The 2012 Wrap-up
Greetings from the front!
Well, my first full season is beginning to wind down. One of my personal goals is to provide a regular blog to continue to reach out to our audience base.
I want to thank everyone who has volunteered, participated in a production, donated to our 75th Season Fund raiser, or was a patron for one of our events. Simply stated, we couldn’t do it without you!
This has been a big year for me personally. In July, my Mother passed away suddenly. Later that month, my wife Tricia and I drove out east and brought her Mother out here to live with us. We have adjusted to both of these events quite well, and Tricia’s mother has enjoyed attending QCT events and has donated generously to our fundraiser. I was also able to get a dispensation from the actor’s union to allow Tricia to perform on our stage. If you saw Cactus Flower, you have discovered what an incredible actress she is!
On a professional level, we have seen some wonderful things happen for QCT- solid sales for season tickets, better-than-expected single ticket sales, an increase in corporate sponsorships, an increase in media sponsors, many new faces for auditions and much, much more. I have met so many wonderful people in this community and we have so many talented people that are a part of QCT and make it the successful organization that it is.
We are also in the final legs of our 75th season fundraiser, and are about 2/3 the way there (we have another $25,000 left to raise). So far, we have upgraded our computer system, gotten a new photo copier, upgraded our back stage communication systems, purchased some new light units, and, best of all, installed a lighting grid in our “Lab Theatre,” also known as our Rehearsal Hall.
One of my frustrating discoveries is the difficulty of finding accompanists, music director, and musicians for our musicals. We have worked assiduously in identifying and reaching out to them, but with everyone’s busy schedules, we are not always able to have them be a part of our organization (even though these are the only positions we pay outside of staff positions and a choreographer). Musicals are in high demand with our audiences, and Quincy is a music town. There has been some discussion over the use of live musicians vs. music “tracks” and as much as I prefer to do the former, we may be forced to rely on the latter in able to keep presenting musicals on our stage. I promise to continue to seek out live musicians and conductors for our productions, but as they say, the show must go on! If this proves to be too difficult, we will unfortunately have to resort to pre-recorded tracks.
Even so, I want to close this blog with the excitement next season offers. With three excellent and diverse musicals (Godspell, 9-5: The Musical, & The Wizard of Oz), two wonderful plays (one relatively new, one a great chestnut- Sylvia & The Rainmaker) three fabulous student theatre titles, including a regional premiere of a new musical (Wanda’s World, Peter Pan & Wind in the Willows) and two company projects (Theatre Café & War of the Worlds: A Live Radio Play), there is something for everyone.
We hope to see you at the theatre!