PACOFS operated from Bloemfontein with Rex Hugo as the first director.
In 1996, state subsidy was reduced and PACOFS became a non-profit entity. It was restructured as an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture under the name Performing Arts Centre of the Free State, which allowed the organisation to retain its acronym PACOFS.
Today PACOFS is a playhouse and a flagship of theatre in the Free State. It is a major cultural resource for people in and around Central South Africa as well as Lesotho. They offer artists and performers a platform to both practice and showcase their work and is a major contributor to the overall theatre and arts of South Africa.