On the New York City campus, the 743-seat Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts has presented a wide range of cultural programs and public events for the campus and surrounding community since 1969. In addition to student productions and special events, the Michael Schimmel Center hosts professional theatre, music, and dance, as well as international companies such as the Beijing People’s Art Theatre.
When not in use for performances, the theatre is home to the award-winning television program Inside the Actors Studio. Recent guests have included Al Pacino, Liza Minnelli, Queen Latifah, Dave Chappelle, and Dustin Hoffman. Pace students are offered free admission to these tapings and MFA students are featured on the broadcasts during the question sessions. For information on what happens during a taping of Inside the Actors Studio, and how to obtain tickets when they are available, please click here.
Other major broadcast events have included the MSNBC Tech Summit, and the only Democratic Presidential Debate of the 2004 campaign to include all ten candidates.
The theatre is also a vital venue for Robert De Niro’s annual Tribeca Film Festival each spring and the River-to-River Festival each summer. A gallery in the theatre lobby features exhibitions by a wide range of professional artists.
Cultural Affairs also coordinates location filming on all Pace University campuses. Recent projects have included Spider Man 2 and Spider Man 3 for Columbia Pictures; plus independent features Alchemy (director Evan Oppenheimer); The Girl from Monday (director Hal Hartley); Trust the Man (starring Julianne Moore & David Duchovny); Anamorph (starring Willem Dafoe); and Al Pacino’s Salomaybe?. Whenever possible, arrangements are made to include theatre and film studies students in these projects.
A resident professional theatre, the Hudson Stage Company, performs in the Woodward Hall theatre on the campus at Briarcliff Manor.
On the campus at Pleasantville, performances are held in the Kessel Student Center and Wilcox Hall, as well as in the 2,400-seat Goldstein Health, Fitness, and Recreation Center.
The art gallery in Choate House features art exhibitions by students and professional artists, as well as readings and other cultural events.
Special events also take place on the White Plains Law School and Graduate Center campus.
