708) 974-5500 the week of a specific performance for the running time.
Found articles should be left with the Box Office or the Will Call window. If valuable items such as keys, wallets or jewelry are found, they will be reported and picked up by the campus police. All other items will be held within the FPAC’s lost and found. To determine whether a personal item has been turned in to the lost and found, contact the Box Office at (708) 974-5500 or the Moraine Valley Police Department at (708) 974-5555. Any items lost or presumed stolen are not the responsibility of the Moraine Valley Community College.
We are so happy to hear you want to give back to the Fine and Performing Arts Center. Our Usher Program is a great way to meet new people, learn new skills and catch some free shows. To learn more about our Usher Program, visit our Volunteer page.
Ticket Information
- Monday, Aug. 23
Ticket sales for “Buy a Seat” donors begin. - Wednesday, Aug. 25
Ticket sales for 2019-20 subscribers start. - Monday, Aug 30
All other sales begin. All ticket sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.
Four convenient ways to purchase memberships and tickets. A ticket and seat are required for every person attending a performance regardless of age. Children may sit on an adult’s lap, but they must be accounted for with a ticket. All ticket sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.
Four convenient ways to purchase tickets!
- Online
Available 24/7 through our secure, online ordering system. - Phone (708) 974-5500
- In Person
Box Office hours are Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and one hour prior to ticketed performances. The Box Office follows the college holiday and weather-closure schedule. Box Office Hours are subject to change. - Mail
Download order form and send the completed form to:
Box Office
Moraine Valley Community College
9000 W. College Parkway
Palos Hills, IL 60465
