Sept. 24, 2019

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Bob Wendland, manager of performances and events at the Washington Pavilion and the Orpheum Theater Center.

Name: Bob Wendland

Age: 31

Hometown: Arlington

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I went to Augustana University from 2006 to 2010 and got my degrees in theater studies and communications.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

A million different things! First and foremost was, truthfully, the Washington Pavilion. I was very nearly on my way out the door to grad school in another part of the country when Rose Ann Hofland offered me my first full-time job working in the education department at the Pavilion. Since then, the list has grown from being just my career aspirations to include the phenomenal people I’ve come to know and love in this city, the incomparable downtown scene, the supportive and entrepreneurial arts community and the Raspberry Collins at the Carpenter Bar.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

I’ve been working at the Pavilion in some capacity for over eight years. If I had to choose just one thing, it’d be the people. There is such a dynamic group of people working at the Pavilion. I’ve learned so much from the people I’ve worked with over the past eight years and have forged some truly lifelong friendships because of my time here. The collaborative spirit and the the community-driven nature of what we do are perfectly aligned with what I look for in professional experiences and motivate me to find purpose in my job every single day.

How did you get connected to your industry?

It’s honestly the perfect combination of my two degrees: the theater side keeps my heart beating and the collaborative and communicative side keeps my brain ticking. The impetus for my working with the Pavilion was actually a dear friend of mine moving away. She had been working there since high school and had to back out of a summer camp gig she was hired for. When she found out she was moving, she told them to get ahold of me, and that’s where it all started.

Describe the Washington Pavilion in three words.

Community. Opportunity. Excellence.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

I get to have a positive impact, directly and indirectly, every day just with the nature of my job. Outside of my job at the Pavilion, I founded and serve as the artistic director of a local, professional theater company called The Good Night Theatre Collective. I get to work with the top entertainers in the area in performing high-quality musical theater and cabarets right here in Sioux Falls at the Icon Lounge. Our company gives back to the artist community by ensuring that all of our performers are compensated for their time and incredible talent, and the result is top-notch entertainment for our community.

Additionally, I spend almost every day at Josiah’s because their caramel roll is one of my all-time favorite things, so I’m doing my part in building a thriving downtown economy. ????

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

Goat yoga. No question.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I am so fulfilled where I’m at right now. I know that’s probably not the most entrepreneurial or “young professional-y” answer I can give, but it’s true. My team is phenomenal, and I enjoy working with each and every one of them. My boss is a wealth of knowledge and well-known in the industry. I get to effect positive change and am trusted to help build a sustainable culture and successful trajectory for the future of the Pavilion. It’s exactly where I want to be. Outside of work, I have big dreams for The Good Night Theatre Collective, and I hope we’ll have a kid within the next five years, but I’d settle for a third dog if the right one came along!