Krider Performing Arts Center
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Krider Performing Arts Center (KPAC) is an
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...
located in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, Henry County,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, United States. It is attached to Paris Elementary School, which frequently utilizes the facility. KPAC features a full stage with curtains, a backstage props room, a green room, a piano room, a sound booth, a catwalk, and a lobby with a ticket counter. The auditorium has a seating capacity of approximately 500 to 600 people.


Uses

Aside from the frequent use by the elementary school, the city also uses KPAC. Professionals and other traveling groups have graced the auditorium, usually drawing more crowds than locally sponsored programs, though both types' audience turn-outs don't always depend on the performer(s).
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
city schools (grades pre-school through eighth) have free in-school music programs that use KPAC for general music, strings, and band concerts. It also hosts various both profit and non-profit groups throughout the year. Because the auditorium has the sound booth and stage, musical and promotional groups also book appearances. Recently, community churches have taken short residency on Sundays. Since the accommodations and services at KPAC are relatively convenient for the area, the auditorium is popular among the region. The Krider Center is used yearly for theatrical purposes, too.


KPAC programs


''Krider Idol''

KPAC holds auditions for a program called ''Krider Idol'', a semi-mock of the popular TV show ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
''. Only the most talented youngsters are chosen to perform. On the night of the competition the contestants are eliminated by the judges until there is only one left.


Drama programs

They also have a summer theater workshop called Children's Theater and a winter one called Winter Workshop, founded winter 2007. For a small fee, the enrolled students spend several weeks during the summer and/or winter in which instructors both direct and teach the students in three plays based for three different age groups: 5-8; 9-12; 13–18 years old. Anyone in the area can audition for the play in their age group; if the students above a certain age want to participate in the play, but don't want a role, they can sign up to join the stage crew. These people work behind the scenes learning skills from an experienced instructor such as building the sets used in the actual play, how to manage the props, and learning to operate the stage's mechanical components. The entire cast attend practices and learn about the art of drama. These plays rely heavily on their sets, and the actors wear costumes when on stage performing.


History

KPAC's name is taken from a
Paris, Tennessee Paris is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,316. A replica of the Eiffel Tower stands in the southern part of Paris. History The present site of Par ...
, couple, Clem and Ruby Krider. For more than 60 years, they played a major role in the art community of Henry County. Ruby taught public speaking and drama to many generations of Parisians, a few being Tony winner
Cherry Jones Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress. She started her career in theater as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater in 1980 before transitioning into film and television. Celebrated for her dynamic roles on st ...
,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winner
John Noble Wilford John Noble Wilford (born October 4, 1933) is an author and science journalist for ''The New York Times''. Biography Wilford was born October 4, 1933, in Murray, Kentucky, and attended Grove High School across the border in nearby Paris, Tenness ...
, ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'' star
Shelley Long Shelley Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. For her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom ''Cheers'', Long received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. S ...
, Vanderbilt law professor Robert Covington, and
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
Controller Frank Mason.http://archives.thepilot.com/PilotEditorials/November1999/112299FineArts.html LARRY McGEHEE: Fine Art of Learning to Appreciate the Fine Arts. The Pilot, November 22, 1999 In the summer of 2003, KPAC was minorly hit by a tornado passing through the Henry County area. The lobby windows and such were damaged. It wasn't damaged nearly as badly, though, as one of the nearby wings of the Paris Elementary School; the third-grade hallway of the building had to be rebuilt. While the school wing took several months to repair, KPAC was soon and again opened to the public.


References


External links


Krider Performing Arts Center
{{coord, 36.2924, -88.3042, type:landmark, display=title Theatres in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Henry County, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Henry County, Tennessee Paris, Tennessee