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Springfield Contemporary Theatre's Next Chapter

Brandon Thomsen, Springfield Contemporary Theatre’s new executive artistic director, is passionate about community theater and bringing powerful stories to life on stage.

by Jennifer Swenson

Jul 2025

Brandon Thomsen
Photo by Katy St. ClairBrandon Thomsen is the new executive artistic director of Springfield Contemporary Theatre. Purchase Photo

Brandon Thomsen is a storyteller at heart. He believes in the power of live theater to move performers and audiences. As the new executive artistic director of Springfield Contemporary Theatre (SCT), Thomsen is eager to shape the next chapter of SCT’s story.

Thomsen comes to SCT from Quincy Community Theatre, where he began as its education director before advancing to artistic director. In Quincy, Illinois, Thomsen directed more than 100 productions, and he refined his approach to leadership. “I want people to understand their gifts and set them up for success,” he says. “I like to surround myself with people who love to dream and ask, ‘What if?’”

After 18 years in Quincy, Thomsen was ready for a new growth opportunity. He was drawn to SCT because of its body of work—full of well-structured scripts and meaningful stories he’d love to direct—and its mission to “boldly connect and engage the community.” Thomsen says: “We are in the business of telling a really good story. SCT has great potential.”

Thomsen is no stranger to recognizing potential—whether it’s in an arts organization, a volunteer or himself. His love of theater began at age 5 when he saw The Wizard of Oz. By third grade, he was directing classmates in an Easter play. In fourth grade, he wrote and staged his own adaptation of Oliver Twist. As a theater student at Wisconsin Lutheran College, Thomsen did a lot of acting, but “I was always directing in my mind, determining how things could be done differently,” he says. 

The first SCT director outside its circle of founders, Thomsen is focused on building relationships and continuing to further SCT’s mission. “There’s a robust arts community here, but many people don’t know about SCT,” he says. “We’re trying to bust the doors open and invest in stories that have to be told.”

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