5. RW Friday! Mag

Friday! Magazine December 2005
‘Quick Change Artist Prepares Wolstein Center’
Starting today, the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University will host five
events in a seven day span: Drew Carey’s Green Screen Tour, a Brad Paisley
Concert, Aerosmith with Lenny Kravitz, Cleveland State Basketball, and
Gwen Stefani’s Harajuka Lovers Tour.
We caught up the Center’s Assistant General Manager, Ron Willner, before he and
his staff embark on a whirlwind week.
Q: If things get off schedule, could we possibly be looking at an
Aerosmith—CSU Hoops match?
A: We’re 24/7 here, so we should be OK keeping things on schedule. It’s just one
of those weeks where we park our cars at 8am and finally get back to them at 2am.
Q: Is this the toughest stretch you’ve ever had to do?
A: Last March was unbelievable. We had three concerts in four nights, and then
right into the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament , which
was followed by a two-day food show, a four-day robotics competition, an Easter
Sunday Service, and finally a concert by Duran Duran.
Q: What has been the toughest turnaround to pull off?
A: Believe it or not, we used to do doubleheaders, with Cleveland State Basketball
games at 1pm, followed by Cleveland Force Soccer at 6pm.
Q: Do you ever find anything left behind by the talent?
A: Not from the artists themselves, but the road crew will call looking for jewelry
or clothing they may have left behind.
Q: Any Memorable stories from the countless number of shows that you’ve
witnessed over the years?
A: Back in the early 90’s, a young woman drove from Minnesota to see one of our
Nine Inch Nails Concert; a big-time ’groupie’ of the band. Somehow, she managed
to sneak her way into one of the backstage dressing rooms the night before, and
fell asleep. The looks on all of our faces were priceless when we discovered her
during the load-in on show day.
Q: Did she go away, or go to jail?
A: (Laughing) After all the trouble she put herself through to get to Cleveland,
she just walked quietly out the backstage door.
- By Tim Piai