Daring to Dream
by QCT Executive Director, Burgundy Hill
There is something both exciting and terrifying about allowing yourself to dream. Dreaming is the easy part, right? It’s imagining what could be. It is asking how we can do that better, reach more people, make more impact, and create memorable experiences.
The hard part is what comes after the dreaming. How do we make the dreams happen?
As we’ve launched the new season at Quincy Community Theatre and kicked off our Every Voice Heard Sound Campaign, I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams… the big ones, the practical ones, the ones that sometimes leave us wondering if we’ve completely lost our minds.
Everyone who works in theatre knows a little dreaming is essential. Everything we do is built on a dream. We take a concept and turn it into something. We have to believe, unapologetically, that we can do it. But then, there are budgets to balance, schedules to coordinate, people to bring together, and a thousand details that we didn’t think about when the idea first sounded brilliant.
And in that, it’s easy to get a little lost. I’ll admit, lately there have been moments where I’ve felt lost in it. There are so many possibilities for QCT, so much passion, heart, and love. Trying to shape that and guide that in a unified direction, deciding what is a priority, how we achieve it, how we turn the possibility into a realistic plan, and then working to get it up on its feet… turning it all into something real that so many people can share in, it can be overwhelming.
But each day, I’m reminded that feeling a little lost doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going the wrong way. In fact, more often than not, it just means we are standing on the edge of something incredible. And that is a really exciting place to be.
A few weeks ago, we rolled out one of our biggest dreams yet, a plan for a new sound system. With that came a fundraising campaign to support it. This system will replace and upgrade our theatre’s sound. But it’s not just speakers and microphones… it is an investment in QCT’s future.
We want to make sure our audience can hear every word said on stage. And we want our performers to have the tools to tell their story with confidence. It’s about creating a better experience for everyone who visits QCT, including expanding access for patrons who use hearing assist devices.
This dream is what prepares QCT for the next chapter of our story.
But what started as a dream is now over 18 months in the making. It is a lot of research, feedback, goal-setting conversations, vetting vendors, getting project quotes, making fundraising plans, creating marketing deliverables, and building community support. A lot of community support. There is still a long road ahead and work to be done. We know we’ll face challenges to navigate. But we also know what this community can accomplish when people believe in something together.
That belief makes this campaign, this dream, possible. I hope you’ll consider being a part of this dream. Whether through a gift, by sharing our campaign with someone who loves QCT, or simply by cheering us on, you have a role to play in helping us build a strong future for theatre in Quincy.
In addition to the capital campaign, we’ve also announced our 2027 season. This season is full of opportunities. Each show is an opportunity for artists to create, for students to learn, for audiences to connect, and for our community to share in something special.
When we plan a season, we aren’t simply choosing shows. We are imagining experiences. We are thinking about stories that deserve to be told, the people who will tell them, and the community that is created along the way.
We can’t possibly predict every moment that will happen onstage or backstage. But we can keep dreaming about what QCT can offer and finding ways to make those experiences possible. Because, at its heart, community theatre is the act of collective imagination.
As I look toward this new season and the work ahead, I’ll remind myself that I don’t have to have all the answers today. I just have to keep asking questions, keep listening, keep learning, and keep moving toward the future we want to create.
Maybe daring to dream isn’t about knowing exactly where you’re going. Maybe it’s about believing there’s something worth working toward.
So here’s to a new season. Here’s to a big, ambitious sound campaign. Here’s to the ideas we haven’t had yet, the stories we haven’t told, and the possibilities we haven’t imagined… yet. Here’s to daring to dream together. I can’t wait to see what we make possible.