Is it curtains for Bangor’s Penobscot Theatre? Director weighs role of arts in community

During the run of “I Hate Hamlet” earlier this month at Penobscot Theatre in Bangor, Michael Mendelson, the lead in the show and a New York actor, gave a wrenching curtain speech. He spoke of the critical danger of the theater’s financial situation, and he reiterated a public announcement that had been made just before opening night: The theater would close at the end of summer if enough money couldn’t be raised to support it.

It’s not the first curtain speech Mendelson has given, but it was the most taxing.

“I’ve never had to plead a case for a theater’s survival,” said Mendelson. “I would feel horrible if they didn’t have that outlet there. And horrible for myself and the other artisans who like and enjoy doing work there. It’s such a slower life. The serenity of it inspired me. You can’t do thinking like that in New York City. I have never felt more coddled as an actor. It was like a big hug.”

If the speech caused some in the audience to feel sympathetic, then it worked. Checks started coming in. To date, more than $50,000 has been raised. Already, the money is being applied to the theater’s $80,000 deficit. The fund-raising goal is $250,000.

But theater supporters got an additional jolt just last week when Mark Torres, artistic producing director, put the Maine Shakespeare Festival on the chopping block and swung the ax. The summer festival, which Torres founded in 1994, has been canceled for this year and replaced by that warhorse of theater optimism: the musical. Instead of Shakespeare on the river in August, theatergoers will get “The Fantasticks,” a cult parable about love.

That’s not all they’ll get, promised Torres in a conversation this week about the state of the theater. He was headed to triage with his board to identify priorities for the theater. “We have to answer the difficult question of how much can we really do in this organization, this community and a market this size?” said Torres. “Those are the questions I’m anxious to embrace.”

Some are questioning how the theater got in such dire straits, how the money will now be spent, and will it have to be raised each year? The big question – and the one that is impossible to answer yet – is: Will there be live theater in Bangor after August, or will theatergoers be stuck singing “Try to Remember” (the most famous song from “The Fantasticks”)?

Torres isn’t yet able to predict the outcome in August, but he is eager to address the other questions. The theater simply has not maintained a viable fund-raising stride, in part he said, because he is, by nature, an introvert whose schmoozing abilities do not come naturally. The theater has also been victim to his own affable sense of ambition. If one Shakespeare play is good, then four will be fabulous.

Except it didn’t work out that way. In short, Torres realizes he overshot artistically and economically. In the case of the Shakespeare festival, more became less, and the four shows presented last summer were a low for the theater artistically.

Torres knows he has to develop a comfort zone with fund-raising, as does the board of directors. Ultimately, it’s about more involvement and visibility in the community. He hopes that the theater will attract more patrons to spend their arts dollars.

Still, he said, the theater has tried to be conscious of the community it serves. In the company’s mission statement, audience development is listed as an important component of the theater’s goals.

“We’ve done outreach. We’ve striven to keep performances affordable. And I’ve programmed works consistent with our mission,” said Torres. “But now we need people to know that a friend in need is a friend indeed. We’ve been here for 29 years and we need a demonstration from the community now more than ever. I don’t think anything in particular has gone wrong with the theater. The problem is that contributed revenues have dried up. Individuals, businesses and foundations have less to work with and have had to prioritize. We’re not a priority.”

Torres has watched several new arts-related organizations shoot up in Bangor since he arrived 10 years ago. The Maine Discovery Museum, the University of Maine Museum of Art, and the National Folk Festival have all been successful at raising funds in capital drives. He conjectures that each of those organizations, while important to the revitalization efforts of downtown, may have been garnering money that once went to the theater.

“We are now a vibrant community because of these things, so we have to dig a little deeper to keep up with that,” said Torres. “Support for organizations and programs that are ongoing needs to be ongoing.”

But if Torres sees his company as stumbling in the shadow of nearby glory, it could be that Penobscot Theatre lacks the professional spark of the other players. Some critics say the board is not forceful enough. Benefactors may be disgruntled with perceived mismanagement of funds. Others charge the theater has alienated itself by not enthusiastically engaging in the surrounding social and fund-raising river of activities.

Such speculations are much harder to defend than a budget, but they clearly contribute to health and welfare.

In a bit of internal housekeeping, some actors, many of whom asked not to be identified, questioned Torres’ commitment to local artists and said it was a factor that threatened the theater’s friendly standing. Over the years, Torres has cast fewer and fewer locals because of a quest to address another aspect of the mission statement: to cultivate new talent, whether it be from Maine or elsewhere, which is often New York.

Torres is firm in his position, however. He intends to hire actors from a local pool when appropriate and from outside of the state when necessary. “We’ve made the choices we’ve made,” said Torres, whose casting vision has been broad-based since his early years as a director in other locations. And he has made no secret about his dream to turn Penobscot Theatre into an “Equity house,” where professional actors associated with the national union of actors can perform. On these points, he is adamant and has every right to be. Vision, no matter how disagreeable to employees, is the role and right of an artistic director, after all.

The $250,000 may go to preserving those goals, but at the moment it’s paying bills and building security for the future by creating a cash reserve, said Torres. It’s a one-time campaign, he promised, but it must, he insisted, result in increased levels of fund raising and giving. And while some may find the approach threatening – you must do this for us or we will shut our doors – it’s possible that the dramatic announcements will also build bridges.

“I was surprised to hear the theater wasn’t fine,” said one actor. “Whether I act there or not, it’s important that Penobscot Theatre exists. I don’t share the bad blood any more. I support the theater financially as much as I can. I hope it doesn’t close. I can’t imagine the people of Bangor would let it close.”