The Nathan H. Wilson Center for the Arts unites the performing and visual arts in four buildings that encompass 134,000 square feet on the South Campus of Florida Community College at Jacksonville, located off Beach Boulevard between downtown Jacksonville and the Beaches. The complex provides students in the arts with an incomparable facility in which to learn and practice their future professions. It provides area residents with a venue that complements the cultural offerings in other parts of the Greater Jacksonville area. The 530 seat proscenium theatre, which is both intimate and elegant, seats no member of the audience further than 70 feet from the action on stage. It provides a perfect stage for opera, dance, and multidisciplinary productions that integrate the visual arts, theatre, music and humanities, featuring both students and professional artists.
Many productions provide students an opportunity to work on stage and backstage with professionals.
Architecturally speaking, the main theatre is a European design with a modern bent. There are box seats, and all balconies have an artisan railing designed by local artist David Ponsler. Theatre Projects, a world renowned theatrical consulting firm, assisted FCCJ in developing the theatre, along with the architectural design firm of Thompson, Ventullet, Stainback and Associates of Atlanta. While the theatre itself is small and intimate, its stage is anything but small. It is one of the largest stages in town and will accommodate any type of show.