Penobscot Theatre goal

I had the idea for Maine Discovery Museum on a vacation to a children’s museum in 1996. I believed we could build the best children’s museum in New England and that Maine Discovery Museum could serve not only as a recreational and educational institution, but as an economic development linchpin, attracting tens of thousands to Bangor every year.

We built a great team with hundreds participating, and, together, we succeeded. But building a great community institution is not always easy. When the Maine Discovery Museum was in a race to completion there were those who talked about volunteering to help and those who actually showed up. One night, when there was a huge amount of work yet to do, who shows up but Mark Torres, artistic director of the Penobscot Theatre Company.

My father was a high school theater teacher who worked many hours for minimal pay. I figured Mark would be too busy with the tremendous workload required by Penobscot Theatre. Sometimes nonprofit leaders can be jealous, pitting one non-profit against another. Yet Mark saw Maine Discovery Museum as very important to the cultural goals of our region, so he picked up a paintbrush and helped make the museum a reality.

Once, a long time ago, I acted for Penobscot Theatre. Despite that fact, it was a terrific institution even then, but Mark Torres had a vision that brought Penobscot Theatre up to another level. The people of Maine owe Mark and Penobscot Theatre a debt for their terrific contribution to our culture.

Now that Penobscot Theatre is facing important challenges, the entire state must appreciate how far the theater has come and help with the Extraordinary Friends Campaign by contacting www.MaineShakespeare.org before the Aug. 31 deadline.

Sean Faircloth

Bangor