THOMSEN TALK: CHECKING IN!
Brandon Thomsen here! Remember me? I’ve been on sabbatical since the end of March. It’s time for a check-in. I want you to know that I still exist.
I spent seven weeks working for a theatre in northwest Nebraska. This theatre mounts five shows in a matter of weeks and rotates them throughout the summer so that the audience can see a different show every night. (On Saturdays they do three different shows in one day!) The cast of actors is hired to perform in four out of the five shows, and it’s fun for an audience to see the same actors in very different ways with each show. It’s quite the operation and quite the workout.
I directed two of the five shows. I gave myself two days to drive out there, and during the drive, voices of doubt kept me company. I was going to a part of the country that was unfamiliar to me where I was working with new-to-me people in a new-to-me theatre. Would I be capable? I hadn’t worked outside of Quincy in 18 years!
Though I was very nervous, I knew that I had to trust myself, stay true to myself, and show up and do the work. During a blocking (staging) rehearsal, I had this internal moment where I said to myself, “I’m me! I’m the same Brandon, directing in the same way I would in Quincy, and this is working.” I felt successful. The experience was challenging, educational, and affirming. I am so glad I got to do it.
The time from when Peter Pan closed at QCT to the time I started rehearsals in Nebraska was six months, the longest I’ve gone without being directly involved in a production about 30 years! Now that I’m back from Nebraska, I don’t have any show “just around the corner.” I’m reading, walking, visiting with friends and family, as well as taking in some theatre as a spectator. The word sabbatical comes from the word sabbath, which means to stop, to rest. Stopping has been the hardest part for me, to not work all the time. I’m learning to be comfortable with the silence.
Season planning for 2025 started in the beginning of 2024 and was pretty much set before I left. I’ve had a few meetings since to talk about the calendar and discuss details, and we are ready to go. All will be revealed in September. We have many exciting NEW things planned for you, and I continue to be proud of the risks Quincy Community Theatre takes, all in an effort to live out our mission and vision and to effectively connect with our community. I am so grateful to Burgundy and the Board of Directors and the rest of the QCT team for allowing me the time to step away from my everyday duties to stop, breathe, and renew; and I am reminded that doing theatre is what I absolutely want to be doing.