Kacy Hofstetter: Musical Theater and Marketing Magic-Maker

Please introduce yourself! 

My name is Kacy Hofstetter, and I am the Institutional Marketing Manager for Ensemble Arts Philly. I have my bachelor's degree in musical theater performance and my master's in arts administration. I spend the daylight hours on Ensemble Arts Philly’s marketing team and many nights at the community theater near my home in the Jersey suburbs.  

Please describe your current role with us.  

I was first hired as an usher; I worked with the Front of House team for a few months before moving to this brilliant Marketing team that I now spend my days with. As the Institutional Marketing Manager, I provide marketing support for all things related to our overall institution, including our three stunning venues – the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Academy of Music, and the Miller Theater –  Education and Development initiatives, Facility Rentals, and events like the Philadelphia Fall Arts Fest and Organ Day.  

What is your favorite part about your job? 

My job under the glass roof brings me joy every day, but my favorite moment each season is the Philadelphia Orchestra Pride Concert and the community engagement that happens around it. It is a cause that is personal to me, and I am amped each year to be a part of such a beautiful event. Having a desk at the Kimmel Center is still surreal. 

What inspired you to want to work here? 

When I walked into the Kimmel Center for the first time, I conceived a new goal: one day I would have the knowledge and confidence to do what it takes to have a desk under that spectacular glass roof, where artists’ stories are plentiful! 

Our mission statement is to share "the transformative power of the performing arts and arts education with the widest possible audience." Explain how this pertains to your life. 

I live and breathe the arts no matter where I am or what I am doing; it’s in my veins. Being surrounded by colleagues who are just as passionate about this mission is rewarding and having the Philadelphia Orchestra, the greatest orchestra in the world, rehearse within earshot from a desk isn’t half bad either. ????  

How did you get involved with the arts? 

When I was little, my grandfather introduced me to the sounds of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter (known for Anything Goes, among others), and Lerner and Loewe (known for classics such as Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot). He would retreat to his piano every evening after supper, and on the nights my father would bring my sister and me for dinner, I would follow my grandfather down to his piano to sing along and leaf through his vast sheet music collection. Around age 13, I became hooked on musical theater when I discovered Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Jonathan Larson.  

Theater became a daily part of my life through school and community opportunities, which meant my deeply supportive parents were always attending a show, coming to a choir concert, or driving me to various classes. I attended the American Musical Dramatic Academy in New York City and dove deep into intensive musical theater training.  

After graduating, I learned the ins and outs of how to take care of my voice and how to maintain stamina working theme park and dinner theater jobs. I believe that anyone who receives musical theater training is lucky, and that education builds an integral base for the body and voice, but there is nothing like the experience of figuring out how to survive performing 8 shows a day in the 100-degree heat of Virginia, or keeping an audience of buzzed and sunburnt tourists entertained on a nightly basis. Education and experience make up the whole of a person and no artist has the same background. Listening to other artists' stories and how they ended up in their current moment fascinates me. 

Describe your current involvement with the performing arts. 

Having the ability — and support from my wife and daughter — to stay active in the arts outside of work is magnificent. I have been lucky enough to spend the last year active with The Ritz Theater in Oaklyn, NJ. I spend my days in the hub of Philadelphia arts with Ensemble Arts and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and it is lovely to retreat to this quaint, charming theater in the evenings. It is the best of both worlds. I performed at the Ritz in their Christmas pantomime, where I honed my ventriloquist skills (Give a follow on TikTok @Zelda_and_kacy), and then in Fiddler on the Roof, where I learned to stilt walk to play the iconic ghostly character of Fruma Sarah. 

The experience nearest and dearest to my heart occurred this spring when I directed The Ritz’s children’s theater program. 40 kids in South Jersey now know who Cole Porter is after a successful run of Anything Goes: Youth Edition. Teaching the cast about the nuances of Porter and what musicals meant to people in 1934 (and today) made my heart soar. Each rehearsal I asked the kids how their day was and would be met with groans, sighs, and complaints about school, homework, various boo-boos, their exhaustion, etc. I would follow up their discontent with words akin to,  

“Well now you get to do theater so that is great! We are so lucky to be here together! Let’s do this play!”.  

“I get to do this” is a mantra that I say to myself daily.  

My most recent role at the Ritz Theatre had me portraying many different faces, including (but not limited to) a hog, the Devil, and even a tree, in Romulus Linney’s GINT.

What does the future look like for Kacy Hofstetter? 

I don’t know what my future holds but I do know that whether marketing, performing, or directing, if I can share the pure magic of the performing arts with others, life is good. If the future looks like this, it’s golden. 

Interested in becoming a part of the team? Click here to learn more about career, internship, and volunteer opportunities with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts.