Tennessee performing arts center: discovering from within
The Tennessee Performing Arts Center or widely known as TPAC, is a famous arts center in Nashville community of Tennessee.
Basically, it fills the entire city block among the 5th and 6th Streets north as well as the Union and Deaderick streets. It is particularly situated in the cultural center of James K. Polk, Nashville downtown.
The Tennessee Performing Arts Center also houses the Tennessee State Museum, a cultural center that adjoins the 18-story building, James K. Polk Tower.
The idea to establish a large-scale performing arts center such as the Tennessee Performing Arts Center was developed in the year 1972, as Martha Ingram was assigned to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts advisory board. She proposed the same performing arts facility for her hometown, Nashville. The proposal of the appointed board member engaged a public-private partnership which operate in a state-managed facility.
The idea of Ingram met considerable resistances yet she persisted, for eight long years as well as the three governors' terms. It resulted to the establishment of the today's Tennessee Performing Arts Center, a three-theater center situated below a state corporate building.
In the year 1981, TPAC was opened as a premier theater center of the state. The venues of the performances are named after the three US presidents who originated from Tennessee. They are the Andrew Johnson Theater with 256 seats, Andrew Jackson Hall with 2, 472 seating capacity; and the James K. Polk Theater with 1, 075 seating capacities
The Tennessee Performing Arts Center also manages the War Memorial Auditorium that has 1, 661 seats. This is a notable building which secures the War Memorial Plaza located across 6th Street north.
Among the several operations of Tennessee Performing Arts Center, it shows a range of Broadway tour shows as well as special engagements and functions. It also administers comprehensive learning programs.
The TPAC Education
Humanities Outreach in Tennessee - the centerpiece of this program is the top-notch performing arts program for students throughout the state, as well as some areas in Kentucky. They have a wide range of selection for grades 12, including dance, music and theater. The teachers can also assess and choose the performances for the students to enrich student horizons and expand the curriculum.
ArtSmart - this is a joint venture of professional visual and performing artists and teachers who take students out on some exploration for the development of their critical thinking and creative powers.
Among the other Tennessee Performing Arts Center education programs and schemes include the Wolf Trap Early Learning Through The Arts and the TPAC Inside Out.
