Staff Excellence: Purdue Convocations

A group stands in front of an Elliott Hall of Music mural.

Purdue Convocations staff. Front row, from left: James Britton, Mollie Siu-Chong, Kassidie Houchin, Robin Becker; back row: Todd Wetzel, Mike Armintrout, Erin Diener Mattull, Beth Wagner, Julie Smith. (Photo provided)

Year after year, Purdue Convocations sets the stage for world-class performances in the heart of West Lafayette, connecting audiences with spectacular showcases of live theater, dance and music.

But before the curtain can rise, a team of 17 must put on a remarkable show of its own, working masterfully behind the scenes to craft memorable experiences that energize, engage and educate Purdue students and community members.

“This is a group that is simultaneously looking 18 months to two years down the road and making the curtain go up tonight,” says Todd Wetzel, assistant vice provost for student life and executive director of Purdue Convocations and Elliott Hall of Music/Hall of Music Productions. “In order to thrive in the pressure of the must-deliver moments, our team is really unified in the love for what it means to do this work.”

With talents spanning programming, marketing, production, education development and business, this group of nine full-time employees and eight preprofessional interns presents around 20 events each academic year in the university’s three venues — Elliott Hall of Music, Loeb Playhouse and Fowler Hall — that attract thousands of spectators. Like many of the shows they schedule, organize and promote, there’s a rhythm to their work, and it all starts with in-depth conversations about what audiences want to see.

“People trust us,” Wetzel says. “They say, ‘Oh, if Convos is bringing it, it must be good.’ And we want to honor that, so we make sure that it’s going to be good. We’re motivated by serving our audiences who are so happy to have this work present in this place.”

When planning each season, Wetzel and his team strive to curate performances that celebrate Purdue’s dynamic artistic community and contribute to its reputation as a center for creative expression. The goal is to create a lineup that fosters a variety of conversations, represents an assortment of interests and sustains natural curricular partnerships across the university.

Once they’ve made their choices, they enter a planning and dealmaking phase, working to match the engagement’s schedule and finances with those of the organization. Then, they tell their story, sharing their plans with the community in hopes of generating enough excitement and support to drive ticket sales. As a self-supporting organization, this is the work that powers it all, resulting in audience turnout that makes future events possible. 

By showtime, Purdue Convocations staff members have been working daily and hourly with Hall of Music Productions, relying on the group’s technical expertise to bring the event to life. Then, patrons take their seats, and the stage lights kick on, signaling the start of yet another extraordinary event.

“It will only ever happen that way once,” Wetzel says. “The performance that happened at “Hadestown” last week will only ever happen once the way it happened, and you can never take away the impact of that performance and how it affected someone. You experience something together with other people side-by-side, and we create the community around people sharing that experience.”

But not every experience is set in an auditorium. Through its Curricular Connections program, Purdue Convocations seamlessly integrates art and education by bringing visiting artists into Purdue classrooms, where they catalyze the curriculum by offering one-of-a-kind learning opportunities for students.

On Feb. 28, Actors From the London Stage will return to Purdue to recreate William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” This time, though, the five actors are staying for a weeklong residency that will pair them with 25 classes, including many in Purdue’s Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program, that have integrated the play into spring curricula. Students will read “Hamlet,” use it as a source examination for writing or public speaking and will have performers join their classes, discussing the work and their interpretations of it.

“We’re connecting the art to the academic enterprise,” Wetzel says. “And this is a great example of how artists can do things beyond acting training or stage craft, reaching across the curriculum to go into individual classes and directly engage with students.”

For 122 years and counting, Purdue Convocations employees have created a live entertainment ecosystem on campus that simply could not exist without their hard work and dedication. Whether they’re organizing a highly anticipated event in Elliott Hall of Music or coordinating intimate learning experiences with professors and instructors across campus, their ability to meet the moment is unmatched.

And as they stage their future and wrap up the remainder of the 2024-25 season, they’re hopeful others will join them in their mission. Their work may power the performances, but it’s the community’s support that powers them.

“We serve as part of the magnetism and completeness of an institution that works, both at excellence and scale,” Wetzel says. “This is a part of what Purdue is, and every gift and every ticket make a difference. If people love having this present and believe it should be present, their support is what it takes to make this happen.”

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