Support MVCC's Shine On Theater Lighting Campaign

MVCC’s Week of Giving, to be held March 23-27, will support MVCC's Shine On Theater Lighting campaign, at the Dr. Michael I. Schafer Theater in Wilcox Hall. The upgraded stage lighting, will:

• Enhance safety and reliability
• Reduce long-term maintenance and energy costs
• Improve instructional technology for students
• Elevate the experience for thousands of annual visitors
• Preserve a critical cultural and civic venue for our region

The theater serves as the academic home of MVCC’s Theater Arts program, providing hands-on technical training in lighting, production, and stage management, as well as an event space for many internal campus events. In total, the space supports 318 days of internal use, including: theater classes (150 days), student productions (60 days), musical rehearsals (35 days), nursing and allied health ceremonies, December Commencement, Civil Service exams, youth programming, and a variety for faculty/staff campus-wide events.

The Schafer Theater is also a true community asset, providing an event home for local school districts, dance studios, arts organizations, the Governor’s Office, Empire State Development, county agencies, and nonprofit organizations. The theater hosts dance recitals, academic competitions, benefit concerts, public safety graduations, and cultural performances. On average the facility sees 57 days of external use annually and the foot traffic of 13,000 community members attendees each year.

In total, internal and external programming accounts for 375 scheduled uses annually, with many days hosting multiple events.