Leadership / 02.14.24

Kacy Woody Stands Tall at High Point Theatre

Teddy Durgin

This story is brought to you by the INTIX Women in Entertainment Technology Program.

Kacy Woody, Box Office Manager for High Point Theatre in central North Carolina, was bitten by the proverbial theatre bug early in her life and has never recovered. She describes herself as “one of those rare birds who went to school for theatre and has ever since had a job in the theatre. I may have had two or three other jobs at the same time, but I’ve always been employed in the theatre one way or another. Way back when, I thought I was going to be a performer. And then I started working tech to pay the bills. After a while, I was hired to be Tech Director here. Ten years later, I found myself in the box office. One of the things Maureen Andersen always says is, ‘None of us really start off in the box office. We fall into it.’ And that’s so true!”

Early on, she drew inspiration from her high school drama teacher, the late Daniel Seaman, with wise words she has never forgotten: “He once told me, ‘If you want to work in this business … work in this business! Do whatever. Sweep the floors, run a spotlight, give out programs, sell tickets! If you hang around, you will get work and you will stay working.’ The old adage is true … if you love what you do, then you’ll never work a day in your life.”

In total, Woody has been at High Point Theatre for 25 years now. Located within the International Home Furnishings Center, which serves as the worldwide headquarters for High Point Furniture Market, the theatre offers a 900-seat performing arts auditorium with continental-style seating. In addition, it is home to the High Point Community Theatre, the High Point Ballet, the High Point Community Concert Association, along with Theatre Art Galleries (or TAG), a nonprofit for art exhibits. Established in 1975, High Point Theatre holds the distinction of being one of the country’s first cooperative ventures between private enterprise, municipal government and the arts.

Woody’s duties and responsibilities? “I wear many hats. I supervise the box office staff — me and two part-timers — and I coordinate with our business manager. I talk to clients. I also help set up events and receptions and so forth. It’s a little of everything.”

She continues, “My favorite part of my job is either peeking into a show while it’s going on and seeing and feeling everybody having a good time or hanging out in the lobby during intermission and seeing the smiles and listening to all of the good buzz when a show is going well. It’s a good feeling knowing you played a part in making it happen.”

And what does she still find challenging, even hard, after so many years? “For me, the hardest part of the job is finding something for my part-timers to do when it’s quiet,” she says. “When we have shows going on or there is the lead up to a big event, that’s the easy part. But in January when the phone is not ringing or there isn’t an event coming up for six weeks, it can be tough finding stuff for people to do when there is really not much to do.”

And while she continues to follow the advice of her high school mentor, Woody is always willing to impart some wisdom of her own to others. Hearing that this interview is part of our ongoing Women in Ticketing series, she urged any young female ticketing professional reading this to “persevere. One of the most important qualities you will need is perseverance. Just keep going. You don’t necessarily have to be the bulldog that doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Just keep working at it, keep moving forward, and things will eventually happen for you. But also, keep in mind, the reward for hard work is more work!”

Again, for someone like Woody, work is not that far off from play. She especially loves regaling friends, family and colleagues with stories of great artists she has been in close contact with. For instance, she recalls, “When I was Tech Director, I worked [the late folk and New Age pianist] George Winston’s concerts probably five or six times overall. He had a tendency to do midnight rehearsals the night before. It was particularly cold one time, so I offered to drive him back to his hotel. I have a little, three-inch-tall teddy bear that I had bought when the Andy Warhol exhibit had come through. George liked it. He liked it so much, he tried to steal it from me! I got it back, but I was like, ‘Uh, George, what are you doing?’”

Woody certainly knows what she is doing. And her commitment to High Point Theatre and the enthusiasm she sees in the people who work the venue and come there as patrons gives her reason for optimism as 2024 really gets going. She says, “As a small venue, we’re busier than we have ever been. I think a lot of venues are [reporting similar results]. People want to go out and do things. Even shows that don’t attract big, big audiences, we’re seeing that the people who do come out really, really want to be there. So, I think we’ll keep rising!”

Tags: Leadership , Women in Ticketing