Performing Arts Center

Dominican University Performing Arts Center (DUPAC) presents artists and events that provoke thought, foster discourse and inspire action, providing a creative portal through which the community can connect to the university’s mission “to participate in the creation of a more just and humane world.”

Launched as Center Stage in 1999, Dominican University Performing Arts Center has evolved over the past 20 seasons from presenting unknown artists to small houses (with sometimes as few as 10 people) to presenting nationally and internationally known names, as well as new faces, to sold out houses.

As a center of distinction for Dominican University—a master’s level institution consistently ranked in the top tier of Midwest schools by U.S. News & World Report—DUPAC presents a concert series, the theatre arts department lab series, and serves as a host site for several local arts organizations and special events.

Each of these series complements a key component of the university’s mission.  The Concert Series explores a diverse range of art and artists and is curated with a multi-cultural focus as well as the idea to better connect the audience to the world in which they live.  The Theatre Arts Lab series, through a blend of contemporary and classic drama, comedy and musical theatre, provides a forum for exploring issues of the day.

DUPAC halls are also rented by local arts organizations, touring youth theatre companies, including TheatreWorks USA and Chamber Theatre, and the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition, among many others.