Thomsen Talk: May 2018
This week is a very sad week for me because I say “so long” and “best wishes” to my most constant collaborator and teammate, QCT’s Production Manager and Marketing Coordinator, Kelsey Pigg. Kelsey accepted a job with Klingner & Associates, and her time in the QCT office has come to an end. I’d like to use this forum to publicly thank Kelsey for her incredible service to QCT.
If you’ve worked with me, you know I like options and I like “what if’s.” Kelsey would send emails with Option A, B and C. She would pop into my office and say in her hyper, excited way, “Okay, what if….” There was extra hyper when she was going to pitch an idea that she knew would make me roll my eyes and immediately say no, too, but the enthusiasm was appreciated.
I credit Kelsey with raising the bar for the professional look of promotional materials. As the artistic director, I set the vision, but it was really Kelsey who realized it and made it happen and turned it into something concrete. We want our audiences to know that what we do here is of the highest quality; and Kelsey made sure that our print materials reflected that.
When I became Artistic Director, it took a while for Kelsey and me to find how the other liked to work and how to communicate effectively with each other. We certainly had different opinions, and I think we both struggled to say it to the other; but whether it was in words or just a look, I felt Kelsey was always honest with me. On two occasions I sent an email out to the QCT staff, and afterwards, Kelsey came back to talk openly with me about the tone of the email and to find out what my true intention was. I’m grateful that she didn’t assume, get upset and keep it inside or, worse, gossip: she wanted the truth, and she came to the source.
The time she has given to this organization is impressive and impeccable. If I needed to be at QCT at 8:00am, I would walk into the office and find Kelsey already at her desk working. If I needed to stop by on a weekend, Kelsey was usually there, too. She has worked countless hours in her job, always going above and beyond what was expected. I know she cares for QCT and she wants it to succeed, and I know that she has personal integrity that pushes her creative limits.
Kelsey is the one I correspond with the most during the day, be it via email, text, or running into the office asking her to “pay attention to me.” She is my table tennis partner (metaphorically speaking), and I am going to miss her very much. We will all feel her absence.
Kelsey, thank you for elevating Quincy Community Theatre through your kindness, your talents, and your integrity. Best Wishes to you in your new adventure.
Brandon Thomsen
Artistic Director