Congratulations, Brandon!
QCT congratulates Artistic Director Brandon Thomsen on being the 2016 recipient of the Illinois Theatre Association’s Award of Excellence in Community Theatre!
Read his nomination below:
Brandon has devoted much of his time and talent to the success of Quincy Community Theatre. He served for eight years as the Head of Education/Director of Student Theatre, and for the past two years has taken on the post of Artistic Director.
Brandon works tirelessly to make sure that QCT functions as a creative outlet for the people of our community. He is constantly introducing new people to our organization. It’s not uncommon to have first-timers in leading roles or major backstage positions on his shows; Brandon believes there is a place in the theatre for everyone, and he will help them discover it!
As our Artistic Director, Brandon chooses material that embraces our strengths but pushes us to our greatest potential. Last season’s Mary Poppins included intense dance sequences and dazzling special effects that were new to us and to our audiences. This season’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a challenging, edgy piece that is bringing out new and exciting facets in our performers’ work. Brandon is a leader who will choose innovation over safety, and we are all better artists for it.
Brandon is also a respected and beloved figure in our community. His former students delight in quoting him, and work hard to live up to the lessons learned from Brandon. If you walk down the street with him, you will inevitably be stopped by some of his adoring fans. They might ask about tickets, they might fondly recall watching him perform onstage, but all of their comments will reflect the positivity and the spirit of community that Brandon embodies in his work. Brandon is truly deserving of this award for all he does for our theatre and our community.