With the grand opening of Western Illinois University's Goldfarb Center for the Performing Arts (GCPA) just a little less than two weeks away, students in the inaugural arts leadership graduate degree program cohort are getting hands-on experience preparing the center for its first audience by helping with website development, marketing, artist research, donor profiles audience services and production.
According to Phil Weiss and Joe Butcher, both WIU alumni, longtime Macomb-area residents and university employees, the program provides an opportunity to help bring to life a performing arts venue they have watched develop for decades.
'We are excited to delve into aspects of running a center of this magnitude; the Arts Leadership graduate program will help us to facilitate this,' Weiss shared. 'Since Joe and I obtained our undergraduate degrees at WIU in the late 1990s, we have waited for a long time for this building to come to fruition.'
Weiss earned bachelor's and master's degrees and has worked at the University since 1999. He serves as a television director- producer for WIU University Television and owns a video production and photography business. He has also been involved with the WIU Performing Arts Society, Macomb Park District and local school theater productions. Weiss has also assisted with the tech in the College of Fine Arts Recital Hall.
Butcher earned a bachelor's degree in music business from WIU in 1999 and works in University Technology's user support services. He is also a member and director of the Prairieland Barbershop Chorus and has been involved with the WIU Performing Arts Society and local performing arts.
'When they officially announced the building of the Goldfarb Center for the Performing Arts, I was very excited,' Butcher said.
Justyne Lane-Mitchell, of Havana, IL, returned to WIU last fall as part of the first cohort after earning her bachelor's degree in recreation, park and tourism administration, with a minor in dance, in 2024. Lane-Mitchell's work has included developing the center website, writing a donor profile, scouting performers at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York City, developing marketing ideas and researching community information and rental rates. She is currently serving as a graduate assistant for Western's Youth Performing Arts Serie.
'We came in when there were still blueprints and now, we get to watch people finally experience it and help bring these communities together,' Lane-Mitchell said.
Megan Coleman was drawn to the program after attending the GCPA's 2022 groundbreaking. The arts leadership focus on the entrepreneurial side supports her goal of running a theater company for children. Her graduate assistantship includes managing the box office for the center and the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Noelle Lindem, a full-time WIU staff member and arts leadership graduate student, has helped prepare the center for performances. She serves as stage manager for 'TWELFTH NIGHT,' which is the inaugural show in the center's Clow Theatre.
Kim McDaniel, a lifelong Macomb-area resident and 27-year employee, has contributed to website information about the inaugural season, information for visiting artists, merchandise planning, research on the Auracast assisted listening system and a donor profile of Paul and Carol House. As part of her fall graduate practicum, McDaniel is serving as the GCPA's volunteer coordinator.
'For us to be able to experience this as students, something that members of our field may go an entire career and never experience, is really humbling,' McDaniel said.
For the cohort, the opening of the GCPA represents an opportunity to expand access to the performing arts and create new experiences for students, audiences and the community.
'The people of Macomb have never been exposed to the arts in this capacity, so I am so excited to be able to give our community access to the arts in this scale,' Coleman added.
The Goldfarb Center for the Performing Arts grand opening is set for 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 15, with the first performance, 'Chicken Wire Empire' beginning at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 16 in the Great Hall.
For more information or to become a volunteer, visit go.wiu.edu/4z6eN0Y. For more information on the GCPA, visit wiu.edu/ cofac/gcpa/. To stay up to date on performances, follow the center's Facebook page at facebook.com/wiugoldfarbcenter.
