As CFCC's Wilson Center prepares for a new director, the plan is 'staying the course'

Since it opened in 2015 as Wilmington's biggest indoor concert and theater venue, no one person has been more associated with Cape Fear Community College's 1,550-seat Wilson Center than Shane Fernando.

Fernando helped plan for and launch the Wilson Center, hired most of its staff, and was instrumental in making it a game-changing addition to Wilmington's cultural scene, bringing a series of touring Broadway shows to town for the first time and pulling in big-name concert acts as well as dance and classical performances.

Last month, however, Fernando announced that on Jan. 1 he will move a few blocks down Third Street to become executive director of Wilmington's historic Thalian Hall. The Wilson Center is in new territory as it searches for just the second executive director in its relatively brief history.

In the short term, that person will be interim executive director Zachary Pluer, who started working at the Wilson Center in 2016 and was appointed senior managing director in 2021.

"I am super-excited to be leading us through this transition," Pluer said, adding that his immediate goal is getting the venue through what he calls "the busiest time of the year, with all of the holiday programming. It's absoutely crazy."

Fernando expressed pride and bittersweet emotions at leaving the Wilson Center.

"It has been an amazing journey to build this organization from the ground up, literally starting as the Center's first employee when bulldozers were moving earth. It is at its strongest place since opening, and so many wonderful things on the horizon," he said. "The Wilson Center team is strong and I know their work and love for our community will continue to make me proud. I couldn't hold a stronger pride for the Wilson Center; it feels like letting my child go out into the world on its own."

Pluer said there's not a timeline for hiring a permanent Wilson Center director, but to "stay tuned" for an announcement sometime next year.

"Currently, the college and myself are assessing what the venue's needs are," he said.

Pluer praised the Wilson Center's 13 full-time staffers, calling them "the folks who have been here building this thing, some of them since the beginning … We've grown this place together."

Over the years, the Wilson Center has had a relationship with Thalian Hall that's more cozy than competitive, in part because of Fernando's close friendship with longtime Thalian Hall director Tony Rivenbark, who died last year. Fernando, working as a consultant, also booked the Hall's Main Attractions series of touring shows for years while also serving as the Wilson Center's director.

Pluer said he expects the venues to continue to have a good relationship.

"Shane is gonna be right down the street," Pluer said. "We're going to continue to work in conjunction with him."

For sure, the Wilson Center has helped lead a transformation of downtown Wilmington's Northside. What was once a place most people drove through on their way to somewhere else is now an entertainment destination.

When it opened, the Wilson Center was more or less out there by itself. But in the last couple of years, Dead Crow Comedy Room has come to North Third Street. The 7,000-capacity Live Oak Bank Pavilion is a just a short walk away, not to mention the numerous bars, breweries and restaurants that have opened in the area.

"When (the Wilson Center) was being developed and built, there were many voices expressing concern that it will never work; that the level of performers and touring shows being planned will never come to this region; that our community is not large enough to support a venue of this scale," Fernando said. "I am so proud that we smashed through ceiling after ceiling for our region. It was a lot of work that I will be proud of for the rest of my days on this earth. The work here at the Wilson Center helped lay the groundwork for Live Oak Pavilion, just as Thalian Hall and Kenan Auditorium laid the groundwork for Wilson."

Pluer recalled a night earlier this year when Alice Cooper played to a sold-out house at the Wilson Center while country star Jelly Roll performed in front of thousands more at Live Oak.

"It was crazy over here," Pluer said. "It felt like a major city, but we've still got that small town charm, even though we're able to attract these big acts."

The Wilson Center's schedule for the first half of 2024 is already packed, with concerts by such icons as Elvis Costello, Jason Isbell and Bruce Hornsby, as well as more Broadway tours ("Come From Away" in January, "Shrek the Musical" in June), and even Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" on its 50th anniversary tour.

Pluer said he sees the Wilson Center sticking with what's worked so far: a mix of Broadway tours, concerts and comedy, along with performances by the Wilmington and North Carolina symphonies, as well as other Wilmington arts groups, like the Cape Fear Chorale and area dance companies.

"Nothing's really changed," Pluer said. "Broadway, comedy, concerts, local stuff. Just staying the course, a healthy mix of everything."

Pluer will be taking on more programming duties after Fernando starts at Thalian, but "we know what works," he said, adding that the agents he deals with have been "amazed at the success Wilmington has had."

Also, since the Wilson Center is part of a college, the venue has an additional educational mission.

"That's something that separates us from a commercial theater. We operate very differently," Pluer said. "When do we anything, we're thinking about how we can serve students and faculty."

In part, that involves creating opportunies for jobs, internships and on-the-job training for students at the Wilson Center "on every level, from tech to operations," he said.

Pluer said that, since he started at the Wilson Center over seven years ago, "It's been incredible to watch and see it from the ground level," he said. "Right now we're in the throes (of the holidays). But we're going to continue to support our students and faculty, and continue to grow and expand."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilson Center in Wilmington NC looking for new executive director