Mayo Performing Arts Center is launching a bold and visionary capital campaign that strengthens our role as a cultural cornerstone and elevates our impact on the community. Build Our Future: The Campaign for MPAC is a transformative investment in the future of arts education and cultural enrichment, paving the way for unparalleled artistic opportunities.
The Campaign supports an expansion that will house a new Performing Arts School, offering more classrooms, a flexible space to accommodate student performances and more. The project also includes enhancements to our production areas and patron spaces. These exciting changes will enable us to expand our tradition of nurturing talent, as well as celebrate the boundless power of the arts to inspire and unite.
We invite you to join us on this transformational journey to shape a lasting legacy that showcases the artists of today and empowers the artists of tomorrow.
A Peek into Our Future:
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour to learn more about the future of MPAC and how you can make a difference. Call 973-712-0702 or email Marysue DePaola, Director of Development, for more information or to schedule a tour.
Mayo Performing Arts Center Capital Expansion and Renovation Project
Imagine there’s a place in the middle of Morristown that is a go-to destination for the world’s greatest entertainers, a home for children to participate in the performing arts and a place where community can gather together. That place is the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC). For over three decades, the non-profit MPAC has stood as a beacon of creativity, education, and inspiration in New Jersey. With nearly 300 events annually and a reach of over 250,000 patrons and students annually, MPAC has become the destination for arts enjoyment and education in our region. Today, we embark on an extraordinary journey to expand our organization’s footprint and impact as the hub of cultural activity for our region. Key elements of the Build Our Future capital project for MPAC include:
- A New Arts and Education Center: Envision a vibrant space dedicated to nurturing young talent—an expanded Performing Arts School with additional classrooms and a flexible rehearsal studio that transforms into a 150-seat retractable auditorium. Imagine doubling the number of students we serve annually from 1,100 to over 2,000 by the third year of operation, ensuring that no child is turned away due to financial hardship. On average, 50 students are provided with full or partial scholarships each year.
- State-of-the-Art Production Enhancements: Our current production facilities used to load touring shows in and out, including our existing loading bays and freight elevator, have become obsolete. In addition, dressing rooms need to be refreshed and additional artist areas need refurbishment, making it difficult to accommodate and even attract today’s most popular touring artists. The expansion will revolutionize our backstage capabilities with a large-capacity freight elevator, a redesigned loading bay, and ample storage for artists’ equipment and other necessities.
- Two-Tiered Parking Deck: 84 new spaces to ease parking for artists, staff, patrons, and parents.
- Enhanced Administrative Offices: Modernized workspaces to support our growing staff and mission.
- Refurbish our existing 1,300-seat historic theater auditorium, built in 1939: We are in desperate need of replacing the seats and carpet, installing a loop system for the hearing-impaired, repairing the plaster on the walls and installing a mechanical lift for our orchestra pit.
- Purchase an existing building: Located directly across the street from the theater, we are currently leasing a building for our growing Performing Arts School and using for classes. This building requires a new sewage system and other upgrades to conform to our needs as a performance, education and community gathering space.
- Capital Improvements to the Lobby and Plaza: This includes lobby carpet replacement and other indoor needs, as well as outdoor renovations to the plaza and front of the theater.
Help us set the stage for a brighter future, one where MPAC remains a cherished beacon of arts and education. Join us on this remarkable journey to ensure the vitality of the arts in Northern New Jersey and beyond. Your support will shape a legacy that resonates for decades to come.
To read more about Build Our Future: The Campaign for MPAC, click here.
