Construction for the new Urbandale Performing Arts Center (PAC) began in March of 2008. The PAC, located just north of the North Gymnasium and directly west of Frerichs’ Field, opened its doors in the winter of 2009 as one of the finest performing art facilities in the state of Iowa. The new state of the art venue serves as a significant upgrade and replacement to the old PAC, built in 1983 and demolished in the fall of 2008. The facility hosts the superior entertainment provided by all Urbandale Performing Arts including instrumental music, vocal music, and drama.

The PAC, with nearly double the seating capacity as the old PAC, is one of the largest auditoriums in the state operated at the school district level. Seating capacity has increased from approximately 555 patrons to 1,101 patrons. Seating is divided into a lower house level and an upper deck level. Tiered seating provides every patron with a spectacular view of the stage performance. The PAC stage is composed of stained oak plank and measures 105’8” by 36’4” with a 48’ by 20’ proscenium centered on the stage.

The new PAC features a full functioning fly system and state of the art lighting and sound, both operated in the upper level control room. Other amenities include a scene shop, dressing areas, orchestra pit and a spacious lobby. 

Funding for the Performing Arts Center was approved in a public bond vote. The Performing Arts Center was part of the Phase IIA addition to the new Urbandale High School.

Directions:

From the east: Take I-80 to the Merle Hay Road Exit (131) and proceed south on Merle Hay Road.  Take a right, turning west on Aurora Avenue. Travel to the intersection of 70^th and Aurora Avenue.  Urbandale High School will be on your right.  The North and South Gymnasiums rest on the North side of the school.

From the west:  Take I-80 to the 86^th Street Exit (129) and proceed south on 86^th Street to Aurora Avenue (2^nd stoplight).  Take a left turning east on Aurora Avenue.  Proceed east on Aurora Avenue past the Middle School.  Urbandale High School will be on your left.  The North and South Gymnasiums rest on the North side of the school.

Additional PAC Information

Stage: The overall width of the stage floor measures 105’8” while the depth is 36’4”. The proscenium opening is 48’ wide and 20’ tall and is centered on the overall width of the stage. The stage surface is composed of a stained oak plank providing excellent traction and stability. The stage also features a 50’ high, full-functioning fly-loft with catwalk access to theatrical controls. The fly system itself is composed of a total of 32 tracks with 4 sets of Traveling curtain, 4 sets of boarders and a cyc and scrim that can be hung if needed, 4 separate electric sets and 4 separate leg curtains with 3 sound clouds that go with our sound tower and cloud system.

The orchestra pit lies at the base of the stage and is designed to accommodate 40 musicians. A removable cover is provided for the orchestra pit opening when the pit is not in use and additional stage space is required. The pit cover is composed of the same stained oak plank as the rest of the stage.

Seating: Seating is one of the largest improvements from the old PAC as the capacity has more than doubled. The PAC seating capacity is 1,101 which is split between a lower and an upper balcony level. The lower level seats 876 patrons and the upper level seats 225 patrons. There are 14 handicap accessible seats spread throughout 8 different seating areas to provide different viewing experience levels. There are two aisles dividing the house seating and side aisles providing easy seating access.  

Sloped and tiered seating are provided to minimize sightline obstructions making every seat the best seat in the house. An elevator and stair within the PAC lobby provides access to the upper level seating and control room.

Control Room: The control room is located on the upper level of the PAC, centered on the stage. The control room serves as the main operation center for the lighting and sound systems.

Lighting: The theater lighting is served through two 96 circuit ETC dimmer racks. Installed theatrical instruments include (24) 26 degree, (8) 19 degree, (12) 36 degree, (5) 50 degree ellipsoidal spots. Also included are (24) PAR stage fill lights, (14) PARNel stage fill lights, (6) 12 cell 750W Par Strips used as Cyc Lights and (6) Mac Aura moving lights. The stage includes 4 flown electrics each equipped with a DMX outlet for moving lights or specialty fixtures.

Located in the control booth the lighting control console is an ETC Element. Based on ETC's award-winning Eos® control system but with a simplified feature set, Element™ is designed expressly for modest rigs and maximum hands-on fader control. Affordable and easy to use, Element packs in the fundamentals of lighting control.

Sound: Sound controls are located in the control room on the balcony of the PAC. The main sound control audio mixer is a Yamaha QL, 32 fader 64 channel mixer which feeds a Biamp Audia digital signal processor and QSC remote amplifiers with remote power sequencing. Additional features include audio recording and playback capabilities, portable floor monitors and a multi-channel Clear-Com intercom system. The PAC has a variety of wired and wireless professional microphones for instrument, vocal, and choir reinforcement.

The speaker system consists of Community I-Box Series loudspeakers in a central cluster arrangement with delayed satellite speakers. Upper balcony sound is provided by Community Cloud Series recessed speakers while under balcony seating sound is provided with ceiling mounted mini-monitors by EAW. Sound system speakers can also be found in the sound locks and backstage areas.

Scene Shop, Practice, and Dressing Areas: The scene shop is located directly behind the stage and is used to store props, flys, and backdrops. The scene shop area provides direct access to the stage, instrumental, vocal, practice and dressing areas minimizing cross over between patrons and performers.  Practice rooms are located directly east of the scene shop. There are 8 separate smaller practice rooms and one larger ensemble practice room. Dressing areas are located across from the scene shop and are directly accessible from the stage. A two-sided make up room divides the men’s and women’s dressing rooms.

Lobby: An expansive lobby is adjacent to the PAC main entrance.. All entry areas into the auditorium are defined by two sets of doors to create a sound lock and to minimize sound disruption from adjacent areas.