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Laura Sims
Performing Arts Center Director
M.F.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City
(843) 661-1720
lsims@fmarion.edu
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Laura Sims
 EDUCATION:
M.F.A. (Stage Mangement), University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Laura, a native of Athens, Alabama, received her BA in Theatre with minors in Math and Music from Auburn University (War Eagle!) and her MFA in Stage Management from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  Her previous jobs include RPTA Stage Manager at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), Tour Stage Manager at Birmingham Children’s Theatre (Birmingham, AL), Production Stage Manager at The Self Family Arts Center (Hilton Head, SC), and Production Manager at The Clarence Brown Theatre (Knoxville, TN).

Currently, Laura is Director of the new Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center which opened in August, 2011.  In her spare time, Laura likes to travel and fill her Tivo with tons of prime time TV.

Laura Sims
Performing Arts Center Director
M.F.A., University of MIssouri-Kansas City
(843) 661-1720

Performing Arts Center Renderings

The FMU Performing Arts Center, an estimated 64,000 square foot facility located in downtown Florence, has been made possible through a partnership between FMU and the City of Florence and is partially funded through a substantial private gift from the Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation.  Its main elements include a main auditorium with a fly tower, a 100-seat flexible Black Box space, and an Academic Wing for the Department of Fine Arts.  The exterior of the building consists of Winnsboro granite with Georgia White Cherokee marble insets.

 Exterior Rendering
Performing Arts Center Exterior
The 9,000 square foot lobby has a terrazzo floor, and the granite and marble from the exterior are seen inside as well.  The lobby entrance is a curtain wall of windows with glazed onyx strips.  There is a grand staircase to your right (with access to the Box Office behind it) and an elevator to your left (with access to a Coat Check room and House Management/First Aid Office behind it).  Both the elevator and the staircase give patrons with balcony seating in the main auditorium access to the second floor.
 Lobby Rendering
Performing Arts Center Lobby
The main auditorium can accommodate 900 people (approximately 650 seats on the orchestra level and 250 seats in the balcony and box seating).  This rendering shows a concert hall configuration with the orchestra shell in place onstage.  For a different configuration, seating near the stage can be removed and an orchestra pit can be created for musicals or a ballet with an orchestra.  Acoustical panels on the wall and in the orchestra shell as well as acoustical drapes will be used to provide the best conditions possible for both live and recorded sound.  Both the mainstage and the Black Box will have various musical, theatrical, and dance productions throughout the season.

 Concert Hall Rendering
Main Auditorium - Concert Hall Configuration

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